Obama and the Post Office
Writing in The State and Revolution in 1917, Vladimir Lenin summed up the economic aim of socialism as follows: "To organize the whole economy on the lines of the postal service...."
Incredible, isn't it? After centuries of treatises and miles of paper and tubs of ink, this is the great historical turning point: government employees carrying sacks of paper mail from house to house -- and operating at an economic loss.
It's fascinating how it all comes down to the post office, again and again, in the history of public policy. And so it is in our time, with Obama's admission/gaffe/slip concerning the post office and its analogy to what he wants to do with healthcare. FULL ARTICLE
Comments (9)
Sword of Damocles
I heard the comment the president made about the post office and thought to myself, he just made a very sound argument against the very thing he is wanting to implement. A "Freudian Slip" I presumed(?).
Just my thoughts,
SOD
Published: August 13, 2009 8:57 AM
Steve Hogan
When it comes to the Obama crew, there are two schools of thought. One is that they actually believe the nonsense they spout. That an economy can be centrally planned and done so successfully. Or that they can command an incredibly complex health care system for 300M people and pull it off. To believe this, despite numerous disasters of the recent past, requires a breathtaking ignorance about history, economics, and human nature. It's delusion on steroids.
The second school suggests that these people are power mad, and that they are fully aware of the pitfalls of a part socialist, part fascist corporate state. It doesn't matter to them that they're transforming our country into a police state, because they get to run the show.
While there are probably members of both camps in the administration, I figure Obama belongs with the latter school. The fact that he's exempting himself from this wonderful health care system he's forcing us into suggests that he knows it's a fiasco. Does this man have a conscience?
Published: August 13, 2009 9:23 AM
Mark Ennis
Can someone help me understand something? If this 'public option' is not going to be taxpayer subsidized, and people are going to have to pay premiums so that it is self-sustaining, what the hell is the point? It's just him announcing he's going to start a new insurance company in Washington D.C. What am I missing?
Obviously he's either naive or lying and we all know it'll be taxpayer supported and undercut the private insurance companies, but why isn't anyone calling him out for this?
Published: August 13, 2009 10:13 AM
David
Mark - Easy answers:
A: He is lying.
B: The media is not calling Obama out on the lies because he is delivering the Socialist Workers' Paradise that they have been pushing for since the dawn of the Progressive movement.
Published: August 13, 2009 10:41 AM
CJ Maloney
While I agree wholeheartedly that whatever line of business the politicians decide to enter into they inevitably make a disaster of, the Constitution is quite clear that Congress has the power “To establish Post Offices and Post Roads”. (Article 1, Sec. 8)
Note that the power conferred is NOT a monopoly.
Published: August 13, 2009 11:56 AM
2nd Amendment
I fear that if the Obama administration doesn't back away from this forced health care reform, there's a big chance that the American people will go postal over this issue. (pun intended) LOL !
Published: August 13, 2009 1:53 PM
Ryan
Whoever does your Photoshop work deserves a raise. It's always first class (no pun intended).
Published: August 14, 2009 1:04 AM
Matt
Obama and the Post Office.
Yes Mr. Rockwell, Obama is way off in his logic as you rightly point-out, he made a pitch to the public while running for President now he attempts to deliver.
It is also true that the President proposes and Congress disposes.. Congress too must shoulder a great deal of responsibility in passing these socialistic fiascos. There too is the Supreme court that has been upholding socialists schemes especially since FDR. Then there is the public in general who vote time after time for more of the so called benefits that they seem to be oblivious of that they have to pay for way over what the private sector would charge.
Thankfully for a site such as this where some needed economic education is in force, we certainly are not getting that in Public Schools, and we should know by now, why.
Published: August 14, 2009 7:51 AM
Kavius
It is utterly preposterous that a government mail service exists at all. There is no theory of economics that supports it
It is worth noting that historicaly, the government post office and the government inteligence agency have been closely related. While there is no *economic* reason for government mail service; there is a *military* reason for government mail service. I seem to remember a book on the history of cryptography that stated that there was a time in Italy's history when every letter that passed through the post office was copied and catalogued.
Published: August 14, 2009 10:05 AM