The Patriot Post® · Stealing From Grandma to Buy Beer

Let us consider some reasons why stealing from Grandma to buy beer is immoral and a demonstration of low character. We will use “George” as the name for the Government. We will us “Grandma” for rich taxpayers, but really it means all taxpayers:

1) Stealing is immoral on the face of it. “Thou shall not steal.” Next!
2) If George cannot afford beer he should not buy beer.
3) George has no money of his own because he squandered what he had.
4) Grandma did not squander George’s money, he did.
5) George’s attempts to rationalize the theft would shame Attila the Hun.
6) Grandma has freely given George money in the past and now that is also gone.
7) Grandma worked hard in hard times to raise a family, and she saved.
8) Her example of “good” magnifies George’s example of “bad.”

The idea of redistribution of wealth being touted by our President and his liberal lieutenants is the moral equivalent of stealing from Grandma to buy beer. If the nation engages in stealing from the rich we have surrendered our American Liberty and embraced socialism.

Socialism has failed in every grand experiment. All the labor and creativity of the people end up spent on the bureaucracy. The people always remain hungry. History records that many socialist revolutions have begun with angry mobs killing the wealthier citizens and stealing everything. Other times, the revolutionary armies did the killing and confiscating. Sometimes the assets of the many murdered were somehow preserved for the use of the new socialist regime. The result has always been the same, failure.

I saw scenes on my television today of an angry, ugly mob protesting a Tea Party rally. Perhaps they were unaware of the history of socialism.

It is true that many people have been conditioned to blame everything on the rich. In the view of some folks, the rich are “bad” people. It is a lot easier to rationalize stealing from Grandma if you can make yourself believe she is an evil witch. Socialists among us, like vultures, have preyed on this reality for a long time.

The bottom-line is that societies, as a whole, must produce more than they spend. They must be productive, fiscally responsible, and debt free. There is no other path to the financial freedom that allows a society to also be socially responsible. America has been generous to its less fortunate citizens because Americans are generous people. We want to continue to help each other.

Now here is the sad part we need to understand clearly: the present national financial crisis is not the result of Government giving freely to people who need help. In fact, the “present” financial crisis is the end result of a century of policies and programs to tax, spend, and grow the federal bureaucracy.

The Federal Government has squandered our money on wasted foreign aid that had no sensible relation to foreign policy. They have created bureaus, agencies, and departments that have no apparent purpose except self-perpetuation. They have failed to maintain due diligence oversight of the military-industrial complex, resulting in wasted Billions every year. They have created corporate welfare that did nothing to help the corporate recipients be more creative, productive, or socially responsible. The Federal Government created and funded programs that virtually required banks, Fannie May and Freddie Mac to make loans that could not be paid back. The recent upheavals, bailouts, unemployment, inflation, and the specter of a recession turning into a worldwide depression are all the result of Government gone wild for 100 years.

In my view, welfare payouts to the needy are seldom a waste. Government mismanagement of the programs usually causes waste of some of the funds. Taxpayers are left with high costs for the programs, but the needy are receiving less help than they should. Welfare programs definitely need to be reformed to eliminate waste and mismanagement. But drastic cuts in welfare will simply give Washington another free pass. They will not reduce the size and cost of the bureaucracy. We have to take a holistic approach to solving the financial crisis. Putting it all on the backs of the citizens cannot be accepted.

People in America with incomes in the top 10% are already paying 70% of all taxes collected. Besides, someone has done the math. If we took 100% of the income from the rich and applied it to the current crisis it would not make a dent. It would be the proverbial drop in the bucket.

As Americans, the most important reason to not steal from Grandma is the surrender of our Liberty. The right to own personal property is one of the cornerstones of our Liberty. That right helped the new-born nation grow and prosper. It brought millions of hard working settlers from other nations where they had been oppressed in many ways. It may be legal for Government to decide to tax the rich even more, but I cannot see why the people should ever allow it.

Now, take a deep breath, it is time for a reality check: The national financial crisis is real, it is extreme and it is immediate.

Yes, something has to be done, and soon. But, it would be a mistake to accept huge cuts in Social Security and Medicare. We must demand that they first make huge cuts in waste, corruption, foreign aid, and the size and cost of the federal bureaucracy. If we can only see about two hours into the future, more taxation of the rich may sound good. Sound reasoning says it will not help and would only serve to create a deeper form of class warfare. I am certain we do not want all of our wealthiest citizens moving to a distant island.

The following is excerpted from the Reagan Centennial special of the Patriot Post. Mark Alexander quoted perhaps the most famous Ronald Reagan speech, delivered in 1964.

“The Founding Fathers knew a government can’t control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing. … You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right, there is only an up or down. Up to man’s age-old dream – the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order – or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. … It’s time we asked ourselves if we still know the freedoms intended for us by the Founding Fathers.” – Ronald Reagan

We must decide, soon, and act accordingly. Do we choose to defend our Liberty, or surrender to lies and manipulations bringing the nation to the brink? If we allow the Washington powerbase to steal from Grandma to buy beer, I think we already know their thirst will never be quenched.