The Parable of the Talents

           A few months back I had an electric socket in my kitchen suddenly stop working.  I called an electrician and within minutes, he determined a breaker in a nearby socket had malfunctioned.  I was impressed with both his speed and the fair price that he charged for his time.  In keeping with the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) I’ll call him back again for a larger project.

           Today, with another sex crime against children in the headlines I shake my head in disgust and despair. It was then that the realization hit me like an epiphany; protection of citizens is a basic duty of government, but as this terrible story made it clear—I can’t trust government to do the simple task of keeping a convicted sex offender off the street and away from children.  Remembering the parable of the talents the words formed within me, “You wicked lazy servant, I couldn’t trust you with a small thing, why should I trust you with managing a trillion dollar business?”

           In a post titled Government Controlled Businesses, I examined the long record of poor business management in the federal government.  Like a black hole, every dollar sent to the post office and Amtrak disappears, and no light ever shines within. Now the post office is even bribing employees to leave in an attempt to stem the red ink.    

           Congress spent one billion dollars of your money at the start of the Cash for Clunkers program and that was supposed to sustain it until November. It ran out of money in a week.  While the government pumped more money in, the program lasted only a few more weeks.  Even before it ended car dealers were abandoning the program because of a variety problems and slow payment.  Let’s face it folks, the best and the brightest are not running for congress.  

           Keeping convicted sex offenders off the streets and running the Cash for Clunkers program are the easy things.  If the government cannot do the simple tasks that they have been given why should we allow our elected servants to borrow a trillion dollars, establish a huge bureaucracy and take over healthcare for 300 million citizens? President Obama, show me that you can manage the small things, and then I will trust you with greater.   

           Since I am retired from the navy, I have more experience with government run healthcare than I desire.  First, I need to say that there are many dedicated professionals in military medicine who work hard every day to help those who are hurting, but they labor in a bureaucracy run by bean counters and slackers who do not care and from whom patients cannot escape.  Defenders of government healthcare will correctly state that all types of people are in both military and civilian medicine.  While that is true, as I pointed out early, when I was in the military I could not get away from the incompetent. I could not check myself out of one hospital into another, demand a second opinion or another doctor. I was stuck.  

           President Obama and his defenders are quick to state that we will be allowed to keep our current doctor.  First, I don’t care if he is the President, I dislike the pompous pretension of the statement that he will “allow” me to keep my doctor.  As an American citizen I am free, and should remain free, to do business with whomever I wish.  President Obama and members of congress will continue to see doctors of their choice but I am certain, that if the federal government takes over healthcare, you and I will not.

            Several years ago I was seeing a good physician and, if the federal government had not intervened, I would probably still be seeing him today.  However, I received a letter from him one day stating that his office had been unable to negotiate a new agreement with Tri-Care and asked if I had other insurance.  I did not.  I wanted to keep seeing him, he wanted to keep me as a patient, but I had to find another doctor.  My wife was soon in the same situation.  When you accept government medicine, as Tri-Care is, you will only see those doctors who accept the pay the government is willing to provide and practice as the government directs.  I still use Tri-Care, but I also have private coverage.  God help us all if the wicked lazy servants take control.