Stocks continue to make new recovery highs. It's no coincidence that, at the same time, President Obama's approval ratings are making new lows. And the probability that his so-called health-care reform, an attempt to have government take over what amounts to about 17% of the U.S. economy, is heading for defeat.

Let's take ideology out of it. This is simply an investment question. There's just no way it's good for the economy -- or good for stocks -- for the government to take over a critical sector, and tax everybody in order to do so.

Insure the uninsured is, inevitably, going to be a very expensive proposition. Many of the uninsured are people whom no insurance company wants to insure because they are already so sick that to take them on would be a huge money-loser. Does that offend your sense of brotherly love? Then voluntarily contribute money to the Red Cross to help them -- don't ask me or your neighbor or the small business across town to pay for your sense of what's right.

Have you actually read the bill currently being considered by the House of Representatives? Do you have any idea what it would do business? And to jobs? I know the answer. You haven't read it. And neither has anyone in Congress. Rep. John Conyers (D., Mich.), admitted as much this week when he said, "What good is reading the bill if it s a thousand pages and you don t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?"

I've read it. If you really care, so can you. Just for starters, check out Sections 312(b)(1)(a) and (b). That's where employers are mandated to pay 72.5 percent of the cost of medical insurance for individual employees, or 65 percent of the cost for employees' whole families. Whether they want to or not -- all of a sudden, instead of an employer just providing a job, he has to also provide health insurance.

Then look on the next page at Section 312(b)(4). That's where it says that employers can't reduce the salaries of employees to make up for the costs of buying their health insurance.

Think about that for a second. That means that this bill is, quite simply, forcing employers to give employees a raise. Not in money, but in the form of insurance. What if an employer can't afford it? Don't ask.

It's exactly like a minimum-wage law. Sure, it sounds good -- the humanitarian thing to do. But stop and think what it means for an employer, who may already be paying his people all he can possibly afford. Force him to pay them more, and only two things can happen. Either he fires them -- and, if he can, replaces them by outsourcing to China and India -- or he goes out of business. In which case they lose their jobs anyway.

So here's the choice for uninsured workers. Either have a job and be uninsured, or lose your job and still be uninsured.

No wonder that the latest polls indicate that 42% of Americans oppose this so-called reform, while only 36% support it. I'm against "majority rule" when the majority decides to impose its arbitrary wishes on everybody else. But in this case, so-called health care "reform" doesn't even have majority support. So why are we punishing the economy when this isn't even what the American people want to do?

Make no mistake about it. This is a test case. Over the August recess, members of Congress are going to go back their districts and talk to voters about this. When they come back, this is either going to happen or it's not.

If it does happen, we'll have made the health care problem in this country even worse. The problem is that so many people have their health care costs paid for by someone else, there is no market discipline to keep prices under control. Obama's idea will make that problem absolute and universal. Health costs will only rise faster than before.

And if this initiative is enacted, government is responsible for paying those rising prices, then here is what will happen. First, government spending will explode. Even if everything goes perfectly, this thing is going to cost at least a cool trillion dollars over just 10 years -- and the first years will be the cheapest, while it is still getting geared up.

That means more taxes and more government debt at the same time as the baby boom generation starts to draw Social Security and Medicare benefits. It's going to be the perfect storm.

The inevitable reaction will be price controls. Throughout U.S. history, whenever government imposes price controls, the result is shortages (remember the oil crisis of the 1970s?). And when there are shortages, there will be rationing (again, remember the oil crisis of the 1970s?).

If Congress comes back in September and does not enact this mad scheme, then we have a chance to naturally grow our way out of all our national problems -- without being saddled with new taxes, new debt, shortages and rationing.

So over the next month, as you contemplate what to do with your stock market investments in the face of what looks like a pretty nice little rally -- maybe even a whole new bull market -- keep a very sharp eye on the headlines.

Congress could take away this bull market in a heartbeat, just to satisfy its far-left supporters who want nationalized health care at any cost or consequence. Don't be stupid. If you see that coming, then be ready to get out.

Because soon after we'll be testing the March lows.