What happens when children run society? Fiscal irresponsibility

When I was in high school, I had a job as a counselor in a summer camp.  One of the things I remember doing was stocking the cola vending machines.  The camp director could buy the colas in bulk (this was before Sam's Clubs made this task easier).  The average retail price of a single cold soda was 35 cents.  But the camp director set all of the machines to accept two quarters and not give any change.  The reason he gave was that he did not want the grade-school campers to have to worry about putting in exact change, or forgetting their change in the machines when the soda was dispensed.

What do you think was the economic effect of the 30% increase in the price? There was no reduction in the number of colas sold.  The kids didn't care what it cost. Their mothers had given them money to spend at camp, and they were going to spend it all, either on snacks or T-shirts.  They didn't care. 

To paraphrase the Apostle Paul, when I was a child, I spent like a child.

Fast forward to today.  President Obama was giving a speech on the radio recently, touting the benefits of his Health Care Plan.  He pointed out that now young people can be covered under their parent's health plan up to age 26.  A co-worker was surprised and pleased to hear this, as she has a son who was just released from prison, and he needs dental work.  They were wondering how to get his extensive dental work paid for since he had no insurance of his own.  Now she plans to add  him to her family policy, and claim his dental treatment against our company's group health policy.

She asked me what I thought of the new policy.  I need my job, so I didn't tell her what I really thought.  I said it was nice that her son, who had a need, could now find a way to get that need met without a huge cost to the family.

What I really wanted to say was this is a huge cost to society.  My insurance premiums are now going to go through the roof because your son can't find a job or pay for his own treatment.  When Congress was debating this bill, the Obama administration put out the word that insurance premiums would go down as a result of this legislation.  But after the bill was passed, the Office of Management and Budget estimated that premiums would go up as a result of the new changes in the law.  So we were lied to in order to get this bill passed, and Obama can now cite this as a major accomplishment of his presidency.

Responsible adults have to bear additional costs so that children can enjoy a new government benefit.  And in this case, the word "children" refers to persons older than 21 years of age, who are able bodied and should shoulder their own load and pay their own way.  This is what happens when children choose the government.  Remember that Obama was swept into office by a rise in first time voters, 18 to 24 year olds who have not had sufficient life experience to understand the consequences of government intervention.

Alas, it has always been thus.  I remember when colas were 35 cents in a machine, 25 cents if you bought them at the grocery store.  But then someone in the FDA decided that all edible consumables needed to be labeled with calories, fat grams, sugars, etc.  This caused a huge cost to the cola companies and packagers. And they passed those costs on to consumers.  And even though this was a one-time cost, the companies continued to charge the higher prices, because the consumers showed that they were willing to pay the extra cost.  Overnight, colas went up from 35 cents to 50 cents.  Today, a cola can cost from $1.25 to $2.00.  Part of the price increase is from the government mandated FDA labels years back.  But when is the last time you read the calorie or fat content on your cola can?

I am afraid the same thing will happen with the increased premiums on health insurance.  Unless somebody rises up and repeals the health care reforms, then consumers will all take it for granted.  They will not look at their paycheck stubs and notice that last year their insurance premiums were 30% less.  Or if they do, they will not link it with the government reforms that caused the increases.  We will still be like children--we don't care what it costs, we just want more sugar.

Customized Experiences Lead to Lack of Common Sense

I have determined that there is no such thing as common sense any more.  Just the other day I was reading in the sports page of my local newspaper.  A professional football player in Florida was at the home of a team cheerleader; he is 30, she is 19; the team has a rule against cheerleaders dating players, so she was referred to as his "ex-girlfriend".  The couple was upstairs in her parents' house, in a gameroom, allegedly watching television.  A man in a ski mask appeared, brandishing a gun.  The gunman dragged the girl around by her hair, and struck her with his fist while the football player watched.  When the gunman turned to pistol-whip the football player, the girl ran downstairs to get a gun.  The gunman gave chase, and shots were fired.  The football player shut the door, put a chair up against it, and jumped out of the window so he could "run next door to call police".

"This is wrong on so many levels," I commented aloud.  A female co-worker responded: "Yeah.  She shouldn't have had a gun in her house."

Huh?

Several weeks ago I wrote a column for the newspaper.  I praised the efforts of local Baptist churches for getting involved in charitable work.  The charity I mentioned was all about helping lower income families get food, clothing, shelter, and school supplies for their children.  I commented that many have the mistaken idea that Evangelicals are all about sharing the Gospel, and not about feeding the hungry, like other more socailly liberal denominations.

The only letter to the editor published in response to my column was a woman ranting against giving tax-exempt status to churches.  Did she miss the point, or did I?

And that is the point I am trying to make here.  Americans used to have things in common, like families and community events.  Barn-raisings and bake sales.  As the electronic age was birthed, families gathered around their radios for news of the war.  Later, we would all talk about the same characters on the same television shows.

Where has that sense of community gone?

There used to be something called "common sense", and it sprang from the same common experiences we all went through.  Be nice to animals. Don't spit into the wind.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

But now, in the name of "diversity", we all  have different cultures.  With 400 channels, no one watches the same shows.  Even with sporting events, over 100,000 people can show up for a Cowboys game, but ten times that many people in the DFW metroplex do not even know they are playing, and do not care what the score is.  There are no winners or losers in children's games any more.  You have to give out ribbons to everyone for "participation".  You can't fail students any more; everyone gets a minimum grade of 50% just for turning in their work.

These different experiences have splintered us as a society.  We no longer have a shared experience, therefore we are moving toward a time when we no longer have a shared purpose.

When will it all end?