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Friday, July 31, 2009

My Right To The Pursuit Of Happiness

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The Obama administration is attempting to define health care as a "right" that should be administered by the Federal government. What that means to me is that I can demand of the government that I am provided health care regardless of my individual circumstances.

Since health care is not part of the Bill of Rights and Federal control of health care is not part of the powers enumerated by the Constitution, I presume this falls under the aegis of "pursuit of happiness..." stated in the Declaration of Independence...

from an overbearing, onerous government intent on controlling our choices and depriving us of self-determination.
Receiving health care is important to me... helps me pursue happiness... and should be provided to me... even if the government has to provide it. I understand that in order for the government to fulfill that right for me, money will have to be taken from those who have more money than I have. That's okay. I have the right to my "pursuit of happiness" and President Obama has argued eloquently that our government has an obligation to provide health care for me... on my road to my right of happiness. Or do you think I should suffer from the ravages of diseases?
But, that's not enough to make me happy.

The government needs to take care of my housing needs. A fine, new home is my right in my pursuit of happiness. Or do you think I should be homeless?


And so is a fine, classic car. Or do you think I should be forced to walk everywhere... in bad weather, too?

And... fine, new clothes? Or do you think I should dress in rags?


Food; lots of good food.... Or do you prefer to see me go hungry?


And wine... I need a wine cellar full of fine, old wines. Or do you think I should have to suffer from thirst?


The government can just send me the money and I'll even do the shopping... as much as I hate that. It would get me closer to happiness. Just collect a little more taxes from those rich people.

A boat... 35'... that would be part of my pursuit of happiness. What's a 35' boat from a government that builds aircraft carriers? Rich people have bigger boats, so they should give the government money so that I can have my boat. Maybe I can just pick one of those rich people's boats. That would speed up the process. The government can just send an agent to get the paperwork from the rich people and put my name on it. I could almost be happy then. Or do you think that I should be prevented from enjoying the natural beauty of our lakes?


I think one of those new "elite" credit cards is really what I need. If the government gets the bill and collects payment from those rich people, then I can get whatever I need to be happy. That may not make them happy, but so what? Or do you think I should be penniless?
Health care may be a new right, but I have lots of other wants that are equally justified as rights that I think the President should be working on. As long as enough Congressmen and the President share my interpretation of rights, I win. And I need those rights... right now! Just have an
mnibus bill. Don't even bother to read it.

Show me the money! Or are you just insensitive to my needs and rights? Well, he is sensitive and compassionate.

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There is always an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.
Henry Louis Mencken (1880–1956)
“The Divine Afflatus,” A Mencken Chrestomathy, chapter 25, p. 443 (1949)
... and one could add "not all human problems really are."
It was beautiful and simple, as truly great swindles are.
- O. Henry
... The Government is on course for an embarrassing showdown with the European Union, business groups and environmental charities after refusing to guarantee that billions of pounds of revenue it stands to earn from carbon-permit trading will be spent on combating climate change.
The Independent (UK)

Tracking Interest Rates

Tracking Interest Rates

FEDERAL RESERVE & HOUSING

SEARCH BLOG: FEDERAL RESERVE for full versions... or use the Blog Archive pulldown menu.

February 3, 2006 Go back to 1999-2000 and see what the Fed did. They are following the same pattern for 2005-06. If it ain't broke, the Fed will fix it... and good!
August 29, 2006 The Federal Reserve always acts on old information... and is the only cause of U.S. recessions.
December 5, 2006 Last spring I wrote about what I saw to be a sharp downturn in the economy in the "rustbelt" states, particularly Michigan.
March 28, 2007
The Federal Reserve sees no need to cut interest rates in the light of adverse recent economic data, Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
The Fed chairman said ”to date, the incoming data have supported the view that the current stance of policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing in core inflation”.

July 21, 2007 My guess is that if there is an interest rate change, a cut is more likely than an increase. The key variables to be watching at this point are real estate prices and the inventory of unsold homes.
August 11, 2007 I suspect that within 6 months the Federal Reserve will be forced to lower interest rates before housing becomes a black hole.
September 11, 2007 It only means that the overall process has flaws guaranteeing it will be slow in responding to changes in the economy... and tend to over-react as a result.
September 18, 2007 I think a 4% rate is really what is needed to turn the economy back on the right course. The rate may not get there, but more cuts will be needed with employment rates down and foreclosure rates up.
October 25, 2007 How long will it be before I will be able to write: "The Federal Reserve lowered its lending rate to 4% in response to the collapse of the U.S. housing market and massive numbers of foreclosures that threaten the banking and mortgage sectors."
November 28, 2007 FED VICE CHAIRMAN DONALD KOHN
"Should the elevated turbulence persist, it would increase the possibility of further tightening in financial conditions for households and businesses," he said.

"Uncertainties about the economic outlook are unusually high right now," he said. "These uncertainties require flexible and pragmatic policymaking -- nimble is the adjective I used a few weeks ago."
http://www.reuters.com/

December 11, 2007 Somehow the Fed misses the obvious.
fed_rate_moves_425_small.gif
[Image from: CNNMoney.com]
December 13, 2007 [from The Christian Science Monitor]
"The odds of a recession are now above 50 percent," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "We are right on the edge of a recession in part because of the Fed's reluctance to reduce interest rates more aggressively." [see my comments of September 11]
January 7, 2008 The real problem now is that consumers can't rescue the economy and manufacturing, which is already weakening, will continue to weaken. We've gutted the forces that could avoid a downturn. The question is not whether there will be a recession, but can it be dampened sufficiently so that it is very short.
January 11, 2008 This is death by a thousand cuts.
January 13, 2008 [N.Y. Times]
“The question is not whether we will have a recession, but how deep and prolonged it will be,” said David Rosenberg, the chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch. “Even if the Fed’s moves are going to work, it will not show up until the later part of 2008 or 2009.”
January 17, 2008 A few days ago, Anna Schwartz, nonagenarian economist, implicated the Federal Reserve as the cause of the present lending crisis [from the Telegraph - UK]:
The high priestess of US monetarism - a revered figure at the Fed - says the central bank is itself the chief cause of the credit bubble, and now seems stunned as the consequences of its own actions engulf the financial system. "The new group at the Fed is not equal to the problem that faces it," she says, daring to utter a thought that fellow critics mostly utter sotto voce.
January 22, 2008 The cut has become infected and a limb is in danger. Ben Bernanke is panicking and the Fed has its emergency triage team cutting rates... this time by 3/4%. ...

What should the Federal Reserve do now? Step back... and don't be so anxious to raise rates at the first sign of economic improvement.
Individuals and businesses need stability in their financial cost structures so that they can plan effectively and keep their ships afloat. Wildly fluctuating rates... regardless of what the absolute levels are... create problems. Either too much spending or too much fear. It's just not that difficult to comprehend. Why has it been so difficult for the Fed?

About Me

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Michigan, United States
Air Force (SAC) captain 1968-72. Retired after 35 years of business and logistical planning, including running a small business. Two sons with advanced degrees; one with a business and pre-law degree. Beautiful wife who has put up with me for 4 decades. Education: B.A. (Sociology major; minors in philosopy, English literature, and German) M.S. Operations Management (like a mixture of an MBA with logistical planning)