Reform Madness

Even before the ink is dry on “health care reform,” liberal Democrats are ready to tackle “financial service reform.” Now, I know we've had a sudden spike in foreclosures and several banks were in a bind, but before a year ago, I really had no idea there was a financial service crisis going on in America. I'm someone who has worked in banking for 15 years so you would think I would have noticed something like that. I guess it's something like the “health care crisis” Obama recently delivered us from; it's a rhetorical crisis – not a real one.

Do I think there are some problems on Wall Street? Yes. “Big” Wall Street firms are going out of business and people are being laid off. Do I think the government needs to do something about it? Yes! The government needs to get its grubby hands out of the private sector and let the market fend for itself. What do they think “free market” means? Hopefully the recent cloture vote on financial reform demonstrates that Republicans are still genuinely concerned with holding back the tide of government intrusion into private business. I'd hate to see them throw away their political momentum for the sake of “bipartisanship.”

Have you noticed, though, how liberals first course of action is “reform”? Everything is a “crisis” and therefore needs immediate government intervention. After the recent coal mining accident in WV cost the lives of 29 miners, Obama has made a “concrete commitment to mine safety reform.” Obviously this is another crisis that Rahm Emanuel will not let got to waste. What a fantastic opportunity for Dems to tighten the screws on “big” coal companies.

Recently, a liberal county supervisor in CA saw the need for Happy Meal reform. He actually wants to ban toys from McDonald's Happy Meals (actually all toys given away with fast food) because he believes they induce children to eat the unhealth burgers. Hmmm, such a law could also lead to “cereal reform” because I recall when I was young getting toys inside the box of my sugary cereal.

Of course we have constantly heard about “education reform” which are code words for spending billions of more dollars on the failing public school system. Education reform would never include something like vouchers that would allow parents to choose private schools for their kids. AZ has also sparked recent debate about “immigration reform.” Again, whenever a liberal says “immigration reform” he means “amnesty for illegal aliens.” Obama recently said we need immigration reform but that Arizona's tough new stance “threaten[s] to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.” “Fairness,” is a basic notion Americans cherish? If someone asked me to name some cherished American values, I probably say things like patriotism, liberty, freedom, and individual rights. I wouldn't immediately think of “fairness” - certainly not “fairness” in the liberal understanding of the word.

Anymore, “reform” means to impose. The feds want more control over our lives and they gain control through reform: reform of our businesses, reform of our health care, reform of everything we do - right down to the very food we eat. Even immigration reform is a power grab to turn illegal aliens into Democrat voters. Tell me the truth, do you think that in the current political climate, something like “tax reform” would mean we would pay less taxes?

The only reform we really need is government reform. Perhaps that's what we'll get starting in November.