Hassagot השגות

The Rise of a Bigger Government

What are our President's stated desires and core principles? 

    Although I have not read President Obama's Budget for Fiscal 2010 (see here) nor read all of his recent speeches and statements, I have gleaned certain themes which suggest an answer to this question.  My understanding is informed by my reading, some of which is quoted at the bottom of this post.  I encourage the reader to read to the bottom, to pursue links here and elsewhere, and to make up his own mind.

A Peek Back at October 30, 2008

    Before the presidential election, I expressed strong concerns about an Obama administration.  On October 30, 2008, I wrote:

"In terms of domestic policy, the Obama-Pelosi-Reid team would seek to put into place the following program:

• increase taxes
• redistribute wealth
• punish those who succeed in personal enterprise
• discourage personal enterprise
• politicize the economy even beyond the current state of affairs
• discourage trade
• reward the elderly, the sick, and the young of today at the expense of the elderly, the sick, and the young of the next generation
• transfer even greater powers to the Federal Government
• attenuate even further the private sector in the USA
• arrogate even further the responsibility of the Federal Government to be the moral center of the country"

   Things seem to be moving in the direction that I was afraid they might.

Golden River

    A golden river flowed through the town.  The people delighted in the river's fresh water.  The water was sweet and bestowed health.  When one poured the water through a sieve, grains of precious gold gathered.  The townspeople had long been hearty and hard-working, and they labored happily to draw the water and sift it for its gold.  From this gold, they wove garments and made delightful implements.  Their town became known as a golden land.   

    As the years progressed, the people tired of drawing the water.  They hired other people to do the work for them.   They continued to wear garments of gold, but tired of their splendor.  Frequently, they yawned.

    It happened quickly.  People said, "The river has lost its gold."  In truth, the water still ran with gold, but with much less than before.  The townspeople continued to wear their golden garments and complained of their poverty.  In addition to yawning, they began to throw up their hands.

    The people worried.  They felt they must do something to address the thinning gold.  However, mostly they flailed their hands.   In this way, they sometimes hit each other unwittingly.  They pursued small savings but were afraid to consider large ones.   Their listlessness increased.

    Once, one said, "Things will go very badly."  The people nodded their heads in approval.

    One said, "Things may go well. "  The people continued to wave their hands and did not hear.

-- H. A. Massig המשיג

Timekeepers

    In those days, there were timekeepers.  They had watches, clocks, and chronometers of all kinds.  Some had hands and some displayed numbers.   At first, they were able to keep track of the day according to the sun or the moon.  Then, they learned how to keep track of the hours.  With passing generations, they devised ways to count minutes and seconds.  As their timekeeping progressed, they were no longer able to imagine years, days, hours, and minutes.  They could only grasp seconds and nanoseconds.

    There were others who could not keep time.  They were perpetually late or early.   They held on to the minutes, the hours, days, and years.

    The first group considered the second quaint.  You are not living in the present, they said.

--  H. A. Massig המשיג