Why Socialism is Bad for YOU
Why Socialism is Bad for YOU
It is hard to get people to understand the inherent dangers of socialism when all they see are the benefits. President Obama promises to help people with their mortgages and provide their health care, we have relied of Social Security for our retirement, subsidized loans and grants for education, corporate and individual welfare, bailouts and stimulus checks. But as even President Obama admits, there is no free lunch. What is the real danger of a socialist relationship between the citizen and his government?
To illustrate this, consider this analogy. America and its citizens are an army, organized into privates, officers and generals. The generals are our leaders in Washington. The officers are business owners, be they lieutenants or colonels. The rest of us are privates. When the army was assembled everyone provided their own equipment and carried their own supplies. The generals gave general directives to the officers who used their own intelligence and initiative to carry them out (every analogy has its limits and this is one. Under the constitution Washington does not direct business leaders or private citizens but bear with me, this is not the point of the analogy). The privates were well trained, in good shape, knew how to live off the land and knew their duty. The army marched forward, every step brining them closer to a glorious future. If a platoon or even a division got into trouble, the rest of the army could move in to help. Incompetent officers or individuals were removed or killed in battle. The American army was a lean, effective force for over one hundred years.
At the turn of the twentieth century, however, the lean mean fighting force that had been so successful and prosperous started to change. First, some of the strongest officers and privates were forced to carry the packs and equipment of some of the others (Graduated Income Tax). Although inconvenient for a few, it didn’t slow the army very much. Twenty five years later, however, a big change came to the army. A lot more of the officers and privates were being forced to carry the equipment of others and a new concept was introduced. Wagons were built to carry some of the privates who were not as fit as some of the others and in addition to carrying the equipment, the stronger officers and privates were now forced to pull the wagons (the New Deal). This slowed the army considerably and because the people in the wagons were not contributing to the provision and success of the army, everyone else had to take up the slack. Even the generals started to pull the wagons and since they were concerned with this, they spent less time planning strategy and overseeing the health and welfare of the whole army.
Thirty years later, the generals decided to put even more people in the wagons and as a result, even more wagons were built. Now there were a whole new crop of privates who never even went through basic training, had no idea how to contribute to the army and no motivation to do so (The Great Society). They just rode in the wagons and often derided the officers and privates who were pulling the wagons, officers who were becoming fewer and fewer. This slowed the army even more and made it very difficult for it to maneuver effectively to meet any new challenges.
Over the next forty years, more wagons were added, more people climbed on and fewer people were left to pull them. Now we come to the age of General Obama who has invited everyone to climb on the wagons in the belief that a few officers, privates and generals like himself can pull wagons full of untrained, lazy troops wherever they are needed and then deploy them effectively. The generals berated and beat the few officers and privates who remained to pull the wagons until they gave up and either deserted or climbed in the wagons as well. Soon the whole army is in the wagons and the only ones pulling it are the generals. The people in the wagons, if they had any training to begin with, have lost it. They are relying of the generals to do everything. The generals feed them, carry their supplies and transport them where they need to go. With a fat, lazy untrained army being pulled by generals who spend all their time on the details and none on strategy. The army cannot be deployed with any effectiveness and with no coherent strategy, they end up going in circles.
The army was never designed to operate this way and the generals cannot pull all the weight indefinitely. One of three things will happen to the generals. Enemy snipers will take them out, they will drop dead from exertion or they will turn on each other. Either way, when the generals are gone, panic will follow among the troops. Suddenly they are no longer being fed and cared for, they find they have to carry their own equipment in their poor physical condition and it is equipment they have no idea how to use, and they have no direction. If the enemy attacks or the elements turn against them, most of them will die.
The point is this. People who put all their money in Lehman Brothers or gave it to Bernie Madoff found out the hard way that when you put all your money in one basket, the risks are very great. That is why diversification is recommended when investing. America is doing the same thing with the Federal Government. When the country was founded the federal government had a minimal role in our everyday lives and power was shared with the states and the people. The American people were tough and self reliant. Today, we rely on the Federal Government for so much. Our “Safety Net” has become an integrated support system that we all partake of. We depend of the Federal Government for our retirement, unemployment, health care, subsidies, insurance and a myriad of other things. What happens when the federal Government no longer has the money for these things? What if we can no longer sell our debt to the Chinese, when we have taxed the “rich” into giving up, when the interest on our huge debt crowds out most other expenditures or when we have printed so much money it becomes worthless? What happens when the Social Security and welfare checks stop coming or are paid in worthless dollars? What happens when doctors no longer receive payments or the next hurricane comes through and there is no federal aid? What happens when all the federal regulatory agencies can no longer be funded? We have turned over so much power and responsibility to Washington for so long that too many Americans no longer have the common sense and initiative to fend for themselves. It is bad for the country and it is dangerous for you and I. The question you need to ask yourself now is “Am I in the wagon?” and “What am I going to do when the general stops taking care of me?” For too many Americans the answer to the first question is “Yes” and to the second is “I have no idea”.
It is hard to get people to understand the inherent dangers of socialism when all they see are the benefits. President Obama promises to help people with their mortgages and provide their health care, we have relied of Social Security for our retirement, subsidized loans and grants for education, corporate and individual welfare, bailouts and stimulus checks. But as even President Obama admits, there is no free lunch. What is the real danger of a socialist relationship between the citizen and his government?
To illustrate this, consider this analogy. America and its citizens are an army, organized into privates, officers and generals. The generals are our leaders in Washington. The officers are business owners, be they lieutenants or colonels. The rest of us are privates. When the army was assembled everyone provided their own equipment and carried their own supplies. The generals gave general directives to the officers who used their own intelligence and initiative to carry them out (every analogy has its limits and this is one. Under the constitution Washington does not direct business leaders or private citizens but bear with me, this is not the point of the analogy). The privates were well trained, in good shape, knew how to live off the land and knew their duty. The army marched forward, every step brining them closer to a glorious future. If a platoon or even a division got into trouble, the rest of the army could move in to help. Incompetent officers or individuals were removed or killed in battle. The American army was a lean, effective force for over one hundred years.
At the turn of the twentieth century, however, the lean mean fighting force that had been so successful and prosperous started to change. First, some of the strongest officers and privates were forced to carry the packs and equipment of some of the others (Graduated Income Tax). Although inconvenient for a few, it didn’t slow the army very much. Twenty five years later, however, a big change came to the army. A lot more of the officers and privates were being forced to carry the equipment of others and a new concept was introduced. Wagons were built to carry some of the privates who were not as fit as some of the others and in addition to carrying the equipment, the stronger officers and privates were now forced to pull the wagons (the New Deal). This slowed the army considerably and because the people in the wagons were not contributing to the provision and success of the army, everyone else had to take up the slack. Even the generals started to pull the wagons and since they were concerned with this, they spent less time planning strategy and overseeing the health and welfare of the whole army.
Thirty years later, the generals decided to put even more people in the wagons and as a result, even more wagons were built. Now there were a whole new crop of privates who never even went through basic training, had no idea how to contribute to the army and no motivation to do so (The Great Society). They just rode in the wagons and often derided the officers and privates who were pulling the wagons, officers who were becoming fewer and fewer. This slowed the army even more and made it very difficult for it to maneuver effectively to meet any new challenges.
Over the next forty years, more wagons were added, more people climbed on and fewer people were left to pull them. Now we come to the age of General Obama who has invited everyone to climb on the wagons in the belief that a few officers, privates and generals like himself can pull wagons full of untrained, lazy troops wherever they are needed and then deploy them effectively. The generals berated and beat the few officers and privates who remained to pull the wagons until they gave up and either deserted or climbed in the wagons as well. Soon the whole army is in the wagons and the only ones pulling it are the generals. The people in the wagons, if they had any training to begin with, have lost it. They are relying of the generals to do everything. The generals feed them, carry their supplies and transport them where they need to go. With a fat, lazy untrained army being pulled by generals who spend all their time on the details and none on strategy. The army cannot be deployed with any effectiveness and with no coherent strategy, they end up going in circles.
The army was never designed to operate this way and the generals cannot pull all the weight indefinitely. One of three things will happen to the generals. Enemy snipers will take them out, they will drop dead from exertion or they will turn on each other. Either way, when the generals are gone, panic will follow among the troops. Suddenly they are no longer being fed and cared for, they find they have to carry their own equipment in their poor physical condition and it is equipment they have no idea how to use, and they have no direction. If the enemy attacks or the elements turn against them, most of them will die.
The point is this. People who put all their money in Lehman Brothers or gave it to Bernie Madoff found out the hard way that when you put all your money in one basket, the risks are very great. That is why diversification is recommended when investing. America is doing the same thing with the Federal Government. When the country was founded the federal government had a minimal role in our everyday lives and power was shared with the states and the people. The American people were tough and self reliant. Today, we rely on the Federal Government for so much. Our “Safety Net” has become an integrated support system that we all partake of. We depend of the Federal Government for our retirement, unemployment, health care, subsidies, insurance and a myriad of other things. What happens when the federal Government no longer has the money for these things? What if we can no longer sell our debt to the Chinese, when we have taxed the “rich” into giving up, when the interest on our huge debt crowds out most other expenditures or when we have printed so much money it becomes worthless? What happens when the Social Security and welfare checks stop coming or are paid in worthless dollars? What happens when doctors no longer receive payments or the next hurricane comes through and there is no federal aid? What happens when all the federal regulatory agencies can no longer be funded? We have turned over so much power and responsibility to Washington for so long that too many Americans no longer have the common sense and initiative to fend for themselves. It is bad for the country and it is dangerous for you and I. The question you need to ask yourself now is “Am I in the wagon?” and “What am I going to do when the general stops taking care of me?” For too many Americans the answer to the first question is “Yes” and to the second is “I have no idea”.
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