What’s the old saying? There are two that I can think of off the top of my head.
First – “Nothing in life is free.”
Second – “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”
There’s a lot of truth in the statements above.
I wrote a series of articles regarding this as it pertains to “Healthcare For All” and why it won’t work. I encourage you to read them.
But let’s take a closer look at two other examples that have taken place and more importantly – how they were allowed to take place.
Bubbles
1. The housing Bubble
Everyone has a right to own a house, right? Well, that’s what many in Government touted. And what happens next is that housing loans became so simple to acquire – a crack-addict homeless man probably could have gotten one.
And the consequence of this was obvious. The price of homes skyrocketed. Construction of new housing skyrocketed. The stock market went up and up.
The beginning of this bubble made a lot of people a lot of money. And the smartest ones – like good old Charlie Chaplin back in 1928 – saw the writing on the wall – and got out at just the right time.
If you want to know more about how all this took place, you need to watch probably one of the BEST movies I’ve ever seen “The Big Short.” I can’t recommend this movie enough. It pretty much explains it all.
2. The Student Tuition Bubble
Pretty much the same as housing loans. Student loans for Colleges and Universities became so easy to get, the requirements that used to be in place to be accepted into many of these learning institutions were basically thrown out the window.
Tuition loans became so simple to get, everyone who wanted to go to College, now could. And that’s exactly what people did. It didn’t matter what degree they were seeking to achieve. It didn’t matter if they finished and received their degrees. If someone wanted to get a masters degree in “Sandbox” – 18 or over? Sign here please. And that’s what they did – in record numbers. Repay the loan? They’re kids! They’ll worry about that tomorrow.
What happens next? Again – the obvious.
Tuition skyrocketed. And so did the salaries of those who ran these learning institutions. Yet loans for tuition continued to be handed out like candy. And probably still are. Financial institutions made a bundle, through fees. Stocks went way up also.
Then reality kicks in. Many who received certain degrees came to realize that some degrees were worthless. Many who really had absolutely no business going to these higher learning institutions, dropped out. And the bills for these loans started to pile up. And so did the delinquent notices. Same as what happened with many home loans.
Common Denominators
So, what are the common denominators that permitted both these bubbles to become bubbles?
The first is our politicians. They started it with their rants that EVERYONE should have the right to this and EVERYONE should have the right to that. “Equality for all”, they shouted.
The second is – Financial Institutions. Think they actually cared about the loans? Of course not. They make most of their money two ways. First through the fees they collect for making the loan and second – when they bundle up all these loans and sell them through the stock market to investors.
And last by no means least, the Federal Government either through loan guarantees or bailouts. In the end, like all bubbles that affect a large portion of the American public, like the housing bubble and the banks – they end up being bailed out. Now that Democrats control everything, trust me when I say, they’ll bail out the student tuition bubble also.
Who loses?
Yet again – and as usual – the American Public.
Learned lessons
So what does this teach us? Most everything the Federal Government touches in the name of “The People”, end up costing Americans hundreds of times more than the value they’re actually receiving.
Now that Biden and his Bunch will be running things, the Tuition Bail-out is just a matter of time. And this is just the beginning. Ahhhhh Socialism – it’s a wonderful thing… right?
Think it will be any different with Healthcare for All? Nope!
The Answer
Think of how much the cost of tuition would decrease if you replaced student loans with grants given on merit. Loans? Only private banks should have the ability to offer student loans – NOT the Federal Government – leaving these institutions themselves on the hook for said loans. NOT the American Public.
That being said – there are many other avenues available for students to receive either grants or some other outside means to pay for school. But guess what – students have to earn them or be eligible. Imagine that.
Same with healthcare. While I have yet to write the final chapter in my series on Healthcare for All – I’m working on it – again – I invite you to read the first 3 parts.
The conclusive answer to this is the American Public themselves. I’m sorry, some Americans are going to have to begin using that glob of pudding between their ears. Quit looking for the Government to solve everything because as usual – and as we already know – they don’t do a very good job of it.
Just costs us more money every time they try.
