The Road to Serfdom

The WSJ reports here that Pelosi has told fellow Democrats that she's prepared to lose seats in 2010 if that's what it takes to pass ObamaCare.

In other words, what most Americans want doesn't matter. The anointed one intends to have it his way, and the majority in Congress is evidently willing to become the minority to make it happen. And why not. The Democrats know that once an entitlement begins, it never goes away. They also know that once in place, entitlement programs always grow.

America is at a serious crossroads. The most profound issue at stake is not about health care; ObamaCare is just the camel's nose in the tent. The profound issue is state control and socialism versus liberty and voluntary exchange.

Are we really prepared to give up our liberty and income to go down this road? Lots of folks evidently thought so last November, but now they're not so sure. No matter; Pelosi and her fellow Democrats know what's best for us.

We really need to read the Democrats' bill (all 2,000 pages of it). We need to do the math. We need to understand how much income and liberty we will have to turn over to the federal government to go down this health care entitlement road. Greg Mankiw gives us an assist here.

If 40 cents of every dollar we earn must be turned over to government, then government owns 40% of our labor. Does that qualify for serfdom? Maybe not. Maybe serfdom starts at 50%. No matter; if the Democrats have their way, we will be there soon enough.