I want an Opt-Out clause

Is there any way I can opt out of Barack Obama’s version of “America?”

I’m sure if we wanted, we could eventually implement a quasi-socialist economic system like the majority of Americans seem to want these days. It could work, inasmuch as European economies work. That system would take half of your earnings, but would cover all of your health care needs, PAY YOU to go to college, subsidize four weeks of vacation and six months of pregnancy leave. You live out your days as a ward of The State---responsible for nothing more than deciding who to marry and how many kids to have. No need to worry about finding a good health insurance plan, the proper retirement fund, the best doctor to fit your needs. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

The one thing it lacks is an opt-out provision.

Maybe I don’t want a portion of the money government takes from me to “bail-out” those who made mind-numbingly stupid decisions with their personal finances. Perhaps I would not rather subsidize corporations who have operated with a piss-poor business model for decades. Could it be that I’m just a tad leery of the same government that gave us the DMV and the IRS, being in charge of which doctor will operate on my heart one day?

You can argue details of the bailout, the stimulus, and the budget ‘til your face turns blue. The bottom line is that they represent every hard-core liberal’s wet dream---a fundamental shift in the way we think about our Federal Government. Does the government exist to serve us, or do we exist to serve the government?

These are not the best of times for conservative libertarians. While I would like to be able to say, “Thanks, but no thanks” to this trillion-dollar orgy, I don’t have that option. The Collective doesn’t function as well unless everyone participates.