I know this is “old hat” to many of my readers. In fact, I have been accused of preaching to the choir. The truth is that I would like some of you to forward this and some of my other articles to those who may be, in fact, undecided or at least open-minded. After all, facts are facts and history is undeniable. Please consider the following thoughts.
The United States has changed greatly over the last 230 years. These changes have occurred gradually. Each change may have seemed like a good idea when it was proposed. For example. In the 18th Century, property ownership was considered a fundamental requirement in order to vote. This was gradually changed. After all, on the face of it, fairness dictates that every citizen of a nation should have the right to vote. So, this right was extended to virtually every citizen. What could be fairer?
Other changes occurred and the very nature of government, its purpose and its responsibilities, were changed. Interpretation of the Constitution changed and the government went from promoting the general welfare to providing the general welfare. Gradually, the government began to give some people assistance in their day-to-day existence. What could be fairer?
As more people began to rely on government to take care of them, government grew. Our representatives became professional politicians rather than people who did their civic duty and returned to their private lives. In fact, they (our representatives) began to gradually see themselves as vested public servants and awarded themselves retirement funds and other special privileges. Civic duty became “a very nice living.” Remaining in office became their first priority. Barney Frank, Charlie Rangel and Chris Dodd come to mind.
As this situation continued, these citizens were encouraged not to work, and not to venture out to take advantage of the opportunities made available by our Constitution and our capitalist system. They became the “welfare class.” These comprise a good part of the 49% of our citizenry who pay no taxes. They had discovered that they could vote in a group of professional politicians who would continue to generously provide for their basic needs from the public coffers. We have literally generations of people who have been on the public dole all their lives.
Again, in a very gradual manner, our representatives also began to understand that by giving public assistance to people, they could encourage those very people to vote for them. Since the requirement to own property in order to vote had been eliminated, these people became a class unto themselves. They owned no property, many had no steady jobs, and virtually all received some form of public assistance. They vote for the government representative who will continue to “take care” of them. This group of voters grew and grew. They had learned that they personally benefitted from a government composed of representatives who wanted to “provide” for their welfare. The representatives had learned that they could rely on the votes of these people in order to keep their comfortable jobs, expense accounts and salaries -- not to mention whatever other benefits could be squeezed out of their positions.
Over a relatively short period of time, we as a nation created a large class of people who depended on government for their very existence. They had been conditioned to expect this. And who paid for it? Those who retained the concept of personal growth and individual responsibility. These are the people who take the risks and build the businesses and often the fortunes that go with them. In order to continue to provide for those whom the government was subsidizing, these people were taxes at a higher rate than others. After all, they had more money and it only seemed fair for them to sacrifice for the greater good.
Unfortunately, those who took the risks and built the businesses gradually began to see themselves as victims of a system that took care of the unproductive while they themselves were punished for their hard work! As a result, fewer people began to take those risks and build businesses. After all, the more money one makes the more one is taxed. The amount of money going to the government began to dwindle. Those representatives who had kept their seats in government by giving from the public coffers had to continue to raise taxes and increase government responsibility for the new welfare class in order to keep their jobs and comfortable life-styles. Their next step was to grant citizenship to those who had entered our country illegally. These people seemed to offer the next voting block of government dependent welfare recipients.
Alexander Tyler, an 18th Century Scottish professor once said, “A democracy will continue to exist up until the time voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.” We have reached that point in our history. We have a Congress composed mostly of people who will give and give and give until there is nothing left to give. This is called socialism. It has failed around the world and it will fail here, too. As Margaret Thatcher once said, “Eventually, you run out of other people’s money.”
Many well-intended people believe it is the government’s responsibility to provide for the general welfare. This is not correct. The Constitution says the government should promote (not provide) the general welfare. That has been twisted by self-serving politicians. The United States has come to a crossroads. As a nation, we need to recognize what has happened and change it. We need a new class of politicians. Better still, let’s call them true public servants, who put their private lives on hold to do public service for a brief time and then return to it. We need to stop this cancer of a career in politics!
During the last 75 years or more, our elected representatives have created a fiefdom for themselves. They have insulated themselves from the very laws they pass for the rest of us. They have learned how to get re-elected again and again by giving and giving. They have created a welfare class and benefitted from it. They believe that the only answer to any problem is spending more money and that money comes from increased taxes. We can not go on like this. We have just about run out of other people’s money. We are now borrowing from China and printing worthless money. The value of the American dollar has deteriorated significantly.
What can we do? Vote out the liberal/socialist cabal and encourage people to run for office who will be more concerned about the country than about their own political hides!
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