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THE MILITANT JEFFERSONIAN
columnist: Republicae

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Topic: Economic Policy

Capitalism and the Poverty Fiction


The government is no more the social worker of this country than it is the policeman of the world, it can only fail on both accounts; the reason for such failure is that the government was not created to fulfill such functions nor is it equipped to fulfill them.
by Republicae
(libertarian)
Saturday, January 10, 2009

Perhaps one of the greatest fictions found in this country is that of the mixed economy, highly centralized and managed, yet it is little more than a massive burden, particularly on those of the ever-expanding lower-income classes. It is absolutely erroneous to believe that the government can produce an effective substitute for a purely capitalistic free market. In fact, I would suggest that the product of such a government-oriented economy is a drain on real economic progress in this country that actually produces the opposite results. Capital is displaced on a massive scale due to the multitude of government programs, interventions, and spending. It is unfortunate that we have come to believe otherwise. The cost of a planned economy is enormous, in fact, it is incalculable in every since of the word, including future potential. We rarely consider the destructive powers of government policies in this country; in fact we rarely consider the numerous negative consequences of such policies at all.

Lew Rockwell rightly said: "the failure of government illustrates something extremely important about the structure of reality that most people are likely to forget. It comes down to this: statesmen and public officials, no matter how powerful they may be, cannot finally control social outcomes."

Indeed, I would go further and state that not only are social outcomes beyond the scope of government control, but also economic outcomes are beyond it power. If only the government could take its lead from business. Successful entrepreneurs are hard-working, innovative, productive, and deliver products and services to society without the need to tax anyone, print money or regulate others. They offer their products to the public without coercion and the public and choose whether or not it wishes to buy their products. That is not the case with government; it mandates dependency, eliminates choice and coerces compliance.

I am still constantly amazed when those who advocate massive government assistance to the poor fail to realize that there is a definite cause and effect at work that has rarely involved capitalism, but government intervention into the market. Remember, the public sector will always be held at a lower standard than the private sector; this "attitude" is easily seen throughout government and in the way politicians view their role in our society. This translates into several policy doctrines that are intended to protect and provide for the "poor", of course for such a translation to take place capitalism must constantly be denigrated, for it is the only capable alternative to government and government power to exert is coercive power over society.

Thus it appears that the government, while attempting to abolish poverty, has actually contributed to the spread of poverty. The push to break the "cycle of poverty" using government intervention has been a utter failure; instead of breaking generational poverty, it has effectively contributed to it continuation over the last several decades. Yet, despite all the evidence, the government continues to press forward with its good intentions. When aid to those in poverty was made available, like aid to those with disabilities, the government found that their ranks not only began to swell, but continue to swell. The enticement of government assistance for those who were already in poverty and even those who were not, provided an incentive to either remain in poverty or enter the ranks of the poor. The government's programs taught generations how to live in a constant state of dependency.

The problem, of course, is that the solution is not solution at all, and rarely provides for an exit to get people off the government dole. In fact, there are still instructive classes on how to get the most from the government programs. Similarly, the ranks of the disabled increased dramatically once disability benefits were introduced. Likewise, the incentive for government social workers to increase their roles should be obvious. There is, after all, nothing like a self-perpetuating system of job security. "Helping the poor" is always a good selling point for government appropriations. I would think by now we would all know that bureaucratic, centralized control over any of our lives cannot provide happiness, security or economic advancement to those who fall under the "protective" arm of the government. All one need do is drive into any public housing complex to see that the government is ill-equipped to provide a way out.

So, after decades of government "support", the plight of the poor is no better, one would think that if a "solution" does not solve a problem then it should not be considered a solution. It is the very nature of government programs to perpetuate themselves, to seek more Congressional funding, all under the guise of a solution. The conundrum is that such government agencies must always ensure that the solution continues to remain a part of the problem otherwise their reason for existing would no longer be considered valid, their funding would dry up and their employees would enter another government incentive program called unemployment.

I am sure it would be quite surprising to most people to find out that there are entire divisions of bureaucrats in Washington specifically dedicated to providing new recruits to the various government dependency programs. Perhaps one day the People of this country will realize the futility of such "solutions".

The government is no more the social worker of this country than it is the policeman of the world, it can only fail on both accounts; the reason for such failure is that the government was not created to fulfill such functions nor is it equipped to fulfill them. Even with the illusion of unlimited resources, it is not capable of replacing the forces within our society or economy that countermand its intervention.

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©2009 Republicae, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Saturday, January 10, 2009
Last modified: Sunday, January 11, 2009

The views expressed in this article are those of Republicae only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Republicae is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

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Reader Comments:

Posted By: Wingnut
Date: 2009-01-11 08:01:19

Readers... don't believe this bag of bison snot for a single moment.  Author... you DO see the pyramid scheme symbol on the back of the USA one dollar bill, right?  You DO see the servitude infestation in capitalism, right?  And do you see the "pay up or lose your wellbeing" Chicago mob-like felony extortion widespread within capitalism?  Do you see the "join or starve" felony extortion done to the 18 year olds... by this ugly competer's church called capitalism?  See how forcing competer's religions onto 18 year olds... kills membership in the cooperator's church (Christianity/socialism)??  Do you understand that AmWay (American Way) (New World Order) got "the exclusive" (legal tender) on the TYPE of survival coupons (money) accepted in supply depots (stores) and leverages 18 years olds into the organization via that felony activity as well?  (It puts AmWay-coupon slaving requirements called price tags... on all the survival goods).  Do you understand how farmyard pyramids work... from your childhood??  Remember??  Upper 1/3 are "heads in the clouds" while the kids on the bottom ALWAYS GET HURT from the weight of the world's knees in their backs?  Still with me? Do you see anything illegal, immoral, or just plain sick... in any of this pyramid scheme's activities?

Us American Christian socialists are still patiently awaiting the natural fall of the pyramid-o-servitude, or the busting of the free marketeers felony... by the USA Dept of Justice.  Us Christians are VERY CLOSE to issuing a cease and desist order until the servitude and inequality goes away... which means it turns into a commune.  Commune is a word we LOVE when used in the word "community"... but its one the caps HATE when used in the term "commune-ism".  Go fig.  PROGRAMMED!!

Time to level the felony pyramid scheme called capitalism.  Abolish economies and ownershipism worldwide, and hurry.  Economies just cause rat-racing, and rat-racing causes felony pyramiding.  BUST IT, America!  Look to the USA military supply/survival system... (and the USA public library system) for socialism and morals done right.  Equal, owner-less, money-less, bill-less, timecard-less, and concerned with growth of value-criteria OTHER THAN money-value.  Quit doing monetary discrimination immediately, and make it illegal.  There are MANY measurement criteria of "value"... not just dollars.  Try morals, efficiency, discrimination-levels, repairability, etc etc.  Economies are cancerous tumors, and to cheer for their growth... is just insane.  Profiting causes inflation, so if caps LIKE inflation, and if they LIKE a terrible time in afterlife when they meet the planet's ORIGINAL OWNER before caps tried to squat it all with ownershipism, then keep it up with the felony pyramiding.  I dare you.  While us Christians are finally bulldozing that pyramid scheme back to level, lets make servitude and "join or starve" (get a job or die) illegal in the USA, and lets level the architecture seen in USA courtrooms, too.  Right now, USA courtrooms are church simulators or "fear chambers", by special design.  Sick.

Larry "Wingnut" Wendlandt
MaStars - Mothers Against Stuff That Ain't Right
(anti-capitalism-ists)
Bessemer MI USA

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Posted By: Republicae
Date: 2009-01-11 09:38:04

Wingnut....

Your screen name perfectly, I mean perfectly describes every single word of your comment. You poor, poor man, you have swallowed it all haven't you and now in the deep dark recesses of your paranoid mind you attempt to make an intelligent and coherent comment from under the bed where you hide, guess what? You utterly failed, in fact you failed so completely that I am actually amused that anyone with any degree of stability would even spout out such lunacy in public. 

I suspect that your Grandmother never told you that it is always wise to chew before you swallow, you didn't heed her good advice did you?

The bulk of your incoherent jabber is not worth commenting on I assure you. Please go into your bathroom, stand in front of the mirror, splash some very cold water on your face and slap yourself about twenty times.

 

Hilarious, truly hilarious!!! 

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Posted By: Master C
Date: 2009-01-11 11:49:39

Wing-NUT!

I couldn't make it through this confusing diatribe of misanthropic jibberish.  If you're trying to make a point, you have to make it clear enough so that even some of us who don't take the same medication as you do can understand it. 

You should try again.  I couldn't tell if you are a pathetic thinker or just wacked out on some powerful mind-altering drug. 

Master C

 

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Posted By: Filus Publius
Date: 2009-01-11 16:59:56

Will miracles never cease ... Republicae and MC (and myself) agree on something!!!!

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Posted By: Republicae
Date: 2009-01-11 19:19:22

Filus.... yeah, you never know when a miracle can thunder down from the blue....LOL

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Posted By: Wingnut
Date: 2009-01-12 04:08:49

Ahh, I must have hit some sensitive areas... considering these kids took it personal instead of addressing my claims and staying on-subject.  Nice.  Personal bash til ya vomit, gang.  You still know I'm right about capitalism.  Do a Google IMAGE SEARCH for 'pyramid of capitalist' and see the 1911-made picture that exposes this Free Mason/Illuminati sham/con called capitalism.  Yet still, a bunch of gullibles bought into it, hook, line, and sinker.  The capitalists didn't even check to see if a string was attached!  Now THAT's easy fishing, huh? 

 

Own up to what you got conned-into, caps.  Do it now.  Pyramids like capitalism are nothing but herd control systems, and they are packed with servitude/slavery.  Own up.... and then clean up... by leveling your inequality festival.  Check how many caps are force-ins and how many are volunteer joiners.  Look at what you've built, condoned, promoted, and joined. 

 

Now try to find a tiny droplet of kindness and Christianity, and get on subject instead of bashing on me.  I didn't invent the stupid pyramid scheme-o-servitude called capitalism, I just studied it and know what it is.  Lets start simple.  Can we discuss whether or not capitalism is a pyramid scheme and whether its legal for an organization like the free marketeers... to have an exclusive on the type of survival coupons allowed... to get survival supplies?  Can we do that, without being so personally offended at me busting capitalism?  Love, Wingnut

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Posted By: Republicae
Date: 2009-01-12 06:17:11

No Wingnut, you just exposed a very incoherent jumble of a very strange type of indoctrination. 

 Capitalism is a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned.

Your Quasi-Marxist-Christo-Superstition has no basis in either reality or even logic...you can't even construct a logically constructed sentence, why would anyone even torture themselves trying to read what you write?

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Posted By: Wingnut
Date: 2009-01-13 02:37:09

Yeah, I don't blame you for running from scrutiny... considering you haven't a leg to stand-on. Another capitalist propagandist bites the dirt... how predictable. You cave-in faster than the system you're peddling. How sad. Maybe you'll thank me someday for getting you and your readers back on the path of truth, but its rare to find a capitalist with any humility, so I tend to doubt that will happen. Enjoy bashing authors instead of weighing claims. I won't be here for any more of it. If you decide to grow up and own up to your self-lie-infested capitalism spew, look me up on the internet and maybe we can have a real discussion about capitalism. If I wanted to flame folks about writing styles, I would have visited a blog that rants about such frivolities. Love and kisses! Wingnut - anticap

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Posted By: Republicae
Date: 2009-01-13 06:38:09

Wingnut, please, do you actually believe that what you have offered is scrutiny or even anything closely resembling a rebuttal. You are living in your own little socialist dream land, one that has been a utter failure throughout history. Even the attempts at "christo-socialism" has failed to produce any substaintial effects that would enhance the lives of people. You offer nothing original, nothing noteworthy. You ignore so very much that I am astounded at your lack of knowledge or your ability to convey what little knowledge you may possess.

 

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Posted By: JustHuman
Date: 2009-02-26 21:36:28

I am absolutely a fan of individual rights, real freedoms, meritocracy, and Little Brother; however, a pure capitalist environment would breed extreme elitism and starve the unfortunate. The views of the poor in this article are ages old. Reading this would make one think that the author believes all poor people are utterly responsible for their situation and are unworthy of assistance outside of the environment they were born in or have created. It reminds me of the views of the poor when the Elizabethan Poor laws were founded seperating them into able-bodied and impotent. I understand the conservative view of our social welfare system, and it is just too insubstantial. Having government only as a last resort in no way promotes the idea of dignity and worth of a person nor does it enhance the strengths of a disadvantaged person that can result in them being a productive member of society. I'm all for ending the policies and programs that seem to promote the perpetual taking of government funds, but it is the duty of the government to provide for and protect our life, our liberty, and our pursuit of happiness. Whatever you may want to believe, their is a lot of social injustice in the US that needs to be addressed, and capitalists are just too self-absorbed to provide for that. I am not a socialist. On virtually any other issue, I want no government involvement or only oversight. On social welfare issues, it is up to the members of the community to do what we can.

One more thing. If the seemingly intelligent commentators on this site would refrain from personal attacks and stick to issues, it would be easier to take you seriously. 

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