Fast forward a week. We arrive at the airport early, I walk up to security, declare that I have medicine and pull the bag out of my carry-on. Aside from the fact that I was pulled to the side and searched for ten minutes because the metal detectors did not like the buttons on my jeans, which the TSA agent noted but proceeded to pat me down everywhere anyway, afraid to use her brain (by noting my demeanor, close-fitting clothing under which nothing could be concealed, etc.) I then had to deal with TSA agents when I came out of the glass box I was confined in during the search, telling me that my medicine would not be allowed on the plane.

So, I spent another ten minutes pleading, explaining, pulling out doctors’ notes, and telling the TSA employees of the conversation I’d had just one week earlier with the TSA representative who’d taken down my contact and flight information and assured me that every airport follows the same rules.

The response I received: smirks, confused looks, laughs, shrugs. The TSA employees at the airport had never heard of the rules I was told on the phone (despite the fact that these same rules are clearly laid out on their website). Then, the manager, the ultimate authority over what does and doesn’t get on the plane, walked over and very nonchalantly said to the agents, “do whatever you want”.

And, just like that, after performing a ‘vapor test’ on the medicine, I was allowed to take it through. (What does the vapor test do? Other than give the security people some semblance of legitimacy, I have no idea.)

While I remained calm during the ordeal, I was shaken up afterward. And, I couldn’t help but marvel at the disaster that is the TSA. They are supposed to keep us safe? Could they be any more disorganized? So, let me get this straight. The TSA is paid for by flyers and taxpayers. It receives funding from 1) the 9/11 fee assessed on airplane tickets, 2) airlines (in other words, people who fly who also presumably pay taxes) and 3) directly from taxpayer support.

After 9/11, the federal government decided to use taxpayer money to create the TSA. So, we paid someone to create the policies, to create a website detailing those polices, to answer phones and consult with flyers like me and explain/reassure them of the policies. And, we pay the security agents at the airport who somehow don’t follow the same polices. How does this make any sense?

Don’t get me wrong – if there is one function the federal government should have, it’s to provide protection. And, I have no problem with being questioned or searched at the airport for I have nothing to hide. But, how much time did these agents waste with me, only to let me take my medicines onboard, when they could have been searching people who were a real threat? And, how about if we must have them, why not hire people we trust to be thinking and rational to make judgments about who does and does not present a real security threat?

While the analogy has been made that having the government run health care will result in health care that makes us feel like we’re at the DMV – waiting in long lines, being at the mercy of the government bureaucrats and employees and having no other choice, I think comparing it to dealing with security at the airport is an even better analogy. They hold all the power – to decide who gets what treatment, who gets to go through and who doesn’t. The TSA is a perfect example of a government organization that is mismanaged and disorganized. It is the epitome of a government creation that has turned into a monster – is this who we want to run our health care?

It’s important to note the differences in their statements then and now, and the extent to which they’ve backed away from the stimulus because they have been using the same rhetoric they used about the stimulus bill to try to pass health care. During the first month of his Presidency, Obama and his administration pushed hard for the stimulus and quickly, warning that “if we don’t move swiftly to put this plan in motion, our economic crisis could become a national catastrophe. Millions of Americans will lose their jobs, their homes, and their health care.“ That is a strong statement by a sitting President. And, this statement nicely sums up the scare tactics and urgency they used to shove the stimulus down Americans’ throats – we have to pass this or the consequences will be dire, and we have to pass it immediately.

As he’s done with the health care bill, President Obama left drafting the stimulus bill up to Congress and spent his time selling the bill – promising Americans that the bill would create jobs, increase lending, increase investment, improve the housing market and get our economy going.

And yet today, unemployment is nearing the double digits, and there is no improvement on the horizon – not in employment numbers, housing numbers, retail numbers or in the markets, and private investors are still sitting on the sidelines. And to top it all off, we are now facing a deficit so huge that none of us can even begin to wrap our brains around it and comprehend just how long it will take to pay off our debts. Just a few weeks ago, for the first time in U.S. history, the deficit passed the $1 trillion mark for this year alone.

This week, with Democrats’ health care proposals in jeopardy, the party put their best spokesman and salesperson out front to once again convince the American people that without the legislation they’re proposing, we will all suffer. The one thing we learned during the President’s press conference is that massive government spending is not the reason for our colossal deficit, health care is! Obama told us that in order to get our deficit under control, we must buy into the Democrats’ health care program. How is that for circular logic?

Fortunately for fiscal conservatives, after the stimulus debacle, Americans are looking at health care reform with a skeptical eye. They’ve watched the government rack up debt and blur the boundaries between the public and private spheres for month. They’re wondering how all this debt is going to be paid for. They know that government spending comes at a price, and there’s no free lunch – not when it comes to the stimulus or health care. And, above all, while our health care is expensive, it is also the best health care system in the world. People come to America for treatment, not the other way around. Passing the stimulus was one thing, but transforming our health care system, putting government at the helm of the most personal decisions we make in our lives is an entirely different story. When is the last time you heard someone bragging about their wonderful experience at the DMV? The Social Security office? At a courthouse? Americans don’t want to deal with government inefficiency and incompetence when it comes to their health care.

Their scare tactics worked to get the stimulus passed. They won’t work when it comes to health care. 53% of Americans now disapprove of Democrats’ health care proposals. Liberals will likely still get some kind of health care bill passed, and perhaps they will claim a victory on the surface. But, a government-run health care system doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon, and ObamaCare looks like it will soon be following in HillaryCare’s footsteps.

*Originally published July 26, 2009 on the American Issues Project Blog, here.

Where is the stimulus money? Why is it taking so long to work its way through the system? One reason, according to The Washington Post is that spending stimulus money requires money. In other words, before it can be spent, stimulus money must first make its way out of the bureaucracy in which it’s trapped. While the national unemployment rate is approaching double digits, Washington D.C.’s unemployment rate has decreased to 5.6%, the lowest unemployment rate of any major city.

And there lies the problem that occurs when government spends large sums of money. As is usually the case, where government is involved, a large amount of red tape is also involved. Sure, strict regulation and oversight of the distribution of funds is necessary when spending such enormous amounts of taxpayer money. But, here is the fundamental problem that conservatives had with the stimulus to begin with – government is incapable of even spending efficiently and swiftly!

So, here are the facts. Stimulus money is lagging, and experts predict that unemployment is likely to continue to rise. 45% of Americans are now in favor of cancelling the stimulus altogether. 77% think the biggest problem facing the U.S. is the inability of government to control spending. These statistics show that the administration may soon deservedly face the wrath of an American public saddled with debt and still out of work.

Yet just this week, instead of looking at the grim statistics and implementing a new plan of action, the President promised to get more money out the door and create 600,000 jobs this summer. 600,000 jobs – another meaningless number not rooted in reality that is sure to have the administration eating their words again in a few months, as Vice President Biden did today on Meet the Press when he admitted that “everyone guessed wrong” in predicting the impact of the so-called stimulus bill.

*Originally published June 15, 2009 on the American Issues Project Blog, here.