Posted by
Lisa on Sunday, September 10, 2006 10:54:59 PM
This linked article is long but it's a message rarely heard by
today's politicians, whether liberal or conservative. I'll post a
couple quotes from it here, but the whole thing is totally worth
reading. Here's the first of two --
"By observing the progress of mankind, we can see that
the things that are good for everyone are the things that have
increased the accountability of the individual, the respect for the individual and the power of the individual to master his own fate.
Judaism gave us laws before which all men, no matter their rank, stood
as equals. Christianity taught us that each person has intrinsic worth,
Newt Gingrich and Pat Schroeder included. The rise of private
enterprise and trade provided a means of achieving wealth and autonomy
other than by killing people with broadswords. And the industrial
revolution allowed millions of ordinary folks an opportunity to obtain
decent houses, food and clothes (albeit with some unfortunate side
effects, such as environmental da mage and Albert Gore)."
In America, you succeed or fail by your own hand. If we all came to
grips with that concept, we wouldn’t require the government to take
care of us. After all, it is OUR money that the government takes
to finance all these bloated, ineffective social programs. If we truly
realized this, we would junk this idealistic bent for the government to
provide everything for everybody.
More P.J. --
"Government is an abstract entity. It doesn't produce
anything. It isn't a business, a factory or a farm. Government can't
create wealth; only individuals can. All government is able to do is
move wealth around. In the name of fairness government can take wealth
from those who produce it and give wealth to those who don't. But who's
going to be the big Robin Hood? Who grabs all this stuff and hands it
back out? (Remember: even in a freely elected system of government,
sooner or later that person is going to be someone you loathe. If
you're a Republican, think about Donna Shalala; if you're a Democrat,
think about Ollie North.)"
Capitalism is not a zero-sum game. In the free market, everybody
benefits. Everybody gets a slice of the pie. The producers of the
wealth always end up with more than those who sit on their couch and
play Xbox all day. The government cannot fix this. That's just the way
it is...and exactly how it should be.
Technorati Tags: P.J. O'Rourke, government