GraniteGrok

Beware of Greeks bearing Politicians promising Gifts...

We've seen it with our own kiddies "Johnny - give that back to Stevie!" as the four year old takes away a toy that has caught his eye that another kid was contentedly play with.  It happens at homes, in play situations, and in day care centers.  After a certain age, however, it is called stealing or theft; when one takes something of value from another simply because it catches their eye or fulfills a need for them.  It matters not, that the original owner had a better purpose for that "thing" - it is taken.

Politicians are wont to say "this person is in need or that needs to be fixed".  True words, depending on the situation.  The problem is, as one of my favorite political philosophers, Professor Walter E. Williams, brings up - to do so requires that something given to one MUST be taken away from another.  He also disagrees, vehemently, that Government is not Santa Claus (emphasis mine):

NOTE: Heh!  I had set this up, started a couple of other posts, and then saw Steve's Notable Quote from Walter Williams on this exact quote - too funny!

For Congress to guarantee a right to health care, or any other good or service, whether a person can afford it or not, it must diminish someone else’s rights, namely their rights to their earnings. The reason is that Congress has no resources of its very own. Moreover, there is no Santa Claus, Easter Bunny or Tooth Fairy giving them those resources. The fact that government has no resources of its very own forces one to recognize that in order for government to give one American citizen a dollar, it must first, through intimidation, threats and coercion, confiscate that dollar from some other American. If one person has a right to something he did not earn, of necessity it requires that another person not have a right to something that he did earn.

To argue that people have a right that imposes obligations on another is an absurd concept. A better term for new-fangled rights to health care, decent housing and food is wishes. If we called them wishes, I would be in agreement with most other Americans for I, too, wish that everyone had adequate health care, decent housing and nutritious meals. However, if we called them human wishes, instead of human rights, there would be confusion and cognitive dissonance. The average American would cringe at the thought of government punishing one person because he refused to be pressed into making someone else’s wish come true.

None of my argument is to argue against charity. Reaching into one’s own pockets to assist his fellow man in need is praiseworthy and laudable. Reaching into someone else’s pockets to do so is despicable and deserves condemnation.

(H/T: Hot Air)

Progressives are well down their path in convincing the American public that ONLY Big Government can fix their woes, heal their pain, correct wrongs?  How often do you hear "Somebody has to do something about that?" Or, "Somebody ought to pass a law....", and then pass that off that someone else has to spend of their time, and spend of their money (or other peoples' money) to correct what they believe to be wrong.

How often, instead of blieving that the cost should be borne by others, should you be thinking "Why aren't YOU doing something about it instead of waiting on somebody else? Why aren't YOU getting up off your fat behind, shutting your complaining tongue, and fix it yourself?"

Why do we wait for someone else to take care of our problem?  Why do we allow politicians to take from us to perform what used to be individual charity?  After all, these things used to be taken care of by individuals, right, before Government became so big?  Life hasn't become THAT complicated that only Government can solve problems.  ONE person, one MOTIVATED person, will always make a difference...

....and not need government to solve a problem.  It does require, however, that one is willing to get up off their fat ass instead of outsourcing it to Gubmint...

I'm not the only one saying that Big Government = presents = entitlements; it is all unsustainable:

And it is not just the GOP leadership at fault.  It is also the American people themselves.  We have allowed ourselves to become addicted to governmental freebies.  We suck down rebates [government  -Skip] on home loans and “cash for clunkers.”  We send our kids to government schools.  And there is nary a single politician in the post-GWB GOP who appears willing to put their neck on the chopping block to try to remedy the real problem - the out-of-control spending on Medicare and Social Security.  Why?  Because the aforementioned senior citizens - the most faithful voting bloc, and who are highly dependent on the entitlement crack - would crucify them.  But who can blame them?  They are in a tight spot - the nanny state promised to take care of them, give them a nice monthly check and cheap/free health care in return for their dependency.  It would be tough to pull the rug out now.  But we must explore ways to fix this, or the economy will implode beneath the weight of this entitlement drug.