Ronald Reagan was partly right when he said that government operates by three rules: 1) If it moves, tax it. 2) If it keeps moving, regulate it. 3) If it stops moving, subsidize it. But there is a fourth rule he missed. 4) If government pays for it, then go directly to regulation and subsidization and tax something else to pay for it.

We used to have some things called freedom and personal responsibility in the USA, the former Land of the Free. But people have abdicated their responsibilities and expect government to handle more and more aspects of their lives.

The local Virginia flap of the day is a bill that would allow motorcycle riders to opt out of helmet-wearing. The argument for mandatory helmets is that head injuries incurred by motorcycle riders cause government agencies and insurance companies to incur costs. Which is true, of course. Citizens have given up their right to self-responsibility, to take care of themselves and pay their own bills, to other agencies such as their employers and mis-named insurance companies. And the old saw about "he who pays the piper calls the tunes" applies. The solution would be to put people back in charge of their own health care--in charge of paying for it--and then allow them to make up their own minds about helmets. You want to wipe out your life savings because you like bugs in your teeth and wind in your hair, then that's your right. Trash the helmet and take a chance on trashing your cranium. You pay the piper, you call the tune. But if you ask the government to pay the piper, then you are granting the bureaucrats the power to regulate your activities. You'll be dancing to the bureaucratic waltz.

Which is exactly the problem with socialized medicine, or universal health care, or single-payer, or whatever the euphemism du jour is. Once you pretend that somebody else is paying for medical care, you cede to that somebody, a faceless government bureaucrat, the power to tell you how to live your life to minimize the government's expense. The politicians will promise not to meddle, but they can't help it.

First it's mandatory motorcycle helmets. Then they'll outlaw smoking. (Well, maybe not, since they get so much tax revenue from cigarettes, but they'll make it very annoying to be able to smoke.) Then it's forbidding trans-fats in your food. Then soft drinks. Then they'll outlaw hamburgers and french fries altogether. Then they'll make exercise mandatory. If you don't get out and walk 20 minutes a day, you'll have to pay extra taxes or a fine or maybe even go to jail for a few days where they will have treadmills in the cells and you'll be forced to exercise. Then they will fine parents whose children are fat.

You think I'm exaggerating? It's already starting. Just look around and read the newspapers (somewhere buried in the back pages) or read the internet news web sites.