Thanks but No Thanks
Scottish-born British lawyer and writer Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee (1747-1813) is generally attributed as saying:
Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse out of the public treasury. [1]
Additionally, he is attributed with saying:
It is true that nations and empires actually do have “life cycles.” This has been studied by many historians throughout the years and they all have come to about the same conclusion: a lifetime of about two centuries. And they all seem to go through the same life cycle: “from bondage to spiritual faith; from spiritual faith to great courage; from courage to liberty; from liberty to abundance; from abundance to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependency; from dependence back again into bondage. [2]
My perspective is that today, we in America stand at the crossroads of “apathy to dependency”. We have already progressed from Bondage to Spiritual Faith to Great Courage to Liberty to Abundance to Complacency to Apathy. But we do not have to continue down this descending path.
Tytler had it absolutely right. Apathy does lead to dependency. We stand at the crossroads of Apathy and Dependency today. There are real fears and real concerns about our economic future. With so many unemployed nationwide, many feel there is no alternative but turn to the Federal Government to provide for our needs. That is understandable, but misguided.
America – LISTEN UP! Look again at the life cycle of a great nation observed by Tytler. It does not start with a big government. In fact, just the opposite is true. It ends with a big government.
I understand the need for everyone to have some form of basic health insurance. And I agree that a nation as prosperous as ours can do better in making sure that happens. However, we cannot allow the means of reaching that goal take us down a path that leads to dependency on the federal government. The ultimate result will be a fundamental shift in the relationship between our government from “We the People do ordain…” to “We the People are dependent on and work for…”
We are told by our political leaders that the bill cost of health care reform will be paid for in part by a “… new fee on insurance companies (that) would help raise money to pay for the plan. The fee would raise $6 billion a year starting in 2010, and it would be allocated among insurance companies according to their market shares.” [3]
The notion of getting the corporations to pay their “fair share” seems reasonable. In fact, it’s downright enticing. However, economist J. Edward Carter put it this way, “As most college freshmen learn in Economics 101, corporations do not pay taxes, people do. The burden of corporate taxation is ultimately borne by customers (through higher prices), stockholders (smaller dividends and capital gains), and employees (lower wages).” [4]
Interpretation (if one is needed): There is no such thing as a free lunch!
President Obama in his address to the Joint Session of Congress said “Put simply, our health care problem is our deficit problem. Nothing else even comes close [5].” His answer - more deficit spending. Does that make sense to you? According to the Congressional Budget Office report on HR3200, Obama’s health care reform will add $1 trillion dollars to the federal defect by 2019 [6]. We need to get our minds around that number! This might help – to spend $1 trillion dollars, you would have to spend $1 million dollars a day from the time Christ was born until now.
If we allow this to come to pass, we will be yoking our children and grandchildren with a government debt burden that is unsustainable. Through our apathy and complacency, we are sentencing our children to a tax burden that will be oppressive. We are sentencing them to bondage.
Today, we live in a republic democracy and for all its flaws, it is the finest system in the history of the world. At the heart of our system of government is the notion that the government derives its rights and privileges from the people. Changing that relationship so that the rights and privileges of the people are dependent on the government is a fundamental shift away from democracy and towards fascism.
As a nation, we cannot lose the “can do spirit”. We have to look the “government” in the eye and say, “Thanks, but no thanks!” Are we really so bad off that we are willing to trade freedom for tyranny? Is that really what we want to choose for ourselves and our children?
Come on America! This nation was founded by a group of people who got on wooden sail boats and crossed an ocean to escape tyranny. Let’s not put shackles of tyranny back on again!
Footnotes:
[1] Quotes.net
[2] America’s Abundance Has Let to Apathy by Amil Imani, American Chronicle – April 2009
[4] Corporations Don’t Pay Taxes, People Do by Stephen Slivinski; Budget & Tax News, March 2004
[5] Obama’s Health Care Speech to Congress, The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2009