The Five legged Dog Riddle - When A Federal Law or Program Is Just Not Worth The Effort

I believe it was Abraham Lincoln who posed the following riddle:

Question: If you called a tail a leg, how many legs would a typical dog have?

Answer: Four, just because you called it a leg does not make it a leg.

So it is with most Federal laws and programs. Congress and whatever Presidential administration that is in power goes to great lengths to convince us, the American taxpayer and voter, that they have been hard at work solving the nation's problems by passing landmark legislation or instituting new programs. Unfortunately, when you look back on their claims, you realize that the claims never pan out to be true benefits to Americans and in many, many cases, actually make the situation worse or drive us further into debt as a nation. Consider the following five legged dog claims that the political class has recently hoisted on us:

Five Legged Dog Claim: The new financial market reform law will solve all of our financial system problems and we will never again live through the economic trauma of the past couple of years.
Reality: Nice try but calling this reform comprehensive is false on two major points. First, the law that is about to be signed by President Obama does not address the malignant problems of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Remember, subprime mortgages and loans were at the heart of the economic calamity we are still living through and Fannie and Freddie were at the epicenter of those problems, selling securities based on home mortgages that eventually failed. How can you say that you reformed the financial sector when the biggest problem in that sector, now and going forward, is Fannie and Freddie? There are some estimates that these two organizations are so broken that they may cost the American taxpayer $1 TRILLION in subsidies over the next ten years. Sounds like they needed to be included in any reform measure.

Second, according to an article summary in the July 16, 2010 issue of The Week magazine, James Surowiecki reported that the financial reform bill will exempt car dealers from the consumer protection agency that the legislation creates. These dealers arrange 80% of the $850 billion in car loans every year, they obviously have a big part in many household's financials. Their exemption from this legislation illustrates the five legged dog example: just because you said your reformed the financial market does not mean you did if you leave out this huge chunk of financial transactions. According to Mr. Surowiecki, by exempting car loans, "it's like creating the FDA and then denying it authority over painkillers."

Five Legged Dog Claim: Obama care will rein in escalating health care costs, will provide affordable health care insurance for everyone, and will reduce the Federal budget deficit.
Reality: We could spend a whole week on this topic but let's keep it short for now. The Associated Press has reported that when the legislation was passed, it did not include all of the funding that would be necessary for all of the aspects of the law. Thus, when you include all of the additional funding bills that will still have to be passed to fund everything in the law, the tiny budget surplus becomes another government deficit spending program.

Second, it will not rein in escalating costs since the legislation did not adequately address the underlying causes of escalating health care costs. As explained in a March 1, 2010 interview in Fortune magazine with Delos Cosgrove, head of the Cleveland Clinic, health care costs will continue to rise because our population is getting older, our population is too obese, our population does not exercise enough, and our population smokes too much. Until you address those issues, this five legged dog claim of reining in health care costs will not fly. According to the expert, Mr. Vosgrove, and not the non-experts, the political class, getting these few elements of life under control would make an incredible dent in our nation's health care costs. Until then, this legislation is still a tail and not another leg.

Five Legged Dog Claim: The first time buyer housing stimulus program gave a great economic boost to the housing industry.
Reality: According to an article summary by Kevin Hassett that was included in the July 23, 2010 issue of The Week magazine, this stimulus program did not stimulate anything. The numbers show that it may have moved up some housing purchases by Americans but once the program ended, housing demand fell though the floor; new home sales in May "dropped to their lowest level in recorded history" which just so happened to be one month after the new home buyer credit ended. Also, as Mr. Hassett correctly points out, some of those that participated in the program would have likely purchased a home anyway so that the credit used for them was money thrown away.

Five Legged Dog Claim: The Cash For Clunkers stimulus program gave a great economic boost to the auto industry.
Reality: This program was just a replay of the ineffective first time buyer housing stimulus program. Demand was shifted, not increased, no incremental market activity was created. Plus, many of those that received Cash For Clunkers Federal rebates would have purchased a vehicle anyway, with or without the program, so the program just threw away taxpayer money in these instances also.

Five Legged Dog Claim: The Patriot Act will protect the country's freedoms, liberties, and safety from terrorism.
Reality: The Patriot Act really does nothing of the sort. It provides the government with extraordinary powers to snoop into our lives with the least amount or provocation, which is obviously not freedom protection, and has only protected us from terrorism so far because of pure luck. The would be Christmas Day Underwear Bomber over Detroit and would be Times Square Bomber failed due to faulty bombing equipment, not the Patriot Act.

Five Legged Dog Claim: The Social Security Trust Fund will provide for you an your retirement.
Reality: the definition of trust fund in my dictionary states that it "is an account that holds money, securities, etc. in trust." Unfortunately, calling Social Security a trust fund does not make it a trust fund. The Social Security Administration holds on to nothing. As money comes in, it is paid out immediately to those that are eligible. If you "trust" and believe that the political class and the Federal government are holding onto the money you pay into the Social Security Trust fund, you are falling for this five legged dog fallacy.

Five Legged Dog Claim: Government pre school programs such as Head Start provide $10 worth of benefits for every tax dollar spent.
Reality: President Obama made this claim but his own HHS department recently released the results of an extensive study showing that those children who participated in the Head Start program were no better or no worse off than those kids that did not participate in the program. In other words, Head Start, on average, is nothing more than an expensive government baby sitting service. Thus, saying it returns a 10 to 1 benefit does not make it return a 10 to 1 benefit.

We could go on and on but you get the point.

The political class is so busy telling themselves and us how they have turned a tail into a leg that the fail to notice that calling it a tail a leg does not make it a leg, i.e. saying they addressed a problem usually means that they did nothing of the sort. Which is why November and Step 39 in "Love My Country, Loathe My Government" are so important. In November, we have a chance to dump out of office all of the incumbent politicians who constantly solve nothing and then constantly brag and compliment themselves about what they did not do. In Step 39, we have the chance to finally impose term limits so that the politicians are one and done and do not have the chance to fall into the five legged dog riddle: claiming they are working so hard yet accomplishing nothing.



Our new book, "Love My Country, Loathe My Government - Fifty First Steps To Restoring Our Freedom And Destroying The American Political Class" is now available at www.loathemygovernment.com. It is also available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Please pass our message of freedom onward. Let your friends and family know about our websites and blogs, ask your library to carry the book, and respect freedom for both yourselves and others everyday.


Also visit the following sites for freedom:


http://www.cato.org/
http://www.reason.com/
http://www.robertringer.com/
http://www.realpolichick.blogspot.com/
http://www.flipcongress2010.com/