Reno Hayek Symposium

The Cloward-Piven strategy, named for two Columbia University socialists, suggests that if the welfare system is intentionally overloaded it will collapse and ultimately destroy the federal fisc. The subsequent chaos will force the electorate to accept socialism as the saving economic system. To call this Machiavellian would be an understatement. Recall Rahm Emanuel’s instructive quip: “You never want a crisis to go to waste.” Now, look at the country three years after the Obama-Democrat election sweep in 2008. Half the country pays no taxes; almost half receives some federal welfare assistance.

The First Amendment prohibits the establishment of a religion and guarantees the free exercise of religion. That freedom has its application in the conscience clause, which allows citizens to avoid mandates repugnant to their religious beliefs. Thus, we had “conscientious objectors” during the war. And since Roe v. Wade, it has protected health care providers from being forced to provide services repugnant to their beliefs.

This latter application was significantly applicable to our medical delivery system in Catholic hospitals. Significant because 16% of the hospital beds in this country are provided by Catholic hospitals. And, significant portions of the non-compensated services are rendered by Catholic hospitals. This comports with the Catholic charitable mission.

Catholic hospitals were delivering medical care long before the government took over this part of the U.S. economy. Medicare and Medicaid only recently came into existence in 1965 as part of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society.”  These social programs continued to grow with George Bush’s Medicare Drug coverage. They have reached a recent apex with Obamacare. With this legislation Obama and the Democrats have taken over fully 16% of the U.S. economy. Catholic hospitals as existing health care providers are compensated for medical services under these social programs, as are other hospitals.

But now Obama under Obamacare, has mandated that Catholic hospitals provide abortion insurance coverage for all employees knowing full well that abortion, the intentional taking of an innocent human life, is abhorrent to the Catholic faith. This leaves Catholic hospitals little choice but to cease serving the communities in which they operate. Such a result will put further strain on the delivery of medical services, particularly Medicaid services and charitable services to the poor. Strain on the welfare system is exactly what Cloward-Piven posits as the necessary step, the sine qua non, to the system overload that would eventually result in socialism.

Now, to review the bidding, half the population pays no income tax, almost half is dependent on government assistance, and Obama is waging a class warfare campaign. He’s right on board with the “Occupy Whatever” movement and is clearly using welfare checks to buy the necessary votes to maintain power.

That Obama would abrogate the First Amendment freedom of religion to further strain the welfare shows how dangerous the man is and how far he would drive the country to socialism. And, if he will intentionally do this with Catholics on the abortion issue, he will stop at nothing. What will prevent him from conditioning FCC licensing on a loyalty oath, or federal education aid on party registration, or federal contracts on direct union membership rather than prevailing wage compliance. All these are contrary to the basic freedom and limited government upon which this country was founded.

If you think this view of Obama’s actions are far fetched, I invite you to listen to Fr. Sammie Maletta’s homily claiming his right as an American citizen and duty as a Catholic priest to object to this violation of First Amendment’s rights, here. This priest has credentials as a civil attorney and has intelligence and courage that few bishops have. He correctly predicts socialism will result.