I received this post from a friend of mine named Jessica Morris who is the Spokesperson for Congressman Paul Broun (District 10) and is a new Contributor to Project Logic GA.
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Did I miss something in school? I was always taught that one of the reasons that America is the greatest nation on earth is because of capitalism. Not in spite of it. Now I am shocked to hear how so many of my fellow Americans despise the principles of the free market system.
As defined by Merriam-Webster, capitalism is “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market.” Private decision. Not government intervention, take-over and control. So, why are our elected officials talking about punishing success through higher taxes, dipping into my paycheck and forcing my hand to fund universal healthcare, rewarding irresponsibility and greed through taxpayer-funded bailouts, and creating federal programs for tasks which should be tackled on the local level or, at best, in the private sector?
“I view the federal government as this huge ball of twine of socialism that has been wrapped strand by strand over the years,” Congressman Paul Broun, a proclaimed strict constitutionalist, often explains. “And, I’m working in Washington to unwrap those strands, to leave tax dollars in your pocket, to get the federal regulatory burden off of business and industry so we can have a stronger economy.”
Unlike what some are saying in Washington, it is absolutely not patriotic to pay higher taxes, and the redistribution of wealth is socialism at work. Socialism never has worked and never will work. In totalitarian countries such as the USSR, China, Cuba, and North Korea, it has caused widespread shortages of basic goods and services. It is time to return to the principles of the free market system, for if not, we may very well find ourselves in a far different country than our Founding Fathers fought to provide us.
Now, I am not saying that America is no longer a Democratic Republic or that our leaders will suddenly take away our first amendment rights. I’m not calling anyone a Marxist here, but I am warning that should we continue to look to the government for freebies and handouts, we will be making our bed and forced to lie in it. Instead of demanding more from our government—after all, when has government ever been more efficient than the private sector? The timely responses of churches and non-profits following Hurricane Katrina can attest to that—we should return to the words of President John F. Kennedy when he told his fellow Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” What a far different message than what many are heralding today.
Government dependence is not freedom. Neither is re-distribution of wealth capitalism. It is, however, dangerously close to what former Communist leader Nikita Khrushchev once spoke of: “We can’t expect the American people to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism.” Think on that…
Jessica: It is great having a range of opinions on this blog or in any dialog or debate—thanks for coming through and putting it on the table. As a person with a few more years than you, I can say that I lived in America when the USSR still existed and we are far from communism or socialism.
Most southerners function under a moral code that emphasizes self-determination and hard work. This election season has seen a push by some on the far-right to characterize aspects of the Obama/Biden agenda as the redistribution of wealth or socialism on some level. If we “fine-tooth combed” every administration in American history, we will see actions that could be considered redistribution. For example, I wrote a recent post on this subject that referenced to the Earned Income Tax Credit—which was pushed by Republican presidents.
Congressman Broun is a real “maverick” in Georgia delegation since the GOP establishment (which could have done things better) see he as an outsider who does what he thinks is best rather than marching lock step. Should Senator Obama become president, there are elements bent on making his administration look wrong for political gains rather than admitting that the other side is sometimes right. We saw this with President Clinton’s budget and economic plans.
President Bush gave tax breaks to the wealthiest citizens and Obama plans to take those breaks back. I am not an expert on tax policies but I like the flat tax proposal. Since junior high, the idea that people pay different tax rates has seemed silly to me—14% for all is what I say. If the majority of Americans elect a congress and White House that wants a certain approve, I must respect democracy in action.
Jessica, you don’t really think America is at risk of becoming a socialist state. I was a congressional staffer when Newt Gingrich led the Republican Revolution. As you know, many Georgia Democrats supported most of the Contract with America. As the GOP charts it’s new course, keep an eye on Newt; he is about common sense solutions without mindlessly playing the fear card. Newt pulled Bill Clinton to the center and I have a feeling that the Obama/Biden administration will always be near the center. The American people are tuned in, wired and up on the game; so, telling them Obama is the second coming of Tito is an insult up with which they will not put.
Help Paul put “kountry first” and he will do fine tomorrow..politics watchers still remember him winning last year with a surprising amount of African American support–if his colleagues learned from him, they would not be sweating today.
I’ve heard no one despising the principles of the free market system. I have heard a whole lot of desparate Republicans trying to paint the other guy as socialist. That’s a big step down from every previous election when they were happy just to label them ‘liberals’. Same game, just added vitriol. Republicans chant about ‘tax and spend’ liberals, but when they are in office, they spend like drunken sailors on shore leave, borrowing the money from your children.
And since when is Paul Broun a strict constitutionalist? In his imagination maybe. He has come right out and said he wants the state to be able to decide who my children can and cannot marry. Where is it in the constitution gives the government that right??? He wraps himself in the document, carefully avoiding the words printed on it. He could not even debate his opponent in his own district for fear his hypocrisy would become common knowledge. Broun’s only hope to keep this seat is that most of the people in this weighted district will vote party lines without investigation. If this were a non-partisan election, Bobby Saxon would win by a landslide.
Chris: thanks for the comments. I watch the GPBTV debate this morning and it was heated.
Like I said about Obama and Clinton, the contest actually improves both candidates.
Chris, the Constitution affords all powers not relegated to the Federal Government to the individual State Governments – which includes marriage and a host of other issues.
Prior versions of the Georgia Constitution had a state sponsored religion even!
I can’t really speak to Congressman Broun’s record or views in his districts, but in the situation you have presented he is adhering to the Constitution.
It is very interesting watching all this unravel from the European continent. If you want to see real socialism in action, come on over and we’ll show you. *sigh*. As a rabid capitalist I will say this – I have much more faith in the american people than I will ever have in an american president. I hear many good opinions from americans out there, and a lot less of them from american presidential candidates.
//hpx83 Save Capitalism
hpx83, please allow me to apologize for your comment posting so late; evidently, comments from other countries require approval or something. It is so important that Americans read your comment because many of us toss political terms around for different reasons without fully grasping the implications. Pack a bag and come tour the United States so you can explain what real socialism is and the so the far-right will stop trying to frighten the people. It is funny because both ends of the political spectrum use that technique on T.V. and the two sides can later be found eating dinner together. It’s a dirty game and the people are getting “hip to the game.”
You are right, the American people will monitor our public servants and if they get out of line, they are done. I have been in some interesting corners of the world in the last 8 years and someone is always coming up to me with warm greetings for me, best wishes for the American people and wondering why we selected the president we have. In the former Soviet Union nations, I think MTV has fostered more goodwill than the White House.
I look forward to reading your blog Save Capitalism.
Take care.
No worries 😉 The interesting part about Sweden (which is my current nation of residence) is that while everyone hailed it as the most successfull “socialist experiment” in the world, it was actually the capitalist forces working under the surface that kept it afloat. We had a couple of defining moments where large socialist proposals where voted down, had they not been we would probably have been a lot poorer for still many years to come.
What we end up with here in Sweden is a general population that has some vague general idea that we need capitalism, but we always put in a “general welfare” clause at the end. The “general welfare” consists of paying overprices for health care, the government trying to “create jobs” by specialized rules for certain people etc. On top of that, we have an enourmous amount of government employees, although there have been cutdowns for the last few decades, again something that was crucial to us keeping our living standard. Most people do not acknowledge this either.
Sweden isn’t a bad place to live in general, if you can stand the constant murmuring that everyone is entitled to this and that, and that constant scorning of anyone who makes it in the world. For me, it’s becoming increasingly annoying, so I shout a lot about it.
Keep putting pressure on the government!
Living under a system like that would drive me crazy. America is an unique situation compared to Sweden because we have people and groups who came into this nation at different times and in the case of African American most originally arrived before the nation was a nation. When you factor in the country being taken from the Native Americans and Blacks providing free force labor, you could never determine who is “entitled” to what.
I have toured the Baltics several times and have good friends in Tallin and Vilnius (Riga is too much like New York.) But, we never take the ferry to Stockholm because the prices for travelers or Americans are high. My college buddy (who has spent years in Europe) talks about spending $25 for a cocktail in Stockholm.
I think 60 Minutes on American T.V. did an interesting story about Sweden’s system of government a few years ago.