Friday, August 7, 2009

Just Shootin' From the Hip.

I thought I would just opine today. If you asked someone to do something for you, and every time they did it, it was a disaster, how many times would you have to go through this process before you did something different? Some smart person once defined insanity as, "Doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting a different result." This is very relevant today.

If you were working on your personal finances, would you increase your debt in order to pay off your debt?

If there was a benevolence program in your town for those who were less fortunate than you, would you participate as a recipient even though you didn't need the assistance?

How could you as a taxpayer possibly participate in a hair brained scheme like "Cash for Clunkers"? You and your neighbors are paying car dealers to give away money that is not theirs in the first place to buy your old car and destroy it. We are already holding the note on all these failed automobile companies and yet we blindly participate in yet another hair brained scheme to put us further in the hole. Our brilliant Senate just passed an extension of this "Green Scheme" that will do nothing but further bankrupt the U. S. Treasury.

I can say from years of mind numbing experience working for the federal government, nothing they do is done with the taxpayer in mind. I never figured out who they have in mind.
We had several class action law suits for various actions by the government in violation of their own rules for others about how employees should be paid, or treated. They prosecuted private business concerns for violations of these rules. However, they considered themselves immune when it came to their employees. I could have joined the suits for about twenty five dollars, but I knew that the people who had valid cases would receive only a portion of the ultimate judgement, while over billing class action law firms would be getting tax dollars far in excess of what they should have charged. At some point, it comes down to personal responsibility and tough choices. If you opt for the handouts just because you can, then you are robbing your children of their birthright. What's wrong with government is what's wrong with us.

Do you think any of the politicians who vote on their own salaries and vote themselves out of having to pay into any of the government programs they so highly tout are concerned in the least about this country or your tax burden? I can assure you they are not. Do you think benevolence drives their thinking when they pass bills to regulate industry into bankruptcy to satisfy some fringe element of their constituency? I can assure you it is all about power. The same however is true for those businesses who get in for the quick buck and sell their worthless product back to the American taxpayer. It is a vicious cycle of callous behavior by greedy and amoral individuals from every aspect of our society.

However, that being said, it is the business of private industry to get us out of this morass. The federal government is way out of line even attempting to regulate and control the free market. No where in our constitution are they given such powers. The various individual states making up the United States gave the federal government certain limited power to work for the people of this country in four specific areas; National Security, Interstate Commerce, Taxation, and the Manufacture of Currency. The rest of the power remained with the States. Look at the things the federal government has stuck its greedy fingers in and tell me how they fit into the four categories listed above. They don't. Right thinking and acting American citizens should control the free market. If a businessman is not operating in a fair manner, then the citizens should not patronize the business and it will fail. A new opportunity then arises for a new business to form to meet the need. When the federal government steps in and pours illegal tax dollars into the private sector, it prevents the system from working properly. A government cannot live long over taxing its citizens. Initiative will be killed and the system will collapse.

The answer lies in getting the federal government back within the bounds set out by our Constitution, and making sure we are responsible as citizens. We must wean ourselves from the government teat.

Home ownership is not a right.

Health insurance is not a right.

Medical care is not a right.

Financial assistance is not a right.

An education is not a right.

A pension is not a right.

And the list goes on and on. These are things we work hard for. You don't work, you don't get paid. You don't get paid, you don't eat. You don't eat you starve. I can assure you if we let people get hungry enough, they would find something to do. We are all going to experience this if we don't put a stop to this run away train in Washington. Let's not wait to make the tough choices.

Any clod can have the facts, but having opinions is an art.
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Charles McCabe