Screaming

I am going to change my position from staunch Republican to “moderate”. This last election (2008) was a turning point in American politics. Without precedence, we have suffered through the vitriol and venom of the last two years. Now we have the Left screaming that we need more entitlements, the Right screaming we need less government and the Tea Party screaming that “incumbent” is a four-letter word. Everywhere we have people screaming, but nowhere is anyone speaking in moderation and trying to move us in the proper direction.

Perhaps the biggest fallacy of the twentieth century was the passage of the Social Security Act. When the government tries to establish a ‘safety net’ for people, it cripples them. What the Act actually did was tell people, “The government is better able to take care of your family than you are”. This led people to the logical conclusion, “If the government is going to take care of my family, then I don’t need to”. Herein lays the rub – the government should not be taking care of the people – that is not in the Constitution. Provide for the common defense – that is in the Constitution. Promote the general welfare – that is in the Constitution. Establish justice, insure domestic tranquility – those are in the Constitution. However, we cannot find, “provide a safety net for all people” in the Constitution.
Unbelievably, even the Federal Government can spend their way into the poor house. Just look at Greece, the cradle of democracy. When the government tries to take care of everyone, then no one has the incentive to take care of themselves. When the government tries to provide for everyone, then no one exists to pay for that provision, which is exactly what happened in Greece. The biggest fallacy of the twenty-first century (so far) is that everyone is entitled to health care. The best health care in the world consists of keeping yourself healthy so that you never need health care. I am not downplaying the marvels of modern medicine, but there comes a point when you have to say, “This is none of the government’s business”.

Last night the Congress voted to re-instate the Death Tax. This means that when you die, everything you own for which you previously paid taxes will be taxed again at the rate of 55%. This new tax takes effect on January 1, 2011. I hope that after the mid-term elections this year, everyone will stop screaming and some voice of reason can be heard.