Politicians say all their bills; bring us only good things all the time. The truth is closer to they are offering free stuff to buy our votes. The problem with their offer is; their policies generally make things worse. Free healthcare, childcare, cell phones, education, and a universal basic income all sound good. They sell politically.
But the government isn’t Santa or the Easter Bunny. Governments take what you have by force, when necessary, to do with it what the government will. If anyone else did that it would be theft. When you support government-provided free stuff, you are voting yourself a larger portion of someone else’s stuff… That’s what taxes are. That cannot continue, well, at least not for very long without repercussions.
Law and regulations take away our money or freedom or both. Regulations are bureaucratically imposed rules with the force of law. Regulations are made by people nobody voted for. If you care about living a prosperous life, you should care about what government economic policies are. Your freedom, wealth, and ability to earn depend on it.
Economic freedom is based on things like the rule of law, regulatory efficiency, open markets, and fiscal health. America is falling behind because Congress is spending so much more money than it takes from us in taxes.
We know sooner or later, the government will run out of other people’s money. We also know when more dollars chase fewer goods, it leads to inflation. Inflation leaves us with less financial freedom; it makes us poorer.
Politicians have nothing better to do than ban our choices, like natural gas hookups, gas-powered cars, and guns. Our bureaucrats add thousands of individual freedom-restricting regulations annually. The result is an increasingly smothering government.
Something we know from experience is: The more the government is allowed to infringe on freedom, the poorer the living standards are for its citizens. The poorest, most repressed people in the world are trapped in countries like Sudan, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea.
A poor policy with respect to freedom is as bad in the economic realm as it is in the political. The two are complementary and reinforcing. The freer a country is economically, the better off the citizens of that country are. Enforcing the rule of law is good, but putting a few obstacles in the way of trying new things is imperative.
Does economic freedom over time lead to freer, more prosperous, healthier, and cleaner environments? It does. That’s something to remember next time you are considering which politician to vote for. Will they take away our choices and print more money? Or will they make you more free?
