It has been nine months since the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States and six months since he took the oath of office.  From the moment of his election, Barack Obama displayed a level of narcissism unparalleled in the history of the presidency.  His assuredness was on display from the Chicago celebration to the creation of the “Office of the President Elect” along with his quasi-presidential elect seal.  Never mind that this was a purely fictitious creation out a Hollywood script – meant to enhance his position while downplaying his obvious lack of credentials. 

And we were told that he would hit the ground running and that he had assembled his transition team after the election and well before his inauguration.  This we were also told was to ensure that he and his team would be prepared to handle the challenges of the office on day one!  

The press was in love with the idea of the man Obama, if not the actual person.  You see, we knew little about him except those things that were published in his two books.  No actual person came to the fore to describe his childhood, his college years, his international life and as many have commented, his supposed birth in Hawaii.  No, this was a man created for the purpose of running for president of the United States and was a blank canvas upon which any and all could paint their own picture of who they thought Barack Obama might be as the leader of this country. 

The press was brimming with facts of his extraordinary approval ratings, his personal “like” factor and the strong wife and wonderful daughters.  Comparisons were quick to show that no one had come out of the gate so strongly by virtue of his pre-inauguration preparedness.  And all were amazed by the quality of the picks for his cabinet and advisors.  Expectations were high and the left and the press assumed that the man would deliver.  

However, within his short tenure, he has no less taken over the ownerships of banks, manufacturing companies, pushed a nearly $800 billion stimulus package, passed a $3.6 trillion budget, pressed for cap and trade legislation and now wants to socialize healthcare.  The most interesting point of these key events is that each and every one of them was preceded by the campaign of “now” by this president.  You see, each and every action noted above was positioned as if there were no alternatives – that we must do this to ensure our economy or our financial system or employment or overcome the inertia of “decades of inaction”.  And yet all of this fast track legislation has resulted in little to show except the fact that we are now at nearly a 10% unemployment rate with little likelihood of improvement in the near term, deficits approaching $100 billion a month and nearly $2 trillion in the current calendar year, trillions of dollars being printed and debt being issued resulting in a desire by the international community to move off the dollar as the reserve currency of the world and finally, a frozen business environment, unsure of how or what additional legislation will impact the ability to operate in the US. 

Of course, this fast track to nowhere is not going unnoticed.  We are tiring of the 24 hour Obama channel, the fact that our magazines only seem to have him on the cover and the prime time “infomercials” that never really meet the quality of the pitchmen like the recently deceased Billy Mays.  And unlike Obama’s ideas, I found OxiClean and Mighty Putty did what they said they would do.  On the otherhand, the payoffs to supporters and the lack of transparency are striking when considering the president’s actions and those of the Democrat Congress.  Our legislative process has become so broken as to allow for a vote on bills without reading them or even having them written.  And through all this you must ask yourself why the hurry and why the need to take these decisions without counsel, consideration and the sense of duty and responsibility that the rest of us must undertake in our own jobs and lives? 

But the truth of the matter is that this fast track is deliberate.  One only needs to look at the current approval ratings and find that in the short six months he has been in office, he is now below even George Bush and other presidents at the same time in their tenure.  “Shock & Awe” was supposed to be used in Iraq and while the president has derided Bush for his actions, it would appear that he and his cabinet have taken a page out of that playbook and decided to deploy it within the legislative process of the US Congress and Senate.  And as it becomes more apparent to “we the people”, they begin to awaken to the reality that his actions are not in the best interest of the United States or a representative government.  No, this is arrogance beyond the pale in recent history.  And today, we find ourselves debating the need for socialized healthcare and taxes approaching 60% of income for the rich to pay for all of this spending! 

So how did we get here?  The people of the United States were badly hurt by the implosion of the global financial system.  They believed that it could be traced to one administration and that it was the fault of President Bush and his war actions.  However, the truth is that we sowed our seeds of destruction over the last twenty years as we piled up debt, created a never ending expectation of growth and increasing economic prosperity and allowed all of this to go on with the wink and the nod of administration after administration.  And as we sit here today, we are being asked once again to trust this government to take action on the most personal of issues, our healthcare! 

In his June 13 weekly address, Barack Obama stated that the “healthcare status quo is unsustainable”.  In fact, the entirety of his actions to date is indeed unsustainable. The Congressional Budget Office stated in its weekly blog: 

“The current recession and policy responses have little effect on long-term projections of non interest spending and revenues. But CBO estimates that in fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the federal government will record its largest budget deficits as a share of GDP since shortly after World War II. As a result of those deficits, federal debt held by the public will soar from 41 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2008 to 60 percent at the end of fiscal year 2010. This higher debt results in permanently higher spending to pay interest on that debt. Federal interest payments already amount to more than 1 percentof GDP; unless current law changes, that share would rise to 2.5 percent by 2020.”

To put this into perspective, the federal debt ofthe United States will increase by nearly 50% in two short years.  Add the cost of the healthcare legislation and go beyond the 10 year projections that we hear about today and you have the makings of a catastrophic failure of the US economy.  More simply, our economy will need to grow by 2.5% in GDP just to pay the interest on our debt.  This is before a single social security payment is made, Medicare bill paid, soldier deployed or road built.  Even with the best scenarios for growth, nearly 3.5% in GDP, the federal debt would consume over 70% of the growth in the economy!  The repercussions should be clear – exorbitant tax rates and a moribund economy with little job creation and insufficient revenues to pay out the entitlements that are being envisioned today! 

So where do we go from here?  The reality is that we have created an over regulated economy where the current legislative environment has generated too many unknowns as it relates to the cost of doing business in the US.  Can you believe that any reasonable business person would build a factory today without knowing the impact of tax legislation, cap & trade, healthcare, card check and other “To Be Named Later” actions of this administration? 

What we are seeing is the spending of the nation’s future.  The arrogance of power and the belief that all of this is warranted by an economic situation that is “the worst since the Great Depression” seems to animate the behaviors of this President.  He truly believes that he has the chance to remake America into a new nation.  And of course, like any liberal ideology, good intentions outweigh the consequences of those actions.  It is instructive to consider that the people have begun to realize that this ideology is far and away damaging their ownself interest.  For even simple arithmetic can illuminate the fact that there are simply an insufficient number of “rich” people to pay that 60 percent tax rate and make government's ends meet.  Eventually, the rich move their money elsewhere and the rest of us are left holding the proverbial “tax” bag! 

As I reflect on the current circumstances of our nation, I am reminded of a verse in Scripture: 

Ezekiel7:10 (NIV)  ¹⁰ "The day is here! It has come! Doom has burst forth, the rod has budded, arrogance has blossomed!

It is arrogance that prescribes the actions of the moment without regard to the peoples’ will or desires.  For how else can you continue such efforts without truthfully considering the implications for the future of America and our children? And for we the people, is it not time that we move beyond our stupor, raise our voices and peacefully assemble before the thrones of power to take back our liberty?  If we are unwilling to do so, then we shall be enslaved by the shackles of crushing debt and the loss of that liberty.  As our first Commander In Chief stated:

For if Men are to be precluded from offering their Sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of Mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of Speech may be taken away, and, dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the Slaughter.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, address to the officers of the army, Mar. 15, 1783

As Washington believed, when reason is not apparent, then we must take action that demonstrates our resolve, not in fits of violence but in organization and protest that overwhelm the ideas of those that would relegate our liberty to the slaughter.  Much has been lost over the past year and much fear remains, yet we are Americans and our freedoms and liberties are derived not from the government but from our Creator.  Of this fact I am certain, the pride and arrogance of the moment will be overcome by men and women everywhere as we are awakened to this reality.  Let us reject the fast track to nowhere and thoughtfully consider and debate the issues before our country, not by a few elites, but through participation of the people together with our elected representatives.