I was originally going to title this week's column "Assault on the Private Sector," but I realized that the private sector is America and that its superiority to the public sector is what makes America great. So I renamed Barack Obama's presidency the Assault on America, because that is exactly what he isdoing.

Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt, Democrats in Washington have been looking for every excuse possible to destroy the private sector and replace it with the federal government. This began with the New Deal, and since then we have seen such programs as Johnson's Great Socity and such laws as Carter's Community Reinvestment Act that have made America a difficult place for businesses to thrive.

This year, a financial meltdown caused entirely by Democrats in government (the public sector) has been spun as an excuse to increase their own power. A deluge of news reports and Democrat speeches - even John McCain's statements during the campaign - have laid the entire blame for this crisis at the feet of capitalism on Wall Street. Where it belongs is at the feet of government on Constitution Avenue. Rather than make this clear, our leaders and the media have obliterated the truth in their never-ending quest to hijack America. This misconception has now led to the biggest policy blunder of the decade.

Last week, a Merrill Lynch executive had his suite renovated for $1.5 million. The media frenzy was so great that he was forced to pay for the renovation out of pocket. GM executives couldn't fly to Washington this fall in private jets, yet Obama's inauguration set the record for the most private jets in DC history (around 600) and there is not one whisper of outrage.

Ever since the TARP funds have been distributed, every little purchase that could be deemed as an indulgence by these companies has been ridiculed and itemized on the news. If only Congress paid so much attention to its own expenses! Why not itemize last year's $2.9 trillion budget? The government wastes far more of our own money than Merrill Lynch does.

Bloomberg's news wire took the trouble to tell us exactly what Merrill Lynch spent its money on for this renovation, in an effort to stir up animosity towards Wall Street. Such detail in the article included the payment of $87,000 for area rugs, $25,000 for a pedestal table, and $68,000 for a 19th-century credenza (I don't even know what that is). I am now going to extend such a courtesy to Congress, itemizing their latest bill, the economic porkulus of nearly $1 trillion. You may judge for yourself what relation any of the following expenditures have to immediately rejuvenating our economy.

For Healthcare:

• $87 billion: temporary increase in Medicaid matching rate
• $39 billion: support those who lose jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer-based healthcare and to provide short-term options to be covered by Medicaid
• $20 billion: health information technology
• $4.1 billion: preventative care

For Education, Science, and Technology:

• $80 billion: local school districts
• $15.6 billion: incrase Pell grant by $500
• $15 billion: rewards for states meeting performance measures
• $10 billion: science facilities and instrumentation
• $6 billion: expand broadband internet access
• $6 billion: higher education modernization

For Energy and the Environment:

• $32 billion: power grid improvements
• $31 billion: make government buildings more energy-efficient
• $19 billion: environmental restoration
• $16 billion: retrofit public housing to be energy-efficient
• $6 billion: weatherize modest-income homes

Unemployment:

• $43 billion: unemployment benefits, job training
• $20 billion: increase food stamp benefits

Transportation:

• $30 billion: highway construction
• $10 billion: transit, rail

Et al.:

• $25 billion: public safety
• $4 billion: local law enforcement

Unlike Merrill Lynch's indulgences, every dime of this spending is taxpayer money. Furthermore, the amounts are astronomical compared toa  few pithy millions on an office. (Has anyone asked how much Barack Obama's renovations of the White House are going to cost?)

This bill is classic liberal legislative procedure. Within ten days of the inauguration, Barack Obama and his pets in Congress have doubled our deficit in the name of the bad economy, and what's more, with programs that cannot possibly create any long-term or short-term economic aid. They would simply have you believe: the private sector has failed you, so turn to us!

The Republican alternative to the stimulus was a wonderful package, elegantly simple and doubtlessly effective. It included a 10% reduction of all income taxes, a 10% reduction of the corporate tax rate (to equal the average of the European Union), a freeze on the capital gains tax, immediate expensing/tax deductions on corporate assets, an incrase of the tax credits to families from $1,000/child to $5,000/child, and a 1% reduction on spending for the next fiscal year. These steps, with some others, would unquestionably help companies restructure and grow witout the government's interference, while giving families permanent financial relief to buy from these companies (why would anyone use a stimulus check for a purchase if the knew their taxes were going up in a year or two anyways?). With the stroke of a pen and not a penny of spending, the GOP could have saved our economy and prevented the death of capitalism. Alas, such legislation was not written by Republicans before 2006.

By slowly giving money out, even in very small amounts, to companies in New York and Detroit, the Democrats in power are preparing to control every major business in America. As soon as these companies accept anything from Congress, such expenses as an office renovation will be explored and exposed to a far greater degree of detail and outrage than any of Congress's wasteful spending. Don't be surprised if, in the next couple years while Democrats are still guaranteed power, the government starts controlling business moves and product development. We are slowly on the track to nationalization.

I will always trust the private sector before the public sector. the most overpaid CEO cannot tell me what light bulb I have to use or what type of car I have to drive. He is at my mercy, at the consumer's mercy. The government is not. It can just print more money (and someone has to win elections - the lesser of two evils is still an evil). In the end, all I want to do is live my own life! I don't want the government to interfere. And liberals cannot grasp this concept. They must control everything and everyone.

As long as Democrats are in power in this country, the private sector is at risk. They will stop at nothing to use the government and its control of the national currency to destroy free enterprise and force total dependence on them. This assault on America must end, and our only hope is the Republican Party. This past debate was a good start - it is now the GOP's duty to explain to America why conservatism and less government is the only way to protect this great nation. This will, slowly but surely, pave the road to victory in 2010 and 2012.