Big Government - TOO BIG!

There has been a much used quotation floating around the internet that goes something like this, "A government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have." This has been attributed to everyone from Thomas Jefferson to Richard Nixon. My limited research seems to suggest that it really comes from Barry Goldwater. Regardless, the sentiments are clear: Government can get too big and it will destroy the people!

As a citizen of Pennsylvania, I can see first hand how Big Government is destroying. In PA we have been promised Property Tax Relief - due to revenues from the gambling industry - to date there has been NO RELIEF (but the governor and others insist that we can increase our new budget deficit because revenues from the gambling industry will cover the difference. Hmmmm, am I missing something? The PA Department of Public Welfare is spending tax dollars trying to license and control church daycare and have included the objective of controlling church Sunday Schools. Why? Because they believe that any child not under the Department of Education falls under their control and supervision. This is interesting considering that the Department of Education guidelines begin at 18 months old. Is government getting too big? Not according to Governor Rendell who is still pushing for more contro, like Pre-K Counts. By the way, when is the last time anyone ever cut government spending and reduced the cost of government by cutting programs, bureacracies, or any part of the state budget?. I guess they are still trying to give us everything we want. BEWARE!
The Federal government - yes the combination of Democrats and Republicans ( a liberal by any other name would smell as bad - apologies William S.) - continues to grow beyond our means and there are NO restraints! Unread bills, poor legislation, executive orders, bailouts, and health care, to name a few, are all adding up to bigger government and yet the line for handouts continues to grow! The money isn't there, the benefits aren't either and the tax burden continues to expand and oppress - us and our posterity!
Patrick Henry said, "Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased by the price of chains and slavery?" The fact is that there are too many piglets, suckling at the dried out teets of the Federal Government, that are willing to don the chains and accept the slavery in order to bask in a life that is not dear and a peace that can never be sweet! America, the governments in Washington, DC and Pennsylvania are growing beyond their means and freedom loving Patriots are once again becoming the serfs of an elected aristocracy. Let's vote them out and reclaim America.
Proof that the government is big enough to give us everything we want? THEY ARE TAKING EVERYTHING YOU HAVE! Enough is enough.

Healthcare Reform and Government Dependence

The current Healthcare Reform debate is quickly polarizing the country around two extremes. Government DEPENDENCE versus Man's INDEPENDENCE. The Founding Fathers believed that their work for a new government which led to the penning of the most incredible document ever written by men, was to secure the rights and liberties of a free thinking citizenry. Never was it to create an overseeing entity that balanced the playing field between the "haves" and the "have nots". In fact, the freedoms finally secured in 1789 could boil down to this basic thought: because of the U.S. Constitution if you are included in the "have nots" you have every opportunity to work, toil, gather and save so that you can join the "haves". You also have the right to NOT work, toil, gather and save - but do not expect anyone else to carry your load. Hence "Freedom is a two-sided coin, on one side is Liberty but on the other is Responsibility."

Two clips stood out to me in the recent news coverage of the now national debate. I listened to a freedom loving citizen offer an analogy of health coverage having to do with cars. He started with, "I might like to drive a Hummer, but I can't afford one. I drive what I can afford." Only to be interrupted by a "dependabot", furious because she apparently thinks that everyone should drive a Hummer (or rather that everyone deserves the same health care coverage). In the United States of America no one deserves anything but OPPORTUNITY! The gentleman who never got the chance (on camera) to finish his example was simply saying that there are wonderful programs, vehicles, opportunities out there but we must work for them.

Granted, there are extremes that need attention. The woman who was so upset was quick to lift up her child who has medical needs that go beyond their means. The answer for her family could certainly be a compassionate citizenry that is willing to help. But why should she be looking for a government handout? Later, when given more "facetime" for her issues, she stated that pre-existing condtions disqualify her family from decent health insurance. (Read "it doesn't matter what her specfics are, she deserves as much as anyone else") However, it is government regulation and bureaucracy that have caused the problems with Health Insurance as it is. And regardless, there is not one doctor or hospital that would deny her and her family care if they have need - this woman simply doesn't want to pay for it. Hmmmm. She wants a Hummer for the cost of a Hyundai!

The second statement was a woman who basically made this comment: "When my child has a cough I want to know what's wrong with her, not just go and get some Robitussin and hope that she will be alright." What? Where is the common sense? Our grandmothers and mothers, in most cases, could "doctor" a cold, sniffle or cough. But because we now live in a dependent society, the first option is run to a doctor or fly to the emergency room! Where is the common sense? If our nation devolves into mindless takers rather than thoughtful givers, there will be no hope. Our current government is basically saying "believe in us, rely on us, depend on us" which will eventually lead to "work for us, obey us, worship us". And after 2000 years original slavery will have returned and freedom will be no more. It must not happen!

The government, designed to order and protect society, has gradually eroded our freedoms and inserted themselves into every area of our lives. Freedom must be restored. Government must be smaller, citizens must be involved and our "elected aristocracy" must be replaced. I believe it was Gerald Ford by way of Barry Goldwater who said, "A government that is big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have." We may already be there, pray that we can recover!

Socialism in NOT the answer!

Recently our local paper (Lebanon Daily News) published a letter referring to Republicans as naive because we are fighting against government regulation and controls in big business. His ideas were that strong government regulations and controls will protect us from the greedy "robber-barons" that have run the industries of banking, credit, health care, and automobiles. His suggestion was that, like firefighting, police and roadwork, government should take over these industries and thus ensure that we will no longer be victims of these abuses. Just who is naive?
Government has long been the stronghold of the "robber-barons". Ever heard of pork barrel spending? That is a greedy politician more interested in maintaining his office than exercising the common good of the citizenry. Although my friend wished to make this a Republican versus Democrat debate, the fact is that our debate is really "Big Government" versus "Limited Government" and in the eyes of any true patriot, the Republicans are just as guilty as the Democrats in wasteful spending and irresponsible governing. It is not naive to assume that a reduction in government controls and regulation is the true way to resolve our current economic problems.
For instance, consider the banking industry - banking regulations have been used to protect investors for years - that was the goal. The government stepped into private industry to ensure that hardworking people did not lose their hard-earned dollars. Regulation created a bureaucracy and bureaucracy searched for loopholes and loopholes created opportunity for "industrious" individuals to make money while protecting someone else's money. Sounds great, everyone gets a piece of the pie and the investors are happy with some gain knowing that even though others are eating the pie, their capital is sound. Then came further regulation, when BIG GOVERNMENT decided to force the banking industry to make allowances for those with little or no capital to invest. What we now call "bad loans" - wait, we always called them that until Uncle Sam changed the rules. As a result, capital is not being ensured, investors are not being protected and our economic system is collapsing. This may be a simplistic view of the problem but nevertheless it works. So what was the solution? remove the regulation and restore what was working? No. Rather, let's increase regulation, bailout the losers we created and hope it all fixes itself. Is the problem greedy, rich "robber-barons" or elected, greedy, rich "robber-barons"?
This same scenario is being repeated in Environmental Issues, Education Issues,Health care, the Auto Industry, Banking, Real Estate, Wall Street, Utilities, and on, and on, and on. Once again, who is really naive? Socialism and its near relatives, communism and Marxism lead only one direction - TYRANNY. The only ones who are truly naive are those that believe that thousands of years of history will somehow change, that human nature will somehow reverse itself and socialism will finally lead to a Utopian society. Our Founding Fathers had it right the problem is that we have ceased to hear them, see them or know them. Freedom must be the driving force of our society and Liberty must always be bounded by responsibility. Government regulation and socialized ideals will only lead to destruction.