My Take on Congress' Performance During the Health Care Debate?
Friday, March 19, 2010 at 07:41AM 
Several readers of this blog have asked me about my take on the on-going debate over health care. My take on Congress' performance is very simple. Where are the Martians when you need them?
Regardless of the despicable methods being used to secure passage of this monstrosity, and even on conservative CBO estimates, the bottom line is that this federal takeover of health care amounts to the creation of a new federal entitlement program which adds at least one trillion dollars to the already hemorrhaging federal deficit. That means we are running at least a 10-12 trillion dollar deficit over the next ten years.
How long could you pay your monthly expenses with new credit cards--because all your current credit cards are maxed out and you can't even make the minimum payments? Not long. Yet, this is what our Congress is doing on a grand scale. We either borrow the money from countries like China or Japan, or print it and begin the inflationary cycle--the cruelest tax of all. Add to this the fact that 40 states are running deficits and states like California are close to bankruptcy.
But then what would you expect from a generation like mine which once sang "Hope I Die Before I Get Old," and which now demands cradle to grave government services, and is all too willing to let future generations pay the tab and suffer the consequences.
Reader Comments (40)
A good example is the Walmart pharmacy. Prices for meds have always been ridiculously high, then Walmart came out with a $4.00 drug plan, now all of the pharmacies have a $4.00 drug plan. They all have to compete for customers.
On the personal side, I haven't been able to afford med. insurance for over a year and a half now. And, I am still against the government getting involved in it. They screw up everything that they touch.
The government is getting involved in issues that they have no "business" being in. No pun intended
I actually like Sarah Palin (I'm wearing my flak jacket--as we say on the John the Steadfast website), but I may change over to the Libertarian party before it is all said and done. I am going back and forth on this.
"The problem isn't a Congress that won't cut spending or a president who won't raise taxes. The problem is an American public with a bottomless sense of entitlement to federal money. "
Kim's far more valuable doing exactly what he's doing now.
"I believe that the platform of the Libertarian party is the one that can go a long ways towards repairing the mess that our country is in. Problem is, no one has hardly of them."
Problem is, the L. party is (so I read, from l. sources) somewhat dysfunctional. And real libertarians and ancaps tend to be somewhat extreme personalities.
http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gif
I am a life long Republican. Extreme personalities don't bother me, if they are extreme for the right causes.
I may remain a Republican, but what I do like is the LP position on much less government and spending. Most of our problems are from having an ever increasing government, ever increasing taxes, and ever increasing government control of our lives.
Lloyd, if you don't mind, since he's far and away better than what we have in most Reformed pulpits, and since those are far and away more important than seats of political power, I'd humbly suggest he stay put.
And you realize, don't you, that in order for him to run he'd have to divest himself of his ordination? Is that what you really want, Riddlebarger unordained?
Give the libertarians a chance and see what they can do in the political realsm- everyone else has been given a chance. However, I doubt if they will be able to create enough interest and momentum necessary to gain a big enough following to do some damage to the current political parties. Most political watchers who I respect are saying that our current parties are ruining the country but do see any easy remedy to the situation.
What is going on in the Church is much more interesting than what is going on in politics these days.
And not always in a good way.
Darryl Hart was interviewed recently by 9 Marks Ministries (http://media.9marks.org/2009/08/01/being-faithful-in-a-secular-word-with-darryl-hart). One of the things he said was that church news, the stuff in the various denominational magazines, being about the advance of the kingdom of God, was more important news than what's on CNN, Fox or NBC. Very good interview -- recommended.
"Modern Reformation"
<Sigh> I really should subscribe.
"Give the libertarians a chance and see what they can do in the political realm"
The real ones I have known, not the "nerf libertarians" (Google it) tend to be principle driven. Off in the INTJ corner of a Briggs-Meyer chart. Not necessarily good "people persons". (Granted, that's me too). I suspect some forgotten childhood trauma.
Ronald Reagan once said that "government is not the solution, but the problem." How true that is.
John Y: I hear where you are coming from regarding theology being much more interesting, and I agree. But, a Christian is in 2K's, and both the Lutherans and the Reformed have a unique and Biblical view of the kingdom of man, and it is good to hear what they think.
It is good to let the country know, that the kingdom of God and the kingdom of man, are both ordained by God, and that they both should kept separate. It is good to silence all politicians in all of the parties, when they seek to bring God and the Bible into the mix. God does not endorse any particular party or any form of government, and folks should be hearing this.
I enjoy hearing what my fellow Riddlebloggers think about the various parties and candidates that are out there. It spices it up a bit. And, it is very important.
I do have a tendency to get so irritated by political gamesmanship that I veer towards being apolitical at times. My concern these days has taken a drastic shift towards the next life rather than this one (perhaps because I am getting older, however, my mother who is 86, seems more concerned with politics and this life than the next one which kind of mystifies and troubles me).
I find trying to figure out the differences between the contemporary Catholics, Anabaptists, and various reformed traditions much more worthy of my time than the various political philosophies and all the posturing involved. Trying to keep up with how the good culture watchers are thinking and reacting also fascinates me and is what I am drawn to. I can take or leave the political scene these days, although I still try to keep up on occasion (when I have the time).
Yea, I'm finding that as I get older, most of my time is spent on my theological studies as well.
Pastor Kim is a great pastor and a great man and teacher as well. So I always want to hear his opinion on everything.
I've studied the Calvinist Reformed stuff like you wouldn't believe. I have read and studied the best of all the Reformed have to offer. I went to a dispensational Bible college, and in my obsession with theology, (if you can call dispensationalism theological) I pretty much have their theological system memorized--including the Scriptures that they use for their system.
When I left dispensationalism for the Reformed, I was seeking an intellectual theology; and I certainly got it in the Reformed tradition. Because of the great program; The White Horse Inn, I was repeatedly exposed to Lutheran theology by the great Lutheran theologian Dr. Rod Rosenbladt. In fact, I was privileged to take an eight week class from Pastor Rosenbladt several years ago.
The Lutheran seeds were beginning to be planted in my mind during this time. While I have an incredible respect for the Reformed tradition, and yes, there are many similarities between the two, there are also many vast differences as well.
What I have found, is that if you test both traditions in light of the whole counsel of God, Lutherans let the paradoxes of the Bible stand, and they don't attempt to reach conclusions where the Scriptures are silent.
With incredible elation, I have found Lutheran theology to be at least equally intellectually stimulating, and in light of the Scriptures, the most Biblically accurate tradition that one can hope to find....anywhere.
When you hear a confessional Lutheran pastor preach the Law and the Gospel, and when you see the Sacraments of the Altar in front with the pastor, you realize the incredible power of the Holy Spirit within the Sacraments, as taught in Lutheran theology, and none other.
When you hear confessional Lutheran pastors and theologians on a program like Issues, Etc., it is totally mind boggling how incredibly deep Lutheran theology really is. For me, there is no need to look elsewhere. It is just a waste of my time. Lutheran theology has it all!
Luther taught us to look outside of ourselves, to Christ and His Word, and to the promises which are contained in our Sacraments. Luther taught us to think sacramentally for comfort and assurance of our salvation.
At this point in my life, I don't spend much time in looking at all of these various theological systems; I've been there, and done that. I am not ecumenical in any way, and as far as theology is concerned, confessional Lutherans are not either. I am not trying to find some truth in this system or that one. Although I have great friends in all of those various theological systems.
I'll read God's Word every day, and Luther every day. Most of my theological studies are just Lutheran stuff, and in listening to programs like Issues, Etc. I love to blog on various Lutheran websites. There is enough to study in Lutheran theology to keep one busy for five or six lifetimes, to say the least!
That was a great summary of the conclusions you have come to theologically. I do see that Lutherans let the paradoxes stand in the scriptures without trying to conjecture answers when the scriptures are silent. I do not have the dispensational system "memorized" like you though, so I still have to go back on occasion and refresh my memory of what they actually believe. The same goes for the other theological systems out there. I like to have answers to people's theological questions, so my studies help me wade through the confusion that still exists in many people's minds (including my own). I am always seeking for greater clarity in my thinking and using the tools God gave us in his word to beat the world, my flesh and the devil. It is the great challenge in life and one which Christ won for us already by his work accomplished for us. Getting it applied to our subjective selves is where the struggle comes in and seeing all the different theological answers "out there" can be a bit intimidating at times. I have also come to the conclusion, like you, that Luther and the confessional Lutherans that have followed in his footsteps provide most satisfactory answers to my theological longings. I am still working out the differences between the Calvinists and the Lutherans and try to go directly to what the sources said in their own writings rather than relying on others interpretations of them. I am not as confident as you that Luther was more accurate than Calvin in a lot of the conclusions he drew theologically. Or, that the Lutheran confessions are more accurate then the the biblical summaries found in the Calvinistic confessions of the faith. With that said, I still find taking the Lord's supper at the Lutheran Church I go to very assuring to my own faith and would not trade it for any other confession out there. Also, I have found Lutheran pastors to be of very great benefit to any struggles I go through and would turn to them before any one else in the Church.
It appears our legislators and Chief Executive are like Raskolnikov from Dostoyevsky's famous novel. They believe themselves the Ubermenschen and Uberfrauen who are above the Constitution that guides the bourgeoises. They know better than those truck-driving, gun-toting, Walmart-shopping, home-schooling, church-going caricatures they love to lampoon, so they will force America to take their medicine. Trust them implicitly and you'll find out what you'll get later. Alas, I doubt they'll have Raskolnikov's conscience once they see what happens. "True believers" in such ideologies never do (unless enlightened). It will be the peoples' fault for not jumping with them from the frying pan into the fire even earlier.
Funny post!!- I never expect much from the government anyways and to trust them implicitly seems like idolatry to me. No doubt they should be held to the standard of upholding the constitution and the government seems to be more concerned with political agenda's then what is good for the country in these difficult times. I enjoyed your Dostoyevski references.