“From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs,” declared Karl Marx in 1875.
For the new Congress, and their retread pursuit of democratic socialism, the declaration is: “No shirker left behind.”
To attain this objective, all the accepted laws of gravity and arithmetic must be abolished by legislative decree. House Democrats, and many House Republicans, are eager to comply. Remember, to voters, debts and deficits don’t matter.
Politicians are well aware that to get elected and stay in office over the long haul they must promise free stuff. A politician that promises to cut social security and limit Medicare won’t be a politician for long. The fact is, voters may say they’re in favor of smaller government. But what they really want are politicians that promise something for nothing from the highly visible hand of government.
The trick, however, is in the treat. Many good folks of sound body and honest intentions do, in fact, want to work for their daily bread. They’re not interested in shirking for transfer payment handouts. But, nonetheless, they don’t question the merits of centrally directed work. Rather, they welcome it.
The Purpose Driven Life
The truth in matters of public finance can never compete with the fantasy that everything can be restored by borrowing and spending. The credulous public hears of the latest New Deal – green or otherwise – and are overcome by visions of high paying jobs and a respectable workfare life on Easy Street. And what’s not to like?
Big programs, big contracts, and big budgets offer jobs with an appeal that market directed jobs often do not. They offer the allure of certainty and stability. They also offer the suitor with a readymade higher cause.
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The truth in matters of public finance can never compete with the fantasy that everything can be restored by borrowing and spending. The credulous public hears of the latest New Deal – green or otherwise – and are overcome by visions of high paying jobs and a respectable workfare life on Easy Street. And what’s not to like?
Big programs, big contracts, and big budgets offer jobs with an appeal that market directed jobs often do not. They offer the allure of certainty and stability. They also offer the suitor with a readymade higher cause.
More
2 comments:
The so-called party of the people gets their strength by keeping others in economic servitude. It is like the indulgent mother who lets her grown children come home to live off her indefinitely. Nobody wins! Glad many are waking up to their sick tricks.
What Does the Bible Say About Socialism?
Throughout the scripture, from the first pages of Genesis, God gives men and women resources for their use — for their good and the good of others.
1 Timothy 5:8 says, "Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
The responsibility was given to the individual, not delegated to the government.
Under capitalism, people own their property and businesses and are mostly free to use them as they see fit. But in today's politically correct environment a person's use of his or her own property is often mocked as selfish or greedy. Sadly, too many educators today undermine the confidence of our young people in our country's economic systems, insinuating that freedom to use the property isn't "fair" to those without.
Under socialism, people have limited ownership of property and businesses, which must operate under government control and regulation, and the government determines how all profits and property can be used. People who embrace the use of governmental power to suit their own social ends argue that this can create a kinder, gentler society as government decides who gets what, all in the name of helping the less fortunate. This assumes that good-hearted people, i.e. the government, are seizing the assets of less worthy people to give to the more deserving. And it matters WHO gets to decide the definition of "deserving." It sets up a system in which the government picks winners and losers, sometimes to gain the favor of voters.
Under communism, there is no veneer of personal ownership. The government owns and controls the property and the people exist as workers for the state, which controls all of their lives without pretense. In truth, it is the political leadership who control the power and property, and there is little access to opportunity for most people.
But in the Bible, God clearly gives resources to people and then holds them accountable for their stewardship.
"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man." Proverbs 24:33-34
But for those whose work yields a profit, sharing with those in need is expected, and not something we can delegate to the government. The Apostle Paul was a great example of this, paying his own way as a tentmaker, and urging others to work to pay for themselves and others.
In Acts 20:35, Paul wrote, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
Socialism insinuates that the person who works is not deserving of the reward and breeds resentment against those who have success and it also weakens the connection between work and reward. Fundamentally, it violates the 10th commandment, "thou shalt not covet," by encouraging people to look at what others have, deciding what should be taken away. But to build lasting wealth and resources, labor is required.
As Christians, we are called to work to the best of our ability, to care for our families and those in need around us. Our work is one way that we communicate to the world around us what a life submitted to Christ can be. We want to honor God with our efforts.
Colossians 3:23 puts it well: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters."
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