It is written that all great societies have failed once the citizens realize that they can vote themselves benefits from the treasury. Are we there yet? by Chuck Angier
(libertarian)
Monday, March 23, 2009
I like many, have witnessed recent events in this magnificent land that would have been incomprehensible even just a few years ago. We now face grave challenges in virtually every segment of our once great, noble and prosperous society. We hear and see a lot of finger-pointing.
George Bush is certainly not blameless, but anyone that blames our current predicament to 8 years of any administration is naïve and uninformed. "Corporate greed!" say some. "Wall Street Fat Cats!" say others. "Mortgage Crisis!" say yet others. "Uncontrolled spending!" "Crushing Regulation!" "Crushing Debt!" "Big Oil!" "Big Bank!" "Big Insurance!" "Unions!" and the list goes on.
ALL these things are only but SYMPTOMS of many years of an apathetic citizenry happy to vote themselves benefits from the public treasury, resulting in deficit spending and crushing public debt. The Founding Fathers were aware that this great experiment in liberty that is called "America" would survive ONLY if the governed remained virtuous and morally strong. Liberty, given to a morally strong people, created more prosperity than at any time in history. It literally transformed the world! But then something happened.
I surmise that, intoxicated by prosperity, we allowed wealth and arrogance to erode our moral foundation. We were too good to be bothered with anything other than what's good for "me". Rather than using the resources given to us by our Creator to lift ourselves and others into prosperity, we traded our liberty for a guarantee of mediocrity. Over and over we have elected representatives based upon our self-interests rather than the interests of society resulting in a government that:
Has mortgaged our future to the extent that our great-great grandchildren will be born into involuntary servitude.
Has created a fractional banking system built on a house of cards that could collapse at the slightest provocation.
Has borrowed trillions to create a false prosperity while encouraging citizens to do the same.
Collects revenue from a tax code that is not a tax code at all, but rather a social management plan so convoluted that we must pay $63 billion to 723,000 tax preparers annually to help us relieve ourselves of the fruits of our labor.
Has enacted hundreds of thousands of pages of unenforceable regulations in the name of fairness, resulting in nothing more than an environment ripe for corruption, abuse and profiteering.
While wrestling economic power from the private sector, has succeeded only in creating economic challenges that are more frequent, severe and protracted.
Has relieved us of our liberty and property in the name of compassion only to create a LARGER group of dependents that expect nothing more from life than the indignity of a government paycheck.
Has educated our children (at great cost I might add) in a moral vacuum resulting in a citizenry that believes that mediocrity is excellence, life is fair, America is evil and manual labor is for "someone else".
Has taken over our health care in the name of "access" only to make it less accessible and more expensive.
Believes it can manage families better than families can manage themselves only to destroy that most basic building block of society
More than anything, believes that it is above the law and can do things under force of law to the citizens that is illegal for them to do to each other!
It is written that all great societies have failed once the citizens realize that they can vote themselves benefits from the treasury. Are we there yet? Can we stop it? Are we or are we not "moral and virtuous"?
The views expressed
in this article are those of Chuck Angier only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Chuck Angier 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.
Posted By: Jake, the Champion of the Constitution
Date: 2009-03-25 06:51:16
Dear Chuck -
"It is written that all great societies have failed once the citizens realize that they can vote themselves benefits from the treasury. Are we there yet? Can we stop it? Are we or are we not "moral and virtuous"?"
Yes. Maybe. Yes :) Tom Paine once wrote that we should not count on future generations to have the same integrity, which is pretty much why the Constitution was written.
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