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Printed from YorktownPatriot.com Opinion
Americans will celebrate July 4th as they always do—in good spirits, relaxation, visits with friends and family. This year and In 1776 we Americans are concerned about what the future will bring. Uncertainties loom as our nation readies for federal elections and 2008, like 1776, has the smell of a turning point. That is to be expected, if you consider that change is one of the aspects of life that self-governed societies do best. Change is facilitated by thousands of elections held every year in hamlets, cities, counties, state and federal governments. Unlike Zimbabwe and countries that hold pseudo elections or none at all, the course of American government is chosen by those who take time to seek office or vote in elections.
This year promises to bring major changes, not the least the replacement of a failed President by one who offers new hope in the ability of government to, well, govern. Unfortunately, the United States is now at what is called a ‘tipping point,’ the point at which a body tips over, loses balance, and falls in a trajectory leading to collision with something hard.
The government of the United States now is at that point where the state dominates civil society, and what we used to call the private sector is constrained by confiscatory taxes and redistributionist schemes. Health care, dental care, retirement savings, business operations of all types are, or soon will be, government controlled functions and the United States will become more like European welfare states. Intellectuals will tell the common people how to think and what to do, and, of course, to pay more taxes. That’s good for intellectuals—at least those in government employment—but not so good for the average Joe or the twenty-eight million entrepreneurs living amongst us who create jobs.
Here’s what Ross Perot has to say about this at http://perotcharts.com/home
"The American people must wake up and face the reality that promises made in the past will soon bankrupt this nation. … The United States faces large and growing budget deficits mostly due to an aging population and rising healthcare costs. Unless we solve the problems caused by entitlement spending, there will be little money left to do anything else in the future. Over time, our standard of living, our national security, our standing in the world and the value of our currency could all be threatened. The sooner we confront these issues, the better. "
One of Mr. Perot’s charts shows what percentage of Gross Domestic Product was consumed by the U.S. Government from 1980 to 2007.
The high point was achieved during the Administration of President Ronald Reagan when it was necessary to rebuild America’s military capabilities in a world threatened by the Soviet Union. Even with the military expenditures in Iraq and Afghanistan the government’s share of GDP is below those levels. Yet, as Ross Perot states, an aging population, declining birth rates and the attitude prevalent among many that the Government owes us something spells serious trouble for younger Americans.
On this Independence Day let us remember that the government that gives also takes too much of the productive resources of the American people. Idealistic promises to increase spending on more and ‘better’ federal programs are a one-way ticket to your enslavement to an administrative state that believes it knows better than you how to spend your hard-earned, heavily taxed, income.
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