Capitalism, And Fishing For Ourselves
May 13, 2012
Greetings Citizens!
Let's talk today about capitalism.
Capitalism has gotten a bad rap in recent years. As the economy tanked and continues to sputter, the government has tried and tried to solve the problem without success.
Complicating matters is the fact we Americans are standing around with our hands in our pockets shrugging and letting this happen. We are content to let our government dig is out of the doldrums despite the fact history has shown this won't work. By letting the government try to solve our economic problems all we are doing is putting a Band-Aid on an open wound. We are doing nothing do act on why we have an open wound in the first place.
A look at our history books is enlightening.
Since the Panic of 1797, this country has had no less than 46 recessions or depressions, a number some might find surprisingly high. The average length of time between downturns has been three years or so and it wasn't until the Great Depression that the government intervened. Previously, presidents let the downturn run its course.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed that, and he tried his mightiest to get this nation out of the Great Depression. When something didn't work, FDR rolled up his sleeves and tried something else. Despite all this, the Great Depression didn't really end until World War II.
There are lessons here. The first is that economic downturns are inevitable and neither the government nor the free market can prevent them. Just like life has its ups and downs, so do economies. It's the way the world is built.
Second, the government cannot fix them. FDR couldn't - and he worked very hard at it - and neither have Bush nor Obama been able to.
Despite these lessons there are those who want our government to do even more. Some even regard raising taxes as a given, with the only thing to be decided is how much they are going to be raised and what programs the money is going to be spent on.
This is wrong. The best thing the government can do to restore this nation's economy to prosperity is to butt out and get out of the way because government controlled economies do not work. If they did, the Soviet Union would've won the Cold War and Cuba would be a world power.
Solutions are out there though, solutions that will both get the economy moving again and get the government to keep its mitts off the economy. We are on record as favoring a flat tax of 17 percent for individuals and businesses, as well as limiting our annual deficit to 2.5 percent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the combined value of the output of this nation's goods and services.
Lower taxes will leave every American with more money to spend and leave businesses with more money to meet those needs. They will be able to afford expansion, hiring new workers and paying their employees higher wages and salaries.
More government interference will do nothing except take money out of our pockets and put them towards government programs that will provide zero long term economic growth.
Consider the saying "Give a man a fish and you've fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you've fed him for a lifetime. Government programs work on the same principle. They merely issue fish. Cutting taxes and fostering free markets will put us in a position to catch our own fish.
And that's all we can really ask of a government, the freedom to fish for ourselves.
All aboard the Freedom Train!
Yours In Liberty
Gaylon
Gaylon is running for the Libertarian Party nomination for Congress for Colorado's 3rd district in the June 26 primary. If you are not registered as a Libertarian, you may register my May29 and still be eligible to vote in the primary.
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