Big government logic

By Jim Killebrew

[January 27, 2014]  When the nation is in trouble with runaway spending that increases the deficit to unsustainable proportions, and the administration currently in power is responsible for creating more of that deficit than all other administrations combined, what is the logic to keep supporting the same plans that have inflated the deficit?

As the nation developed and began building infrastructure on the use of oil and coal as energy for transportation, electrical power, home heating and modern technology, and the current administration wants to eliminate the use of fossil fuel, oil exploration and drilling, as well as drive up the price of coal to such a prohibitive cost that people must stop using it, what is the logic to keep supporting the same plans that have prevented America from being energy-independent?

When the nation is on the brink of disaster by virtue of politically generated crises that threaten to drive the economy over the cliff, or the administration devises a plan that has been dubbed "sequestration" that claims to virtually shut down the border security to the United States, tie up airline travel by laying off a huge percentage of air traffic controllers, keep people from receiving appropriate medical care, and cripple the nation's educational system unless the taxes are raised again to prevent such a disaster, why do we believe it?

When most of the economists believe that a free market system economy thrives when the people in that economy are allowed to take risks, build businesses, keep their own money and the economy grows, what is the logic to keep supporting the same plans that have kept American free enterprise and market economy from growing the past five years?

I believe the logic used is that the administration currently in power and the supporting Democrats in the Senate and House are complicit in the dulling of the economy because of one basic belief that is contrary to the free market economy. The administration and the complicit Democrat members of the Senate and House believe that taxes, more taxes and more taxes are the only thing that will cause the American economy to thrive. They believe that the larger and richer the government becomes, thereby granting them more and more power to regulate, control, manipulate and make policy, this will stimulate the economy to make it grow when the government is large enough, powerful enough and pervasive enough, by giving back portions of money to the citizens for them to pay their bills and create a lifestyle that is equalized across society.

For the most part, the administration and the Democrats in the Senate and House do not believe in a free market economy that is grown by everyday citizens making investments in their villages, towns, cities and states. They do not believe that the independent citizen is intelligent enough to know how to invest and spend their money at the local hardware, theater, gas station, restaurant or department store. Certainly the independent citizen is not thought of as having enough intelligence to pay bills, buy different cars, take vacations and participate in commerce as well as the policy wonks can do.

The difference between free market economy and the large, pervasive government economy is the belief of how growth comes about.

Free market says the pie gets bigger with each individual's investment, a service or product that comes to market through innovation and risk. Some hit big, some keep pace, some even fail. But people with the desire and willingness to take risks with the belief in themselves keep on going until someday they reach success. When that happens they create jobs, hire more people, create paydays for families. And what do those families do with their paychecks? They spend the money on bills, houses, cars, clothes, school, parities, vacations and everything one can think of. That spreads the wealth around, redistributes it if you will, to those who are also working, providing products or services.

Then enters government. No, no, no; in order to "grow" the economy, the government needs to "take" from the economy. For those who have entered into the free market and have risked their capital, worked very hard, the government wants to take more money from them through taxes. Make no mistake, when money in our economic system is taken from an individual, it is usually referred to as a fine. (Remember Obamacare and the Supreme Court ruling regarding taxes and fines.) A fine is a punishment! When you are fined for a certain behavior, you are being punished.

Now, when a person is being punished for doing something, the idea is to reduce or eliminate that behavior. Any educator will tell us that. If you want to see more of a behavior, you reinforce the person when they behave that way.

So, when the current administration and the complicit Democrats in the Senate and House want to continue to raise taxes on the people who are making the money, the only thing in the economy that is growing is the government, more policies, more regulations, more government employees. People who are taxed are being punished by having more of their money taken away from them.

Remember the poor golfer in California who was lambasted by the media because he thought the government taking 63 percent of his money and leaving him only 37 percent to live on was unfair. He was being punished with 63 percent of his earnings.

So here is the logic: Government growth = more government, more punishment to the individual citizen, no growth of economy, higher deficits, more crisis, higher taxes, high unemployment, redistribution, massive government social welfare systems with more government involvement, all with ultimate failure. (Look at Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security; all seem doomed to failure under government-run policies, and keeping the politicians' fingers out of the pie.)

Free market = individual citizens working for their money, earning salaries, investing in startups, hiring employees, people making more money and people spending more money.

[By JIM KILLEBREW]