Some have asked me why I spend so much time on politics, well, the short answer is, the decisions made in Washington impact our daily life and will do so even more as we head into 2014 mid-term elections. The damage done by our politicians, both past and present, democrat and republican will soon be felt, full force, by everyone not prepared for what is about to happen.
Today, I want to talk to you about why you can’t believe most of what comes out of Washington, Wall Street, the press, the pulpit or your peers. Whether it’s from politicians, economists, investment advisors, or your pastor, priest or rabbi, the truth is most are either ignorant of what’s really happening and how to fix it, or they know, and are just not telling you the truth. Why? because the truth usually doesn’t fit their agenda, or it will negatively impact their pocketbook, or they are just passing on the talking points of the purveyors of their cause. You’re in serious trouble if your a person that hasn’t or doesn’t know how to think for yourself, and most people don’t have a clue. It’s like they’ve adopted the attitude, that ignorance is bliss and that either God or government will solve all their problems. (Before I get swamped with emails, I do believe that God is the answer and has the answer for every situation, it’s just not always the one we want).
I’m always amazed by how much time someone will spend researching their next high tech purchase while spending so little time on the things that really matter, you fill in the blank as to what that is for you. I’m also amazed at how readily we believe anyone that has a chart or statistic to prove their point. Mark Twain once said, “figures don’t lie, but liar’s figure,” and also used a phrase he attributed to the British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics” and the lies today are clouding many people’s judgement and ability to make right decisions. It seems most in the media and financial press have bought the lies and drunk the Kool-Aid.
The Greek philosopher Plato’s in his most famous work, The Republic, sets the stage for why leaders from all walks of life believe they have the right to lie. Plato, lays out his rationale for why “the ends justify the means,” he states, “The noble lie will inform them (the elite, the rulers) that they are better than those they serve and it is, therefore, their responsibility to guard and protect those lesser than themselves.” So elite politicians, academics, businessmen, and yes, even some in the pulpit, believe they are justified to go ahead and lie, based on the fact that they are smart and you aren’t, and they are looking after you because you’re too stupid to take care of yourself.
Remember there are two ways to lie, one is the material misstatement and the other is the material omission. So these delusional liars believe they are doing it for “our greater good” and they actually believe they are getting away with it, and it looks to me like they are, unless you do something to stop them. And remember, just because a person doesn’t realize they are lying to you, that doesn’t change the fact that they are passing on an untruth, and if you are believing it and making decisions off of it, them shame on you.
One great lie now being told, is that unless the republican congress and the president compromise on a budget were going over the “fiscal cliff”. Friends, it’s a lie, we’ve already gone over the cliff, we just haven’t yet hit ground. George W. Bush wasn’t the first president to be fiscally irresponsible and Obama won’t be the last. With the dollar amounts of real debt as calculated as a percentage of GDP and on a per U.S. Citizen basis, only a miracle from heaven can change the financial fate of the United States. No president and no congress can but us back up on the cliff, they can only find a parachute and hope for a soft landing.
Now, as a nation we face the consequences of the Obama Administration lies, (no, they are not the first, nor will they be the last administration to lie) but Obama believes that he can lie to perpetuate the greater good. Obama believes in Plato’s noble lie, although I doubt that he has read Plato’s Republic. He truly believes that he can’t and won’t be caught if he keeps spinning the great whopper, that he didn’t know. The “no one told me” excuse is Washington’s greatest alibi, plausible deny-ability. Every President can use it once, Reagan did in the Iran-Contra scandal, but to use it over and over again, as Obama has, can turn friends into skeptics, because no one wants to appear foolish, unless they are party-line hacks.
So, Obama and his administration have gone from media darlings to the punch line of late night jokes. This would be all too funny if his lies, especially about health care, didn’t have serious consequences for too many Americans. It is becoming apparent to democrats up for reelection in 2014 that it’s time to distance themselves from the roll-out of Obamacare, it will soon become obvious that they have to distance themselves from Obamacare itself. Yes, I do believe that changes in health care need to occur, but just because a bill is ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court, does not make it a good law.
At this point for Obama and his minions to tell the American people “trust us, we’ll have the website fixed by November 30, sets up the old adage, “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” I know from doing workouts of troubled businesses, that those that cause the problems are incapable of fixing those problems. I also believe Obama is incapable of leveling with the American people on health care, because he doesn’t understand the cause and effect, nor the unintended consequences of his law. Those that still believe this version of the Affordable Healthcare Act is good for America have bought the Noble Lie.
Thanks for reading.
Rick