Silly Me

Think I'm over-reacting and that there's nothing to fear of a government take-over?

Visit RealClearPolitics here and read about how deep the government's reach into private companies has become. The US federal government now has ownership stakes in over 500 companies.

America was created by entrepreneurs of one kind or another. Allowing the government to continue this trend of Socialization/nationalization will stifle that which made the United States great.

The article was written by Sen. Thune and he closes with what appears to be a very good idea.

To stop this dangerous course of action, I have introduced the Government Ownership Exit Plan Act. This legislation would put an immediate end to government purchases of additional direct ownership interests of private companies. It would also prohibit government officials from making or influencing business decisions when it comes to the companies in which the government already has an ownership interest.

It is equally important to set an exit strategy for this unprecedented government intrusion. The Government Ownership Exit Plan sets a hard deadline for the final termination of government ownership interests in private companies and puts our economy back on the path to competitiveness and private ownership, not governmental control. The legislation would require the Treasury to sell any ownership stake in a private entity by July 1, 2010. Revenue from the sale of these assets would be used for debt reduction.

If we do not act now, government ownership of these private entities could persist for decades. If we want to once again promote free market principles and the private ownership of business, it is time to act.