We'll Provide the Bread, You Provide the Circuses

The slide into the nanny state continues, and the leading Democrat has a nifty idea: pay people $5000 for every baby they crank out.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that every child born in the United States should get a $5,000 "baby bond" from the government to help pay for future costs of college or buying a home.

Clinton, her party's front-runner in the 2008 race, made the suggestion during a forum hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.

"I like the idea of giving every baby born in America a $5,000 account that will grow over time, so that when that young person turns 18 if they have finished high school they will be able to access it to go to college or maybe they will be able to make that downpayment on their first home," she said.

The New York senator did not offer any estimate of the total cost of such a program or how she would pay for it. Approximately 4 million babies are born each year in the United States.

Does it matter how much it will cost? Money is no object when it comes from other people.

The more I watch what's going on in this Presidential campaign the more depressed I become. We're still more than a year away from November 2008 and the Democrats are falling all over themselves proposing new government spending on a scale that would have made Franklin Roosevelt's head melt like one of the Nazis at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. On the positive side, we should be able to tap a new, unlimited power source: the Founding Fathers spinning in their graves should provide enough energy to light up the Eastern seaboard.

Understand something: Lady Macbeth's primary goal here is simply get herself elected. However, giving people government money serves another, more long-term purpose... as people become dependent on the government it becomes far easier to manipulate them. "Don't vote for that guy! HE'LL TAKE AWAY YOUR BENEFITS!" We saw this during the Social Security battle a few years ago. Bush's modest idea to let people invest a few frikkin' percent of their SS taxes was savaged as an attempt to destroy Social Security. It will be the same if Hillary's scheme here passes, or if (when) we get socialized health care in this country. "Don't vote for that guy, HE'LL CUT YOUR MEDICAL BENEFITS!" Bind people to the government dole and they'll do anything you want to keep the supply of money coming in. It's essentially a scheme for permanent power.

In the meantime, Americans continue to pay far more attention to Britney's latest crash or OJ's latest felony than they do to the fact that they're being manipulated. In 2008, half the voters in this country will choose a candidate who promises to take away their troubles, while the other half will vote for a candidate who promises to take away almost all their troubles.