It is the "Cubaization" and not the "Europization" that We Should Fear

Conservative pundits have rightly pointed out that President Barack Obama is moving rapidly towards socializing the US economy. In making this case, we are told that Obama is working towards the "Europization" of the United States. Obama simply smiles at such comments and you can almost hear him say "thank you."

Most Americans have heard and seen decades of propaganda from the mainstream media about the "virtues" of socialism in Europe. We are told about how wonderful it is to have "free" (if not rationed) health care, the beauty of 30 hour work weeks, and the splendor of employers being unable to fire employees when they deem it necessary. Furthermore, many Americans have gone to beautiful cities like Paris, London, and Rome and think these are great places. Such places are often wonderful to visit, but not to live in. What we haven't been told, or seen in our visits, are the chronic economic problems such policies foster. The Europeans would find our current unemployment rather low and would call this economy that we deem weak, rather strong. If we get down to it, very few Americans would want a European style for the United States. Neither does Barack Obama.

While Obama bombards us with the socialization of our health care, education system, and energy industry, he is quietly creating a political infrastructure designed to keep him and his friends in power for years to come. We are so busy looking at the policy decisions, we are missing the potentially dramatic changes in the US political system.

Obama, quietly, moved the Census Bureau tasks to the White House from the Commerce Department, in what could be a ploy to distort Congressional Districts in favor of his Democratic colleagues. Historically, this important function of government was left in Commerce because that department faces Congressional accountability. Conservatives are not the only ones to fear this, liberal Senator Robert Byrd described Obama's movement of Cabinet functions to the White House by saying that "'too often, I have seen these lines of authority and responsibility become tangled and blurred, sometimes purposely, to shield information and to obscure the decision-making process." This isn't limited to the Census, but also energy, health care, education, and other major policy initiatives.

Obama's "stimulus" package is designed to ensure his long term power. Obama cut his teeth as a political activist and used the radical ACORN organization in his rise to power. That organization, which used political pressure as a powerful force behind the issuing of mortgages to people who could not afford them, will receive over $4 billion from Obama's so-called stimulus package for "educational purposes." This is not the only radical group to be able to eat at Obama's trough, it is just one of the most notable. It is safe to say that the majority of those dollars will go to help candidates and organizations that support Obama's policies. The bulk of the Obama package is not economic stimulus, but political payoffs designed to keep the pockets of his supporters lined and the Democrats in office for years to come.

Instead of being alarmed by our current economic crisis, Obama is delighted. In fact, I believe he needs more bad news to pursue his agenda. Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel reflected the sentiment of the Obama Administration when he said "Never let a serious crisis go to waste. What I mean by that is it's an opportunity to do things you couldn't do before." Obama is bombarding Congress and the American people with so many different policy and political changes, we can't even begin to keep up with them. That is by design and not by accident. Very few of the things Obama is pursuing would survive the due diligence process one issue at a time. So like rats trying to evacuate a room all at once, they are all scrambling for the door with the knowledge that some of them will get through.

In Emanuel's logic, this crisis is not nearly as bad as it needs to be. Instead of being alarmed by a stock market that has tanked to levels we haven't seen in over a decade and rising unemployment numbers, Obama continues to talk down the economy in a relentless effort to make this situation look as bas as possible so he can pursue his radical agenda.

Be it increased tax creation on the income groups that create jobs, additional financial burdens for companies that try to offer employees health benefits, or the undermining of our political institutions that help keep us free; all of these items are part of a larger agenda towards making the US look more like Cuba or Venezuela and not like Europe. The Europization of the US? We couldn't be so lucky.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am). Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business and says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.