Words to Live By Since 1993 A SPIFF Publication Vol. 1, No. 7 A penny saved is a Congressional oversight. More thoughts on socialized medicine... ù Why? ù Medicine in America is not perfect. People still die. There are problems with "the health care system." There are problems with your car, too, but you don't go out and buy a new one just because you need new spark plugs. More appropriately, you don't go out and redesign the car when you need only new plugs. Even more, you don't get a bunch of lawyers together to redesign the car, the highways, the road signs, and the drive-up window at Wendy's. ù Where are the Republicans when you need them? They did a good (and almost successful) job opposing the tax increase. Why can't they put the same effort into opposing President Clinton's health scare plan, which will have a much worse impact on our children? A Republican president and a Republican congress in 1997 will be able to repeal the 1993 tax increase, but socialized medicine will be here to stay. ù Medicine in America is not perfect, but have you looked at the rest of the world lately? ù Of all of the lofty goals of these plans, one is certain to be obtained: Bill will "[bring] health care costs closer to inflation." Yes, that's right. Bill is going to raise inflation, bringing the two closer than they are now. ù The idea of forcing insurance companies to insure people with preexisting conditions sounds pretty, but think about it. That's like you walking into a bank and saying to the teller, "Here's $500. Give me $1,000." ù Is this scheme going to cover President Clinton and Bill? Is it going to cover Congress? Even if you give in to the idea that we need some form of socialized medicine, remember one important thing: If it isn't good enough for Ted Kennedy, it certainly isn't good enough for you. Sleaze strikes back (for real this time) Last week, the White House sank deeper into the evolving scandal surrounding Commerce Secretary Ron Brown. Mr. Brown has been accused by a Vietnamese businessman, a Mr. Hao, (pronounced "how") of accepting a bribe of $700,000 to help secure the normalization of trade relations with Vietnam. (Funny, isn't it, how Vietnam continues to be a problem for Bill.) Spiff finds this appalling, and, given Mr. Brown's dubious history with the truth, demands the immediate appointment of a special prosecutor to spend at least six years and $50 million on the case. How ironic that this administration, which promised (Whoops! There goes another promise.) that there would never be the slightest appearance of impropriety, now finds itself in its second scandal in less than a year. It makes us think of a word that the medialibs threw around quite casually during the '80s. What was it?...Uh...Oh, yes...sleaze. Well, after the travel office and now this, we must ask what is next? But, of course, Spiff already knows. The General Accounting Office has discovered that the Clinton Administration officials have been looking through State Department files of former Bush officials. Given the promises of this administration, we are left to wonder Hao this could happen. They said what?! Editor's note: If you read WTLB only for cute and funny comments, skip this editorial. As the current Russian crisis unfolded last week, CBS News sent a reporter into that country's heartland to gauge the average Russian's reaction to the Moscow events. During the report, the camera's lens found a group of older people digging potatoes in a barren field. As one old woman spoke to the reporter, she began to cry. She pointed to the field and told him, "Look at me. Now I am forced to dig potatoes to survive. At least under Brezhnev, I had my dignity." Seventy-seven years ago this month, a people who believed themselves desperate and in need of change accepted the promise of a government that would provide everything they needed to survive. The Soviet government provided homes, heat, jobs, and, yes, health care and the people traded freedom for the promise of security. An American writer, destined to go down as one of history's greatest dupes, went to the Soviet Union, saw only the good and proclaimed that, "I have seen the future, and it works." What happened to that future he saw? The government that promised everything, gave everything, and controlled everything eventually collapsed under its own weight. State factories grew weak and inefficient with the lack of competition and the people lost the will to strive and succeed. They were left to dig for potatoes. When the system collapsed, a people hooked on the government handouts were left with no motivation or experience to fill the void. They did not know how to live without the perceived security of an all-encompassing government. There is a lesson to be learned from that old woman. She equated her dignity with the things the government gave her. Is this what we want? To see the future, we need only look again at Russia. The future does not work. The Russian people will find their way back. But, after more than seventy years of dependence, it will take time. It won't be easy, but people will always find the way to survive. One only hopes that they don't pass us on the way to reform. We seem to be headed in the opposite direction. Quotes of the weak: "Millions of Americans are just a pink slip away from losing their health insurance...." Bill Clinton "I cannot save every undercapitalized business in America." President H.R. Clinton "I'm sure you will, Mr. Armey. You and Dr. Kevorkian." President Clinton, to Rep. Dick Armey in her glorious testimony to Congress Quotes of the strong: "Millions of Americans are just a health scare plan away from getting their pink slips." Spiff "We wouldn't even be talking about having to save businesses were it not for her ridiculous schemes." Rush Limbaugh "I have been told about your charm and wit, and let me say the reports on your charm are overstated and the reports on your wit are understated." Rep. Dick Armey Words to Live By is published every week at about this time by Spiff. You can send a fax to us here in the Spiff Executive Plaza, towering over beautiful downtown Donelson, Tennessee at 615-883-0435.