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In the eyes of most people, the intent of legislation matters more than the outcome. That’s the only way we can possibly explain why most people continue to support federal efforts to make health care more affordable and more available.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that the federal government got seriously involved with interfering with the medical industry. You can argue that it started before then, because it was certainly a gradual thing. But it was in the Great Society programs of the ’60s that the government started pumping massive amounts of money into health care. The purpose was to make quality health care available to everyone.

That’s not what happened, of course. In 1940, you could spend a day in the hospital in Greenville, Ohio, for $4. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $31 today. Do you know any hospital where you can get a day in a room for $31 now? I don’t. Why is medical care so much more expensive today? And why do people trust the people who made it more expensive to fix the problem?

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If you ever wonder why people today know so little about economics, consider this recent short snippet of video below from Canada’s CTV television network. A reporter is explaining to the audience about the difference between assets backed by gold and assets backed by the U.S. government:

Some investors aren’t confident with what gold is backed by or if it’s backed by anything at all, as compared to something like the U.S. dollar. Investors are comfortable that the U.S. dollar is backed by the American government, so no matter what is happening to the American economy, something like the U.S. dollar is backed by the Federal Reserve. That’s going to be around a year from now. That’s a much more comfortable investment for them.

So does that mean that gold isn’t going to be around a year from now — despite being the world’s reserve of value for centuries and centuries?

This woman is reporting financial news for a major television network, yet she doesn’t understand that the U.S. dollar is backed by absolutely nothing. Whether you’re a fan of investing in gold or not, it has long-term intrinsic worth. The U.S. dollar is only worth as much as the Federal Reserve can snooker you into believing it’s worth.

As long as you believe people such as this woman, you’re going to be surprised when the economy collapses. You’l look at the dollars in your pocket or bank account and wonder why they’re worthless. And you’ll wonder why everyone wants gold or silver as payment instead.

It’s now illegal in the state of Illinois to buy Drano or Liquid Plumr without being treated like a criminal. If you insist on buying drain openers, you must have a government-issued photo ID and every purchase will be reported to the state.

No, I’m not kidding.

The genius behind this insanity is a state legislator named Jack D. Franks, who justifies the intrusion for the customer and the expense for the store by citing a couple of attacks on Chicago-area women, who were burned by drain opener.

So let me see if I have the logic of this right. Most households are going to have some form of drain opener in them at one time or another. Does this mean that when there’s some very, very rare instance of an attack with the stuff — everybody who’s bought drain opener is now a suspect? Are they going to search for contraband drain opener at state lines?

In the event of another attack, does Franks expect police to go door to door questioning everyone who’s ever bought drain opener? Is he really this stupid?

I’m going to point out that people sometimes get stabbed with kitchen knives at home, but that doesn’t justify regulating the sale of kitchen knives. Unfortunately, the kind of mental midgets who make the laws might use this reminder as an excuse to require that all kitchen knives be made blunt and non-sharp. It would make just as much sense as Franks’ Drano law.

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