AMERICAN ISSUES PROJECT

It has now been 190 days since the stimulus bill was passed. Back in February, President Obama spoke before Congress and stated, "the recovery plan and the financial stability plan are the immediate steps we're taking to revive our economy in the short-term." Today, Vice President Biden defended the stimulus, arguing it "was intended to provide steady support for our economy over an extended period". 

It's important to note the differences in their statements then and now, and the extent to which they've backed away from the stimulus because they have been using the same rhetoric they used about the stimulus bill to try to pass health care. During the first month of his Presidency, Obama and his administration pushed hard for the stimulus and quickly, warning that "if we don't move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care." That is a strong statement by a sitting President. And, this statement nicely sums up the scare tactics and urgency they used to shove the stimulus down Americans' throats - we have to pass this or the consequences will be dire, and we have to pass it immediately.

As he's done with the health care bill, President Obama left drafting the stimulus bill up to Congress and spent his time selling the bill - promising Americans that the bill would create jobs, increase lending, increase investment, improve the housing market and get our economy going.

And yet today, unemployment is nearing the double digits, and there is no improvement on the horizon - not in employment numbers, housing numbers, retail numbers or in the markets, and private investors are still sitting on the sidelines. And to top it all off, we are now facing a deficit so huge that none of us can even begin to wrap our brains around it and comprehend just how long it will take to pay off our debts. Just a few weeks ago, for the first time in U.S. history, the deficit passed the $1 trillion mark for this year alone.

This week, with Democrats' health care proposals in jeopardy, the party put their best spokesman and salesperson out front to once again convince the American people that without the legislation they're proposing, we will all suffer. The one thing we learned during the President's press conference is that massive government spending is not the reason for our colossal deficit, health care is! Obama told us that in order to get our deficit under control, we must buy into the Democrats' health care program. How is that for circular logic? 

Fortunately for fiscal conservatives, after the stimulus debacle, Americans are looking at health care reform with a skeptical eye. They've watched the government rack up debt and blur the boundaries between the public and private spheres for month. They're wondering how all this debt is going to be paid for. They know that government spending comes at a price, and there's no free lunch - not when it comes to the stimulus or health care. And, above all, while our health care is expensive, it is also the best health care system in the world. People come to America for treatment, not the other way around. Passing the stimulus was one thing, but transforming our health care system, putting government at the helm of the most personal decisions we make in our lives is an entirely different story. When is the last time you heard someone bragging about their wonderful experience at the DMV? The Social Security office? At a courthouse? Americans don't want to deal with government inefficiency and incompetence when it comes to their health care. 

Their scare tactics worked to get the stimulus passed. They won't work when it comes to health care. 53% of Americans now disapprove of Democrats' health care proposals. Liberals will likely still get some kind of health care bill passed, and perhaps they will claim a victory on the surface. But, a government-run health care system doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon, and ObamaCare looks like it will soon be following in HillaryCare's footsteps.