I have two items published today about how governments and other tax-consumers use taxpayer dollars to lobby the government to get more taxpayer dollars. Politico Arena asks, "Will the public warm up to the health care law?" My reply:
I'm amused -- at best -- that the vast United States government is using my tax dollars to try to persuade voters that the signature legislative accomplishment of the president's term is actually a good idea. Search Google for the term "Obamacare," and the first paid link is for healthcare.gov, a government propaganda site for the Affordable Care Act. They're also using Medicare.gov that way. And roping in poor old Andy Griffith for a TV ad that Factcheck.org says uses "weasel words" to "mislead" seniors.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the administration had a “lot of reeducation to do.” If administration officials were confident that their health care scheme was a good idea, they wouldn't need to spend tax dollars -- in a year when the deficit exceeds $1.5 trillion -- to try to sell it to the citizens. And this raises a real question for democratic governance: Are the people supposed to tell policymakers what policies they want, or should policymakers use the people's money to tell them what they should want?
...the more you know, the more you will love Obamacare...?
Maybe if they had actually put the bill out for public consumption and let people see what they were getting and feel they would have a hand in rejecting what they don't want, instead the Obamaites will just buy good press.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
