John Stossel makes an important point in this article, pointing out how ridiculous it is that the Left pretends that they are battling “big corporations” and greedy capitalists with their proposed health care overhaul. Much of big business is on board with health care reform, since, as is often the case in policy debates today, they are working to rig the game in their favor through government.
If people are really concerned about corporations having too much power and influence, they should seek to limit government, not expand it. When government is in charge of setting the rules and regulating just about all aspects of economic activity, businesses–particularly big businesses–will hire lobbyists and work hard to influence politicians so the rules are set in their favor. The free market is much more egalitarian.
Something similar happens with education. Those on the Left are horrified when a President Bush is in office and conservative legislators seek funding for programs that talk about abstinance, just as the Right is horrified when the Left pushes some multicultural version of history that cast America as the bad guy or sex ed for elementary schoolers. Shouldn’t we just all recognize that we are never as a nation going to agree about what should be taught in school and just get the feds out of such matters entirely?
Big government may seem like your friend until the other side has control.