WyBlog

The Post Office lines up for a taxpayer bailout

President Obama likes to cite the Postal Service as a positive example of a self-sustaining government entity that successfully competes with the private sector. He said "UPS and Fed Ex are doing just fine." My buddy Nadz also is fond of the Postal Service model saying it's his ideal example of how a public-option health insurance system could be set up.

Both of them swear the Post Office receives no taxpayer subsidies. Unfortunately that statement is no longer operative. Four Billion of your tax dollars are headed to bail out their pension plan. (h/t Memeorandum)

The Democrats in Congress say this is only a "temporary" measure to tide the Postal Service over while they're short on cash. Uh huh. No government program is ever "temporary". This particular bailout doesn't come due until 2017, at which time I'm sure it'll be kicked down the road again, having been only the beginning of an annual taxpayer lifeline to the Post Office. (Need another example, see "Taxpayers 'extremely unlikely' to recoup TARP money".)

Herein lies the real danger of a government sponsored health plan. When the money runs short, the taxpayers will be left holding the bag. Congress won't allow ObamaCare to go bust, ever. Look at what they've just done to Medicare premiums, freezing them for the year because the scheduled premium increase would have resulted in reduced Social Security checks going out next month.

There is no doubt that Medicare needs the money that would be raised by increasing the premiums. But again Congress won't let that fact get in the way of pandering to senior citizens. This is what happens when a government program intrudes into a private market. When they inevitably run short on cash it is left up to the taxpayers to subsidize it.

Our President is right, ObamaCare will be just like the Post Office — a black-hole into which tax money goes in but never comes out.

Posted at 14:42 by Chris Wysocki   []   Comments | Perm Link |
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