PrintOctober 28, 2010
Government Failure on Two Drug Fronts
Two unrelated news items I came across really highlighted the ineffectiveness currently exhibited by the Obama administration. The first detailed shortages of vital drugs used to treat chronic medical conditions and explained that the FDA was powerless to force pharmaceutical companies to provide information on these drug shortages, much less require them to restart actual drug production. The second described an attack by narcoterrorists on the police station of a small Mexican town resulting in the resignation of every police officer.
President Obama spent a year bribing and browbeating Democrats into jumping off the cliff in support of his healthcare takeover resulting in their probable banishment by voters in the midterms. All the while, he promised the government would miraculously morph into an institution capable of efficiently delivering healthcare with an attitude of customer service. Voters are only too aware that the government has never done anything efficiently and haven't seen any recent evidence to the contrary. The fact that the FDA is unable to even gather information on current drug shortages does not leave us with a warm, fuzzy feeling when it comes to betting our lives on their healthcare policies.
Narcoterrorists pass across our border as easily as the Taliban crosses between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The administration has not only lost control of our southern border; it has lost interest in controlling our southern border. Mexico's drug gangs are busy exporting their terror across our border in pursuit of drug profits and control of the drug trade. They don't fear our security forces, and it won't be long before we are reading about narcoterrorist attacks on American police stations and American towns.
However, the Obama administration sprang into action when Arizona exhibited a whiff of independence by reaffirming U.S. immigration laws with document checks during routine stops that might serve to identify illegal aliens for deportation.
What does the one story have to do with the other? Not much, except they both deal with drugs and the government's inability to solve their respective drug supply problems. The thing that clicked for me was that our government is so large that one segment is unable to prevent a drug undersupply problem while another segment is unable to prevent a drug oversupply problem.
History shows the decline of great civilizations preceded by the inability to protect borders along with an attitude of indifference by citizens accustomed to the disappointment of failed promises and undermined public confidence in corrupt state institutions. The U.S. can't secure its borders, guarantee fair elections, or deliver basic services, and its citizens are increasingly self-absorbed and preoccupied chasing youth and fame. Not a good sign when considering historical implications.
Given all of the trends we are currently witnessing, it is easy to lose hope and start planning for the inevitable decline and fall of America. However, with age comes experience and wisdom. In the late 1970's, America suffered from high inflation, high unemployment (remember stagflation?), low self-esteem, and couldn't imagine things getting any better. Then along came an optimist named Ronald Reagan reminding us that our best days were ahead of us who soundly defeated the eternally pessimistic Jimmy Carter and restored America to its rightful place of glory in the world by unleashing the greatest economic revival in our history and vanquishing the Evil Empire in the Cold War.
We're in pretty bad shape, but we're not dead yet. All we need is another optimist who believes in America and the ability of Americans to run their own affairs without government intervention. Someone not afraid to find out whether we can live without a bunch of government agencies whose functions are a mystery to us, and who's as sick of the tax code and other regulations as we are. Just remove the burdensome regulations, unleash America's can-do spirit, and get out of the way.
We need to redirect government towards protecting its citizens through strong national defense, clear regulations easily and fairly enforced, restored confidence in elections, and repayment of debt through expanded economic activity achieved by proven methods. How many times do we need to suffer through utterly discredited Keynesian policies before the lesson is learned? Real people suffer from this arrogance.
These two news stories illustrate the inability of the government to fulfill its obligations when it is spread too thin through attempts to do everything for everyone. All it manages to do is undermine the confidence of its citizens in its ability to do anything.
Tom Roberson is an independent conservative holding finance and engineering degrees doing his small part to save his country.
