If you have ever needed an example of what happens when government is involved in the market, we have had the luxury of seeing a number of examples of the predictable devolution of our representative democracy to that of thugocracy in just the past few months.
The firing of executives of GM by the Obama administration, the cap of salary and the restrictions on bonuses on every institution that received TARP funds – even if they did not want those funds (see JP Morgan). The elimination of private businesses by government edict when GM and Chrysler dealerships were ordered to close by the Obama administration’s car company, GM.
Just this week, the thugocracy reared its ugly head again. Humana sent a letter to its Medicare Advantage customers to warn them about the potential reduction in benefits in the Senate Finance Committee bill. The short version of the story is that the Obama administration “ordered” Humana to cease and desist publication and mailing “misinformation” to its customers. Humana caved and stopped mailing the letters because the federal government controls the flow of Medicare money to Humana. To read more details visit NPR’s reasonably balanced reporting on this event.
This is a case of the force of government squelching the ability of a private enterprise to communicate with its customers. More importantly, from a business perspective, Humana foresaw a massive wave of phone calls coming into their call center from frightened seniors concerned about their benefits. So from a logical business operations perspective, they sought to defray a number of calls into their call center to some one else in this case their representatives.
This kind of speech squelching behavior by the federal government will only continue to expand, picking off dissenters one by one.
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So very true, and little noted. How many have given a passing thought to the importance of your points?
It’s amazing, most citizens are “unbeleivers”. The hard left (20%)see Government as their only visable form of God, there to stand against evil, as they worship and tithe (mostly with the money of the rich). The agnostic amoung us (the 40% swing vote) knows a god is at work, doesn’t know if he’s good or evil, he just sits back and observes the impersonal force and pray he rains on their crops.
The last 20% recognizes a false god when we see one, and fights to convice the 80% that evil forces are reshaping this nation.
Shall we pray