THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS!

That phrase cannot be attributed to any one particular person, but the gist of that saying gives poignancy to today’s liberal thinking of the many government policies that have not turned out the way they were originally intended. Do any government policies ever turn out the way they were intended?

Many of the social programs of the 20th Century were enacted with the intention of doing “good” for society, but after trial and error, the results have been less than envisioned by the “benevolent” people (mainly politicians) making those proposals. Feel good legislation, like trying to help the needy and downtrodden, trying to make amends for the “sins” of the past, and trying to even the “playing field” to make situations more “fair”, have, in many cases, turned out badly, much to the chagrin of the proponents of these misguided programs, but still they push on.

A perfect example of the effects of this phrase is the consequences that resulted from the enactment of President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty”. The intentions of making life more livable for the poor were honorable and compassionate, but the results have been less than fulfilling and, in many cases, downright disastrous. This was the epitome of trying to institute the “Nanny State” mentality into the fabric of our society of which the Obama Administration is now trying to complete the job. Not only has it not eradicated poverty, but it has had some very harmful effects upon some of our most vulnerable citizens. Medicare and Medicaid were setup to make life better for both our senior citizens and the poor. No doubt it has helped seniors who have or had health problems, but like most all benevolent government programs, waste, fraud, and inefficiency are prevalent in the administration of these programs. Both these programs are going broke in a few short years and in order to sustain them; massive infusions of government (our tax dollars) money will be needed to keep these programs afloat. Along with Social Security, these programs are nothing more than government “Ponzi schemes” that will come crashing down in the near future. It makes Bernie Madoff look like a piker.

The “War on Poverty” also exacerbated a problem in the inner cities by encouraging couples not to marry, thereby causing the out-of-wedlock births in the black community to approach 70%, thereby relegating many of these poor people to remain on the government dole with little hope that many of them will be able to free themselves of being dependent on the government for a handout.

Another area where good intentions have gone awry has been in the area of so-called “climate change” (global warming). Most all of us, if not all, want clean air, clean water and less pollution in our lives, but some people have perverted this cause by trying to cash in financially by purposely scaring the people into believing that more rules and regulations are needed or we will be confronted with dire environmental consequences. The pending bill before Congress called “Cap and Trade” (the word tax should be used in place of the word trade) is a perfect example of government sticking its nose into places it has no business to be in. It will raise all our taxes dramatically (it will be especially harmful in this time of economic recession) and it will put a dagger through the heart of our job generating private businesses. It is an anti-business, anti-free enterprise piece of legislation that will prolong our recession well into the future. Even if passed, it will have little or no effect upon our environment as man cannot control Mother Nature, even if a faux recipient of the Nobel Prize tells us otherwise.

Yes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but we can bring back some rational reality in our country and in our lives by electing politicians with a strong conservative background and a philosophy of helping people to help themselves with a minimal amount of government interference. A helping hand instead of a handout is the role of a compassionate government.

Written by Chuck Lehmann