It makes complete sense to me that Thomas Sowell is so beloved amongst the (ahem) intellectuals and the ones who think they are (see: right wing bloggers) on the right. Take a look at this recent paragrapah from his latest piece for Investor's Business Daily.
But a far more serious issue is ObamaCare, perhaps the most unpopular act of the Obama administration, its totalitarian implications highlighted by its recent attempt to force Catholic institutions to violate their own principles and bend the knee to the dictates of Washington bureaucrats.
Ah, nothing like playin' the hits, eh? Well, he's certainly a good merchant who knows that his audience will pay top dollar for these sorts of comments so you have to give him credit for that.
More importantly, though, this is a fine example of the "fictional Obama." First of all, health care is not the "most unpopular act" of the Obama administration. Polls show a variety of opinions, depending on how the question is asked, and the split is around 50-50. I'd say his most unpopular act (or almost) was the new EPA rules that he ended up caving on in the end.
And totalitarian? Good grief. When will the managing of paranoid fantasies cease to be a part of our political discourse? The recent flap over birth control coverage under the PPACA is completely ludicrous. To begin with, the government isn't forcing anyone to get birth control. The new law simply states that if you are an organization that offers health care, you must provide free coverage for birth control. For some reason, the mouth foamers think that translates into forced birth control for their employees. Users still have A CHOICE as to whether or not they want to use birth control and these religious organizations still have A CHOICE to tell their members that birth control is against their beliefs and they shouldn't use it.
And, in what has to be one of the finest examples of hypocrisy I've seen in awhile, DePaul University and other Catholic institutions already offer free contraception as part of their organizations. So, the screaming by the right is because the government is "forcing" them to do something they are already doing? Huh?
We're basically at the point now where these adolescent power fantasies about government are a gross impediment to progress. We all have to stop what we are doing (see: adults trying to fix real problems) and deal with this bullshit.
Any chance we can get Sowell and his true believers to maybe do some yoga or take a jog to clear their head?
5 comments:
The objection these institutions really have is that they have to pay for something they object to morally. It's a bogus argument, though. If their employees use birth control, they're still paying for birth control because they pay the employees' salaries.
Using the "domino theory" so popular on the right, if we let Catholic universities and hospitals get by on this, will their list of demands only grow?
Will these organizations claim they have the right to fire employees who use birth control? Will they insist that all female employees submit to blood and urine tests to ensure they're not on the pill? Will they require men to have their penises swabbed randomly for traces of latex, spermicide and lubricant? Will they require ultrasound examinations to prove that women haven't had their tubes tied as a condition of employment? Will they require male employees to submit semen samples to prove they haven't had a vasectomy? Will they ultimately require that all employees be Catholic?
And what of religions that are even further out of the mainstream, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses (opposed to blood transfusions) and Christian Scientists (opposed to medicine in general)?
The new health care law provides these organizations a way out: if they don't want to provide birth control, they can simply opt out of providing health care for their employees. They'll have to pay a penalty, of course. And they'll still be paying for birth control, albeit indirectly. Just like I had to pay for the costly and unnecessary war in Iraq, which the pope and the Catholic Church also objected to on moral grounds.
Employers shouldn't be paying for employees' health care in the first place. It's an accident of WWII tax policies. It completely distorts the incentives in the system and is the primary reason why health care inflation is an order of magnitude greater than the general inflation rate.
OK, let's try another scenario of the totalitarian mind, perhaps you can relate better...
I win election as governor of your state and decree that all teachers will teach a particular point of view that you vehemently disagree with. Do you shut up and fall in line - teaching something you believe to be false but still collecting your paycheck? Or do you quit your job to avoid violating what you believe with all your heart to be the truth? Those are your choices because my decree can be enforced ruthlessly - attempting to subvert it will land you in jail (because I run the govt and I can do that).
Well, that's what happening to a certain extent in Texas and some other states but it was actually the school board that voted on the change in the curriculum. Of course, when this usually happens, people get pissed and vote the school board out. Then a bunch of PC people get elected and yell at me for teaching Huck Finn. Either way, though, I still get to teach what I want to teach as long as it adheres to the standards set out by the state.
That's why your scenario is pure fiction. It will never happen so there's nothing really with which to relate. In other words, it doesn't exist in reality which was, in part, my point. Are you saying that your example is your view of what is happening with the contraception flap? If so, it's just another example of overblown paranoia and not comparable when you consider the information I have provided in this article.
Either way, though, I still get to teach what I want to teach as long as it adheres to the standards set out by the state.
And if the state sets a standard that includes something you personally believe is wrong and not teachable? What do you do?
No further comment eh? I guess we can take that as you would shut up and toe the line and teach something you believe abominable.
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