Price Of Freedom Determined To Be $16.67

And you always thought that was a rhetorical question...

Saw this headline (love the juxtaposition of the two, by the way - so counter-logical!) and thought we had a good story here:

But when you click to the New York Times article, it turns out not to be about those non-existent refunds we were promised via Obamacare -  instead,  it's just more class warfare:

Health insurer refunds may stall in employers' hands

...and so we geta whole story about how individuals covered under their employers haven't seen the "Obamacare refund" yet,  as companies decide how to best disburse the money.  The Times throws around figures in the tens of millions, and warn darkly that some companies may offer refunds only  if employees enroll in "wellness programs" (which is exactly like a targeted tax cut - engage in this government-approved behavior, like buying a certain car or hiring a certain individual, and get some of your own money back - except when the private sector does it, it is eeeeevillll...).

But all is not for naught. At the very end of this tedious tale, I finally become enlightened:

At Sage Realty, a building management company in Manhattan with about 90 employees, the comptroller, Lou Pisano, said payroll software would make it easy to return the workers’ 10 percent share of a $15,000 rebate check in a couple of weeks. 

“The insurance companies were basically pocketing that money in the past,” he said, rejecting the idea of applying it to next year’s premium, because “that’s kind of like a moving target.”

 “Most people,” he added, “are happy just getting a little more money in their check.”


My math:
10% of $15,000 = $1,500
$1500 divided by 90 people - $16.67

And so we have determined the price of freedom, as offered by the government and possibly accepted by the American people, should they re-elect Barack Obama this November.

"A little money in our checks" - literally, $16.67 -  is all it will take for us to hand over the best healthcare system in the world to the government, and exchange it for long lines, limited access to care (and reduced quality), rationing, and further bureaucratic involvement in every aspect of our lives, all now in the name of "the public good".

A great deal....for the government, getting an entire nation to volunteer for perpetual servitude for less than the price of a lap dance each.

Anyone who would give up their basic freedoms for so little never comprehended their true value to begin with.  And  if America re-elects Barack Obama, we will surely deserve what comes next.  And we will pine for what we have lost, but the cost to purchase it back will be much, much higher, and might even need to be paid for in blood....