Well somebody has to pay!
Or as you may have heard, or even once believed yourself; “free as in speech not as in beer!” Or, “You can’t have your cake and let your neighbor eat it, too!” Or, “TANSTAAFL!”
TANSTAAFL?
TANSTAAFL – as Milton Friedman (and others) used to say “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”. (Or, for my ‘up east’ friends, without the double negative – TINSTAAFL – There is no such thing as a free lunch! ) Even if the sign says “free lunch” – you can bet the drinks cost twice as much as other places….
Socialism is the Great Lie ‘where everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else!’ But, make no mistake someone has to pay! Just because something might be free to the recipient, it doesn’t mean it was free to create. True for the bread you eat, true for the music you listen to, true for school lunches, true for the health care you receive.
The fact of the matter is that you, I or society as a whole can not get something for nothing. Even if you get something at no cost to you, someone somewhere has to pay for it. Someone’s has to pay, even though the costs may be hidden or distributed redistributed to others.
And now, we have those in Washington, our own elected leaders, of all political persuasions – even republican and democrat alike – engaging in extra-constitutional actions that are directly opposite what our founding fathers intended.
Our great republic hinges on the framework of an individually responsible electorate. And, absent that, we as a citizenry are like the cartoon character Wimpy; “gladly paying Tuesday for a hamburger today!” Only, we are already paying the interest today – you see those costs reflected in the continued destruction of our manufacturing base, mounting job losses, the devaluation of our currency and in a staggering and sputtering economy.
You also see that cost reflected in the loss of liberty – for when the government takes confiscates your money, they take from you – the one thing you have that is yours – time! When the government taxes your income they essentially seize the time you toiled to earn that income. Right now, the guv’ment is currently thieving time from us, our children and our grandchildren. And, in true ‘Wimponian fashion’ they have enslaved future generations for a “hamburger today”.
As Q.E.D.’ed over and over again the “Great Lie” is an unsustainable economical model with dire costs to everyone. If the guv’ment compels philanthropy through force there is likely to be little or no voluntary charity. Not because of hard heartedness; but, because we will be left with nothing to give of our own free will.
Unclear to me is why we haven’t chased these thieves from the halls of congress already? I have a few extra pitchforks and torches . . .
“There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.” — Professor Bernardo de la Paz from the novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein
Revenge or Restoration!
“IT WAS the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”