OBAMACARE: It's a house of cards

I am a fiscal conservative. I was raised by a father who taught me that you do not spend money that you do not have. I have lived my life that way and it has served me well.

Today, President Barack Obama will sign the health care reform bill.

In regard to this historic event, Nancy Pelosi said, “We will be joining those who established Social Security, Medicare and now, tonight, health care for all Americans.”

Unfortunately, for all of us, these are exactly the “social” programs that are bankrupting the country. Anyone who spends even a minimal amount of time checking these things out are aware that Social Security and Medicare are on a collision course to bankruptcy. As millions of Baby Boomers come into these programs over the coming years, the problem will become compounded. Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota recently commented that, “This is all one huge Ponzi scheme that is not sustainable.” Those of us who follow these things know what happens to Ponzi schemes. They crumble like a house of cards.

Now, when you add this latest legislation, more commonly referred to as Obamacare to the mix, we will have another huge, government, entitlement program. Nobody in their right mind believes for a minute that this program is going to reduce the deficit or our national debt.

The debt issue is one that most of our federal leaders do not want to address. One of the reasons why Congress’s approval rating is presently under 20 percent, is precisely the debt issue. It is time for our leaders to step up to the plate and make the hard choices. Until the elected officials of our federal government address this debt issue and actually do something about the debt, we are all sitting on one huge house of cards.

Journalist Peggy Noonan said it so succinctly in a recent Wall Street Journal article when she wrote, “The great issue, this friendly critic added is debt. The public knows this; Congress and the White House do not. To me, the Republicans are as rotten as the Democrats in terms of spending. Almost.” 

I do not believe this is the “hope and change” the majority of citizens in our great country wanted.

JAMES W. SHEEKS

Coeur d’Alene