The Generosity of Government

One of the things Americans seem to be forgetting as their gov-ernment continues to balloon crazily out of control is that govern-ment is force. At least that is how our first president viewed it.

An enormous degree of power is vested in government, even the ones believed to be benevolent. Everyone knows, for example, that a government can compel its citizens to obey its laws, whether those laws be reasonable or unreasonable. In fact, government may severely punish you, even hang you in some instances, if you refuse to submit to its demands.

With that in mind, let us examine how our government grants wishes to those it deems “underprivileged.”

When our government decides to bestow a special benefit or entitlement upon a particular segment of society, it does so at the expense of another. That is because government does not and cannot create wealth. Government squeezes its income out of the incomes of its working citizens, those who have been prudent, those it deems “rich.” What it can’t extract that way, it borrows--to be paid back by those same industrious, hardworking citizens.

So next time you hear the president or a member of congress bragging about what he or she is going to do to help someone, remember that the funds necessary to pay for that so-called good deed will have to be picked from the pocket of another citizen, or maybe even from the pockets of his or her yet unborn children and grandchildren.

But what if that other citizen doesn’t wish to contribute to this latest cause? What if he doesn't agree with the philosophy behind it? What if he is growing tired of having his pockets picked?

The force of government will be applied, for that is how the generosity of government is made possible.

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." --George Washington