MJ Perry's Carpet Diem: "Legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on. All these plans as a whole—with their common aim of legal plunder—constitute socialism. But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without committing a crime." ~Frederic Bastiat
Monday, June 11, 2012
Bastiat for the Day
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What makes this argument so difficult to have with indoctrinated big government types (even people that don't depend on wasteful government spending to feed their families) is the idea that spending more and more tax money on something is for the common good. Nearly everything becomes an unalienable right to them. Ultimately I think the argument falls on the word "pursuit". It seems many don't think that word refers to actively pursuing something. Our constitution seeks for everyone to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The socialist agenda says, "we are more than willing to trade the government our liberty for a happiness we don't have to pursue." Of course government handouts don't lead to true happiness, or to anything that benefits anyone at all. This inherent laziness deafens them to questions of 'why?'. Why should the government provide health care, schooling, income, food, etc to people who are doing nothing for it? I feel like the answer is something like "that's what we pay them for". But that is a lie. That is what I pay them for but the worst thing about our system right now is that it has divided our country very cleanly into two categories; givers and takers. The suffering of the many is worthwhile for the needs of the few, accept that the number of people willing to do nothing to gain everything is growing a lot faster than the number of people providing everything to those who do nothing. We can never truly lose this argument as socialism fails every time. Much more can be lost in the process, however.
We watch as the socialism of Europe collapse one nation at a time and the failure of the other members of the EU to face the facts, while our elected officials continue to lead us down the same path. Reminds me of lemmings, soon to be like the dodo birds hopefully. We must continue to fight this and try to turn the ship.
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