President's Corner

by John F. McManus, President, The John Birch Society

Two Reasons To Oppose the Obama Healthcare Proposal

The August 17th issue of The New American provided its customary lineup of excellent articles telling readers what every American ought to know. If you haven't already devoured its contents, however, I hereby summarize my own contribution entitled Bleak Survey of U.S. Indebtedness. When someone as well-versed in current events as is TNA Editor Gary Benoit can conclude that this one-page message is "scary," then no member of The John Birch Society should fail to consider it.

Based on a short but incisive report from some Canadian financial advisers, my article notes that the enormous indebtedness of the United States government ($11 trillion and rising) has reached a point where borrowing to cover it can no longer be accomplished. Seventy percent of the funding of past deficits came from two principal sources: 1) Social Security, Medicare, etc., and 2) borrowing from foreign governments. The first of these two money spigots has dried up because their programs have arrived at the point where they are spending more than they take in. And the second source has not only ceased buying U.S. bonds but is starting to sell those it holds.

Of the remaining 30 percent of the borrowed funds, all but a very small number are either no longer able or have become unwilling to purchase any more U.S. treasuries. Some are instead beginning to seek buyers for what they already hold. And the Obama administration has projected that the red ink total for the current fiscal year will be $1.8 trillion — four times the largest annual shortfall in U.S. history. Where will the funds come from to cover this huge deficit?

The Toronto-based Sprott Report concludes that the only recourse for the U.S. government is to have the Federal Reserve address its money shortage "by printing more of it."  The Canadians note that Fed action has accomplished "doubling the monetary base of the United States over the span of a mere nine months." All who know the definition of inflation know that this printing binge will sharply lower the value of all dollars. So we should all expect that trips to the supermarket, the clothing store, the gas station, etc., will become even more painful in the months ahead.

Rather than reduce spending and even retire some of the already enormous national debt, the Obama administration is now determined to saddle the nation with a healthcare system that will cost both huge sums of money while wreaking havoc with our still-viable medical industry. It almost goes without saying that there ought to be no government tinkering with medicine except to oust it from all involvement it already has.

The Obama-led drive for government to become the nation's medical provider should certainly be blocked because of predictable harm it will do to the nation's healthcare system. But the economic side of this threat should not be ignored. If your congressman and senators have already received your urging that they say "No!" to the health-care proposal because of medical considerations, let them now hear from you about its cost that will only further weaken the dollar and set the nation up for the cancellation of independence and entry into the new world order.

You could even mention that the result of government's takeover of education has been monetarily disastrous and educationally catastrophic. You can issue a similar warning about the Department of Energy whose record includes presiding over an increase of oil imports from 30 to 60 percent during its lifetime; the Department of Housing and Urban Development whose policies brought on the housing debacle; and a foreign aid program that ought to be abolished forthwith.

In other words, fight the health-care threat because government has no business being involved in medicine. But also fight it because it will surely add significantly to what the Canadian onlookers conclude: "The U.S. budget is ludicrous, spending is out of control, spending promises are out of control, the world knows — and we know it."