COMMENT SUMMARY: Happy Easter!
MY COMMENT:
The
late 19th, and the 20th, centuries saw the development of
social movements, political parties, and violent revolutions that sought to
establish socialist systems in which the means of production and distribution
were owned and controlled by the people, (read by the government.) Socialism is an attempt to bring about social
justice, equity, and fairness through government control of centralized
production and distribution systems, the elimination of private ownership of
property, and the equitable distribution of wealth. It was often coopted by Totalitarianism.
Most
pure Socialists fall into two groups.
Some, like the Communists, believe that a socialist society can best be
achieved through violent revolution. Others, like the original Social
Democrats, seek to achieve a socialist society peacefully, by democratic means.
It
is easier conceive Socialist ideas than it is to make them work. In short, centrally planned economies have
failed everywhere they have been tried.
True equity has never been achieved, and systems of social organization
controlled by one movement or political party lend themselves to the abuse of
power. The reader is referred to George
Orwell’s books, Animal Farm” and 1984, and to the failure of Socialist economic systems in Russia, China, North Korea, and Viet Nam.
In
the United States today, some Americans, like Bernie Sanders, find the policies
of today’s European Social Democrats attractive. These policies amount to a modified form of social democracy that provides for government
intervention within the framework of a capitalist economy. They like the idea of a “big
government” that provides “cradle to the grave” programs to help people to
support themselves; funded by higher taxes on business and industry, and higher
taxes on their fellow citizens who are relatively well off. They also want aggressive government
regulation of the private sector of the economy to ensure that it operates in
the public interest. Many self-avowed Socialists see the above as incremental, evolutionary movement toward a truly socialist society. These include some college professors, the students they influence, and very likely Bernie Sanders himself.
Some
opponents of European-style Social Democracy point out that it’s costs exceed
the revenue that may be realized by higher taxes on the rich, and that in
Europe everybody is taxed heavily to support the “welfare state.” They point out that European-style Social
Democratic policies are only possible there because the United States bears much
of the cost of their national defense.
Further, even without heavy defense spending, some European countries
are in economic trouble, due to the high cost of their social programs.
The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other
peoples' money. (Margaret Thatcher)
I personally believe that we have a social
responsibility to our fellow man. To
that end, I support basic programs that provide a “safety net” for the poor and
a base upon which people can plan for their retirement. In the same way, we should have programs for
the support of those who are genuinely unable to work, due to disability, and
for our disabled veterans. To the extent
possible, the “safety net” programs for the poor should be structured so that
they do not break up families and do not create economic dependency. That the government has mismanaged these
kinds of programs now, speaks to the inability of the government to do bigger
and better things without bankrupting the nation.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're
paying for. (Will
Rogers)
I believe that if the government controls your
medical care, education, at least some of your income, has the power of eminent domain, and the power to tax, then the government can control you. Listen up, Big Brother is alive and well in
Washington, D.C. For example, the
government is already restricting the clergy from endorsing candidates or
political parties by threatening the tax exempt status of their churches. Those nonprofits, including “faith based
programs,” that accept government money find that it comes with strings
attached. The Obama IRS has attacked the
tax exempt status of organizations they are opposed to, and this during an election year. The more that the government can control your
quality of life, the more they can control you.
That is one reason why I oppose all forms of socialism.
A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government
big enough to take from you everything you have. (Gerald R. Ford)
I
have learned that the only security we have is that which we obtain when we
trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, and surrender to the Holy Spirit the
direction of our lives. Jesus said:
Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more
important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the
birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not
much more valuable than they?
Matthew
6:25-26 (NIV)
And,
again He said:
Then
give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.
Luke 20:25 (NIV)
So
then, since God gives us the faith through which we believe (Romans 12:3), and it is by faith
that we are saved (John
3:16); and
it is by the same faith that we live the Christian life (Hebrews 10:35-39,
Hebrews Chapter 11);
let us give to God what belongs to God. Trusting
the government to meet all our needs is giving to government what belongs to
God.
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