A DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE MORALITY OF GOVERNMENT ENTITLEMENTS

OUR FOUNDERS PAID CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION TO THE TASK OF CONSTRUCTING A GOVERNMENT THAT WOULD OFFER TRUE JUSTICE AND HAPPINESS TO ITS CITIZENS.

John Adams left a wise legacy, when he said: " O U R C O N S T I T U T I O N W A S M A D E O N LY FOR A MORAL AND RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. I T I S W H O L LY I N A D E Q UAT E T O T H E G OV E R N M E N T O F A N Y OT H E R . "

OUR NATION ADRIFT FROM ITS PRINCIPLES

THE NOTED FRENCH POLITICAL ANALYST AND PHILOSOPHER, DE MONTESQUIEU (1689-1755) ONCE SAID: "THE DETERIORATION OF EVERY GOVERNMENT BEGINS WITH THE DECAY OF THE PRINCIPLES ON WHICH IT WAS FOUNDED."
A CAREFUL EXAMINATION OF SOME OF THE CHANGES GOING ON IN CURRENT DAY AMERICA CAUSES ONE SOME SERIOUS PAUSE. THIS ARTICLE OFFERS SOME THOUGHTS WHICH CAUSE ME CONCERN AND I HOPE TO CONVEY THOSE TO YOU AS WELL.

FROM THE BEGINNING, AMERICANS RECOILED AT THE DEVINE RIGHT OF KINGS

Americas Early settlers left England because they felt too many restrictions on their beliefs and lives from the various Kings and their administrations.

They hoped to build new lives in a Society that offered more freedom of thought and action. Over the years, frictions with the home country and the imposition of laws from a remote region, became more and more intolerable.
So grew a disdain for laws based on the divine right of KINGS. Belief turned to rights endowed to the CITIZENS by their Creator. It proved a powerful concept. BUT . . . .

A NATION LOSING ITS MORALITY SOON LOSES MUCH MORE

BUT : The new approach was not flawless because Citizens themselves are not flawless. Decades later, it took a long, brutal war with a half million deaths to resolve the issue of slavery - - with half the Citizens standing on one side and half on the other. It was a major struggle involving a moral view by some, pitted against an economic and self-serving view by others at the expense of their fellow humans. SO THE CIVIL WAR TAUGHT US ANEW THAT SOCIETAL ORDER NOT STRUCTURED ON A MORAL PLATFORM IS AN ILLUSORY HOUSE OF CARDS

A LEGACY WORTH PAYING ATTENTION TO:

And while the Civil war was fought nearly a Century after our Declaration of Independence, the lesson of morality was not lost on our original Founders.

John Adams left a wise legacy, when he said: " O U R C O N S T I T U T I O N W A S M A D E O N LY FOR A MORAL AND RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. I T I S W H O L LY I N A D E Q UAT E T O T H E G OV E R N M E N T O F A N Y OT H E R . "

PROFLIGATE SPENDING WAS AN EARLY CONCERN

THE FOUNDERS ALSO WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE HANDLING OF THE NATIONAL BUDGET.
THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT BUDGET AND MANY OTHER ASPECTS OF GOVERNANCE WERE INCORPORATED INTO THEIR GREAT PHILOSOPHIC LEGACY TO US :

our DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE and our CONSTITUTION.

FOUR ACTIONS WERE NOT DOING RIGHT

BY WAY OF SOME HISTORY AND HOMAGE TO THE WISDOM OF OUR FOUNDERS, WE NOW REACH A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THIS ARTICLE - - STATED HERE IN A NEGATIVE CONSTRUCTION FOR EMPHASIS:

WHAT ARE THE 4 DUMBEST THINGS WE CITIZENS CAN DO (ARE DOING ??) IN AMERICA: IGNORE OUR CONSTITUTION M I S TA K E D O G O O D I N T E N T I O N S F O R M O R A L AC T I O N L E A D T H E N AT I O N T O I N S O LV E N C Y L AC K T H E C O U R AG E F O R T I M E LY C O R R E C T I V E AC T I O N

A ROOT ISSUE - - FUNDING THE NEEDY. MOST SAY: YES ! BUT WHO & HOW ? WHAT IS THE BEST WAY ?

Lets consider the case of a CITIZEN A, a man of limited means, who finds himself seriously ill and without health insurance. Should our Society just let him die? Here are some other options:

1.

Citizens contribute via charities 2. The Medical community provides care, gratis 3. Congress mandates care by the medical community or the Citizens via Taxes or Regulation A n y o n e s e e a m o ra l i t y i s s u e w i t h items 1. or 2. ?? How about with item 3. ??

ROBIN HOOD: TAKE FROM THE RICH GIVE TO THE POOR. MORALLY DIFFERENT THAN ROBBIN THE HOOD ?

Citizen B has obeyed his Nations laws, supported his family and paid his taxes as Congress has mandated. He contributes to Charities as he can. But he has difficulty finding the Morality or Constitutionality, where the Government takes his earnings, which he has targeted for his family, and transfers them to Citizen A to serve As needs - - AND punishing Mr. B if he refuses to contribute his funds.

CITIZEN A / CITIZEN B

I f f e l l o w C i t i z e n A ( o r ga n g o f t h u g s ) w e re t o t a ke C i t i z e n B s m o n i e s at g u n p o i n t , w e d c a l l i t a c r i m e. S o w h at d o w e c a l l t h e s a m e a c t w h e n a u t h o r i z e d b y 5 3 5 L e g i s l at o rs ?

SO WHATS A FAIR SOLUTION FOR HELPING THE UNEMPLOYED?

REMEMBER, WERE LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION BASED ON MORALITY AND THE CONSTITUTION. So how about a Constitutional Amendment which: Abolishes the Minimum Wage; Worker and Employer will negotiate terms. Defines the truly needy in terms of significant-work-limiting physical and/or mental incapacity. Requires all others, who fall short of that criterion, to perform work for salary, in the realm of private enterprise, that is commensurate with their ability. The Amendment would permit partial govt funding to enable the private employer to hire the worker without incurring undue cost.

IS THIS NOT A WIN-WIN FOR ALL ?

S E E A S H O RT PLAN OUTLINE - - N E X T C H A RT

HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS OF JAMES MADISON

In 1794, Congress appropriated $15,000. to assist some French refugees. James Madison, credited as principal author of our Constitution, stood on the floor of the House to object saying (a):

"I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents and (b): CHARITY IS NO PART OF THE LEGISLATIVE DUTY OF THE GOVERNMENT."

Madisons vision of morality and common sense seems lost on too many Americans.

HAVE THE THOUGHTS OF THE FOUNDERS BEEN REPLACED BY THE RANTS OF THE UNINFORMED ?

Was James Madison, as some would call him today, part of a mob of greedy, selfish, racists ? I S N T I T M O R E T H E C A S E T H AT A M E R I C A H A S B E E N L E D A S T R AY A N D H A S LO S T S I G H T O F T RU E M O R A L I T Y A N D I N D I V I D UA L RESPONSIBILITY? LETS DISCUSS: DEPENDENCY

THE HERITAGE FOUNDATIONS INDEX OF DEPENDENCY The growing dependency of Americans on government handouts has gotten recent publicity via the annual Index of Dependence published by Heritage Foundation. The index for 2012 has grown more than 15fold since 1962 as documented in the February 2012 update of the Index. In 2010 alone, it grew by 8.1%

This means that, keeping inflation neutral in the calculations, more than 15 times the resources were committed to paying for people who depend on government in 2010 than in 1962.

IF NOT CONTRIBUTING - - DO YOU REALLY HAVE A STAKE ?

One of the most worrying trends in the Index is the coinciding growth in the non-taxpaying public. The percentage of people who do not pay federal income taxes, and who are not claimed as dependents by someone who does pay them, jumped from 14.8 percent in 1984 to 49.5 percent in 2009.

This means that in 1984, 34.8M tax filers - - and in 2009, 151.7M tax filers - - paid $0.00 in support of their Federal government services.

DEPENDENCY IS VERY WELL NURTURED

This chart shows that 70.5 % of federal spending now goes to dependence-creating programs, up dramatically from 28.3% in 1962, and 48.5% in 1990.
Over the next 25 years, more than 77 million boomers will begin collecting Social Security checks, drawing Medicare benefits, and relying on long-term care under Medicaid. No event will financially challenge these important programs over the next two decades more than this largest retirement activity in American history.

ENTITLEMENTS and DEPENDENCY - AKIN TO THE MORALITY OF THE DRUG PUSHER

Some question the morality of Capitalism. But using government Entitlement monies to buy voting allegiance is held as social justice. It is this morality debate that must be confronted by those of us who believe that our increasingly irresponsible budgeting behavior will in the end, cause our Nation to implode from within.

It is not an irrational concern as history has shown, and is further evident today, as Europe struggles with increasing civic unrest as its economy struggles with excessive Citizen dependence on government .

V OT E F O R M E AND I WILL P R OV I D E F O R YOU !

A TRUER MORALITY GAGE !

TWO IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR ALL AMERICANS

C a n o u r re p u b l i c a n f o r m o f go v e r n m e n t w i t h s t a n d t h e p o l i t i c a l w e i g h t o f a g ro w i n g p o p u l at i o n o f A m e r i c a n s w h o re c e i v e b e n e f i t s f ro m f e l l o w C i t i z e n s b u t w h o a re n o t ev e n a s ke d t o d o w h at t h ey c a n f o r t h e m s e l v e s ? H o w s e r i o u s l y h av e t h e s e f e d e ra l p ro g ra m s e ro d e d c i v i l s o c i e t y b y n u l l i f y i n g w h at w e re o n c e p e rs o n a l c i t i z e n o b l i gat i o n s, p rev i o u s l y p ro v i d e d b y f a m i l i e s, c o n g re gat i o n s, c o m m u n i t y g ro u p s, a n d l o c a l go v e r n m e n t s ? We h av e a l l o w e d t h e s e i n d i v i d u a l g ro u p re s p o n s i b i l i t i e s t o ev o l v e i n t o i m p e rs o n a l p o l i t i c a l t r i n ke t s - - d i m i n i s h i n g t h e Fre e d o m s, I d e a l s, M o ra l i t y a n d H u m a n i t y o f ev e r y Citizen.

DRAWING SOME CONCLUSIONS

A FURTHER LESSON FROM HISTORY:

SO DO WE WANT:

THE END
ACTUALLY, ITS NOT THE END - - YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT TO OUR NATION. CITIZEN INTEREST, DIALOG AND DATA ARE CRITICAL TO GOOD CIVIC OUTCOMES. AND THAT INCLUDES OUTCOMES WHICH SIMPLY ASSURE PROPER CONDITIONS FOR THE FREE MARKET TO WORK.