One of my favorite sayings is from Ronald Reagan, who said the scariest 10 words in the English language are: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you.” Well, with great humility to those leaders and visionaries I keep on a Word document on my desktop, I ‘m going to add to my own little ditty to that list.

This is what happens when the government is in the loan guarantee business — everyone’s approved.

For those of you who don’t know how the government’s mortgage plans have turned out for this country, I’ll give you the synopsis.

By subsidizing and guaranteeing more than three-quarters of the mortgages in this country, a whole bunch of people who had no business getting a mortgage got one.

The government eliminated any risk or responsibility the bank or loan company should have and, as could be predicted, these mortgages defaulted.

General Motors and Chrysler also got “guaranteed” loans from our government. But not to worry, says D,C,, as the loans have been “paid back.” Really? The two companies together received in the area of 50 billion of your taxpayer dollars. They have paid back maybe a third of the money. Much of the funding these companies used to “pay” the government back came from …. federally guaranteed loans.

So this brings me to the next “You’re Approved” brought to you by the federal government: student loans. Did you know the federal government now is in control of more than 80 percent of this market, with loans under its portfolio approaching nearly $1 TRILLION? I do, because I own some of these loans. I also know one other thing.

I simply see no way I will ever pay them back as their balances grow faster than the payment amounts can bring them down. And unlike GM and Chrysler, there’s no way to manipulate the laws in this country to rid myself of this ever increasing debt, as the loans cannot be discharged.

Did you know that the Department of Education has a SWAT team that has been bursting into homes in the middle of the night to find delinquent loan holders? Did you know that Social Security recipients are having their benefits garnished because they can’t pay the loans back? Did you hear that? These student loans are so punitive in their setup that folks who took them out and lived TO SOCIAL SECURITY AGE HAVE NOT FOUND A WAY TO PAY THEM OFF. And folks, there’s millions of us.

Let me ask you this. Think back to when you were 18. Would you have loaned $10,000 or $15,000 of unsecured credit every year for the next five or so years for some kid to get an education that teaches little to no marketable job skills, all based on their signature? We now have millions of folks all running around trying to figure out a way to pay back loans that are impossible to pay. This is what happens when the government says everyone should get an education. It has subsidized and guaranteed a trillion dollars of mostly bad debt for those who can least afford to pay it back. And because the government has subsidized the belief you must have a college education to be considered successful, the cost of education has skyrocketed, creating more student loan debt.

Here’s another winner brought to you by our state and federal government: The unemployment insurance scam. In a story you will see only in the Business Times here in the Grand Valley, more than 35,000 employers in Colorado have “been approved” and now must make interest payments for a loan the state took out from the federal government to continue to pay people their seemingly never-ending unemployment benefits. I’ve been informed that, “Based on my claims history, your company will be required to make a payment this year.”

I’ve been in business for 11 years in Colorado and over that time, one (ONE!) unemployment claim has been filed by a former employee of mine. Now mind you,

I’m not foolish enough to believe that it’s because of my history I have to pay. The fact is, my doors are open, and the state has to make someone pay. But folks, this is but the tip of the iceberg — and not just because only God knows what the principle is.

Did you know there are now more than 30 states in the same boat as Colorado? The fact is, some of them are refusing to pay the interest, which now means the Feds will soon come back on the businesses in those states with a vengeance, just like it will have to with student loan holders. Anyone see a pattern?

“You’re approved” is government-ease for something very scary: A one-stop shop for all of your debt. Just make that check out to the US Treasury, as pretty soon, all of your debt will be with the Feds. That is, until the brain trust in charge decides you don’t get a check at all and it would be easier to give you an allowance. The government is messing all of this up to its advantage. It’s the only logical conclusion I can come to.

“You’re approved” also means “I guarantee it” whether you signed on the dotted line or not.

Well, someone has to.