One of Beck's so called "watchdogs" found the wording in the government rules on the "Cash for Clunkers" program that actually did allow the government to basically take control of or access to your computer. Supposedly, the government has changed the wording to make it apply only to the auto dealership computers, but I wouldn't be too sure of that, so do not let your computer get in the mix if you are turning in a clunker for a trade in on a new car.
You know that this program is a farce, don't you? What it does is take taxpayers money that the government should be using on something worthwhile (like paying down the deficit or helping Social Security) and giving it to people as a reward for trading in a reasonably good car for one that gets better gas mileage. The rationale is that it will help reduce the carbon footprint, which it does, but it is so insignificant that it is like a sneeze is to blowing up a building. A good portion of this money is going offshore to foreign companies like Toyota or Hyundai and not to GM, Chrysler, or Ford. So, it is indicative of a typical government sponsored program that means well, but has not been thoroughly thought out and is, in the end, just a waste of money for those of us that are paying for it but not taking advantage of it because we do not need or cannot afford a new car.
Now, take our experience with this "Cash for Clunkers" program which ran out of money in the first 4 days, and is not accomplishing much, now that we can see how it works, etc. and now apply this same mentality to running our healthcare insurance for 300 million Americans. Can you imagine what will happen? What I expect is that even though the objective is to give our federal government control of the healthcare system in order to reform it...it is going to lead to a financial and management disaster for Americans. Giving the federal government control over any product (autos) or services (medical) and setting them up into a monopoly (because the government will drive out the private companies through taxpayer subsidies) is insanity. Everybody will lose in the end and we will have another government bureaucracy like Medicare and Social Security that is out of control financially , which once implemented, will be like a tumor that has metasticized and cannot be treated.
So, let's take our time on this healthcare reform proposal and figure out the best way to handle this, and then implement it in one or two states and road test it until we can see how it works before forcing everyone onto a runaway train.
