The Oppression Of A Thousand Cuts

     Amidst all the debates on gun control, the fiscal cliff and why Hillary Clinton's concussion seemingly only effects her ability to answer questions about Benghazi, was the release of a data point that went virtually unnoticed. It was reported that the Federal government now has its long and expansive fingers into 9 out of every 10 mortgages in this country. This means that with Federal authorities now controlling education through student loans, the banking industry through the massively burdensome Dodd/Frank law and health care, we are officially a Socialist country.
     It's not just that government control of housing is a bit authoritarian, but aren't we still suffering the effects of a financial crisis caused in large part to government interference in the housing market? And for those who believe that the Federal government's manipulation of the housing market through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was not responsible for creating the sub-prime mortgage debacle which lead to the collapse, look at our neighbors to the north in Canada. The Canadian housing market has remained strong and thriving these last 4 years exactly because they did not have government-created sub-prime mortgages for the expressed purpose of allowing lower income people to buy houses they couldn't afford. Canadian housing did not suffer a setback, nor did their economy as a result of an artificial market driven by Liberal government policy.
     Illustrative of the unnecessary level of government involvement in the housing market is the Federal regulation which requires a filing with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, even in home sales which require no mortgage. This means that a buyer who is paying cash for their new home, must still allow the Federal government to poke their big old Pinocchio nose into their private business. With this much government involvement, it will be a miracle if we ever have anything resembling a normal housing market again, let alone a thriving one like our Canadian neighbors have. The next logical progression for this government intrusion into the private sector is edicts which aim to control where and how people live. The Federal government's control of health care, its control of food through food stamps and school breakfast, lunch and dinner programs and now its control of the housing industry is Orwellian in nature.
     Not only does government control rear its ugly head in the mortgage end of the housing market, but now the Environmental Protection Agency has exerted even more government control through an ever increasing repertoire of regulations aimed at reducing lead levels. Lead is the latest boogie man created by the left for the expressed purpose of growing government. A homeowner can spend thousands of dollars to rid their home of unacceptable levels of lead to pass the government requirements, only to fail again in 6 months or a year. This is because that lead is in the soil and on the sidewalks in levels that are unacceptable, especially in areas where there is or has been industry. That lead gets carried or blown into the home and can cause the home to fail a lead test days after it has passed. At present the lead Nazis are only terrorizing rental and other commercial properties, but it won't be long before they will inspect every home on a regular basis.
     I have always wondered how people of a nation could readily accept oppression. But my mistake was in thinking that it came all at once, it doesn't. This is the oppression of a thousand cuts which rips at our Constitution, bleeds dry our wealth and ultimately takes the soul of a once great nation.

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