NEOAVATARA

You know what I LOVE about the health care debate?  It whittles down peoples beliefs to a simple, easily understandable ideology.

You either believe that government can solve problems better than individuals can privately…or you believe that government hinders what individuals can do for themselves, and that government is the cause of, not the solution to, most of our problems.

Despite what specific proposal you believe it, the argument does come down to this:  do you trust your government to make life or death decisions for you, especially when it comes to dollars and cents?

Liberals believe that handing over those decisions to the government would be best, because they would take the ‘profit motive’ out of the equation.  They believe that by doing that, you take greedy individuals only trying to grab your money out of the system, and that all will be well with the world.

Conservatives, on the other hand, believe that government never, ever runs anything efficiently.  And when the government fails at something, it won’t admit it…it will either take more money from you  (via taxes) or will cut your benefits.  And generally, you have no recourse in the matter, right?

That is why Barack Obama’s commentary that his health care system would be like the United States Post Office may have been one of the most honest things he has ever said.

You gotta love Barack Obama.  His arrogance knows no bounds; only Bill Clinton even comes close in recent political history.  He was roundly ridiculed for comparing Obamacare to the U.S. Post Office…one of the less popular federal entities that exist today.  How ridiculous was the comment?  Jon Stewart, the right wing zealot that he is, thought it was absurd (go to the 3:45 mark…):

He then repeated the statement 24 hours later in another townhall meeting.

Now, when Jon Stewart is lampooning you, Mr. President, that means things are not going well.

Comparing Obamacare to the Postal Service may have been one of the most downright dumb things I have ever heard Barack Obama say.  If you want a poster child for why NOT to have a public option…the post office is the perfect example.  The Post office THE classic example of both inefficiency and extreme monopoly power when it comes to the federal government.

The Post office has been the biggest blockade over more privatization of mail services in this country.  It actually prevents Fedex and UPS from doing more business in this country.  Despite numerous advantages that FedEx and UPS could only dream of having, the Postal Service loses money. In addition to direct subsidies, the Postal Service is exempt from paying state sales, property and income taxes. It uses some of the most expensive real estate in the country rent-free.

And still, it is losing money.  Lots of money.  So much money, that the GAO has basically declared an emergency:

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently announced that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is at risk of financial insolvency.

The post office made GAO’s list of government operations that are considered costly and “high risk.” GAO submits its High Risk Series report to Congress every two years…. The last year USPS reported income from its operations was in 2006. Beginning in 2007, its fortunes soured and it began to report significant losses: $5 billion at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2007 and $3 billion in FY 2008, according to its annual financial report. On June 30, 2009, the third quarter of its fiscal year, the USPS reported a staggering $4.7 billion net loss.

So how did the Post office respond?  They want LESS GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT:

“We are subject to Congressional oversight, regulation by other government agencies, and also oversight by various other organizations and the public,” USPS said in their annual report. “If we cannot successfully address their various, and sometimes competing, concerns, we may be subject to greater regulation, which could increase our costs or otherwise place additional burdens on our operations,” USPS warned regulators in the annual report.

So at the same time Barack Obama and liberals want more government involvement in health care to ‘provide more competition’, a long standing government entity may be pushed INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR by the Obama White House.

Tell you what, Mr. President:  you get the Post Office working, and then we may consider the public option.  Until then, um, no thank you.