Everybody is talking about the economy nowadays, and in these uncertain times, there are a lot of opinions as to what to do about it, and who should be doing it. In order to get some perspective, it might be a good idea to look at the definition (and especially origins) of the word "economy" courtesy of Merriam Webster.

Despite the origins of the word, most people tend not to answer according to the first definition when asked, "How's the economy these days?" They may even be inclined to tell the person asking the question to check GDP, unemployment statistics, inflation and other factors at the national or even international level. Most people wouldn't discuss their own household or private affairs in that case, with the exception of perhaps saying they're cutting back on certain expenditures "because the economy's bad."

This could in fact lead to the "thrifty and efficient use of material sources" in order to save more for a rainy day or plan for the future. Little do most people realize, by adjusting their own spending, saving or investing habits, they are in fact taking control over the economy, THEIR economy. According to an April 2009 Rasmussen poll, increasing numbers believe that socialism is better than capitalism, with a slim majority of 53% opting for capitalism.

Even in everyday water cooler talk among employees of private sector companies,it's not unusual to hear the question,"what is the government going to do about (insert issue here)?" Health care is one of those issues these days, but certainly not the only one. That this can occur in a country whose success was built on private sector innovation is disturbing.

Before we as a nation add health care to the list of industries we allow our government to nationalize, making another unelected bureaucracy responsible for the "arrangement or mode of operation" of medicine, we need to ask ourselves a very important question, perhaps two.

First, how thrifty and efficient has our federal government been in the use of material sources, namely our taxes? With the national debtat over $11 trillion and unfunded obligations at over $57 trillion, I would think even the least informed citizen would agree with my answer - not very! State and local governments haven't done much better, but that's worthy of a separate article entirely.

Second, given those figures, how much do we trust government to handle our household and private affairs? This would be the same government that recently released the locations of all its nuclear sites and lost a number of laptops containing information on its citizens.

Are these the people we want handling our health care? Are these the people we want handling our retirement? It's time to get the management of the economy out of the hands of government and back in the hands of households, families and individuals.

Does capitalism have its imperfections. Yes, every economic system does. Yet people can make decisions that steer the ship of capitalism in the direction they want from the grassroots by changing their spending, saving and investing habits. Individuals and families can take control of their own personal economies that way.

No such choice exists in government run economies, whether they are called socialist, communist or fascist. Under those systems, towards which we are rapidly headed, one's personal economy is what government says it is, like it or not. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go take care of MY economy, while I still have one to call my own.