Why is capitalism at risk? Both the Republicans and the Democrats don’t understand how to nurture it. It is threatened today with more regulations and an increasingly dependent nation. It is assumed that Democrats are pro people (labor) and the Republicans are pro business (big business).
The reality is capitalism needs both and does not care if you are a Democrat or a Republican.
A business needs outstanding people to succeed, and people need successful companies who will hire. The reality is small to mid size businesses employ the most people and add more new jobs, not big business. Last time I checked, people are looking for high quality jobs. See the connection? Barack Obama and his current administration do not see this relationship. They believe that government will ensure that people have jobs.
I believe in the potential that every human life offers. I believe that families and communities can be brought together and can serve as well at solve the problems we face. Together we can form the character of our children by giving them the tools they need to be successful not just economically but morally and socially. Those of us who believe in that success do so because we believe in the right to be free and to make our own way. These rights are our God given and are used by good and virtuous people who are shaped by faith to build a great nation; the greatest nation in the history of the world with the greatest economy formed under a capitalist system. Our system is one that rewards the fruits of your labor and your activities and does not get in the way with a big manipulative government. As a country we have always believed and embraced that. It’s a primary reason we fought the Revolutionary War against Great Britain.
Consider this: life expectancies 200 years ago were half of what they are today. No other nation in the last thousand years of history can say that. We have achieved something extraordinary. Even the poorest among us have seen great strides over counterparts from 50 years ago. This is the power of America and this is what we dream of. And we have accomplished a lot of this. This is what makes us a shining city on a hill that beckons to the world. That is why everyone wants to be an American.
Barack Obama and his current administration do not see that in America. They don’t believe in the foundational documents that our forefathers created that attest to our inalienable rights, not granted by the government, but by some higher being. They believe in different foundational documents which are very much like the European constitutional foundational documents which are specifically secular, make no mention of God and are silent to their Christian heritage. The rights in Europe are rights given to you by the government and he thinks and believes this is also the best vision for America.
What we are fighting for here is not what we are, but who we will be in the future. What has people so upset is they feel something big is changing the original fabric of America. It is not Barack Obama’s aspirations but his policies that are moving America in a direction at lightning speed towards dependency and entitlement. Forty-seven percent of Americans pay no federal income tax today. That means many enjoy the benefits of our country for free. Another 40% receive money back in the form of tax credits on top of a refund. So not only do they receive money for free, we are paying them to live in America.
Republicans are just as much to blame as Democrats. Every politician has a slogan aimed at appeasing the middle class most of which translate to providing the middle class with more income tax breaks. Pretty soon we cut taxes for everyone except the higher income folks and that is who is left to pay taxes. The government has no choice but to take a larger and larger share of taxes from higher income folks. How is this sustainable? At some point the biggest tax payers have the ability to leave and who will pay?
At some point the 47% of Americans who pay no federal income taxes are going to figure out that it is not in their best interest to vote against bigger government. They pay no taxes and may get money back. They get something for nothing. They are figuring it out. Also, our biggest employer is the Federal, State and Local Governments who employ 17% of the entire work force. Barack Obama has just earmarked 50 billion dollars to State and Local to aide in keeping government jobs. If they are note needed why do we have them?
Traditionally government employees where paid a little less than market value for the tradeoff of job security. How many government workers do you know who have been fired or let go? Now Federal employees are making more than market value….is this long term logical? Yet will they vote for smaller government and then possibly vote against their own job security?
What we are discovering is that Americans love entitlements. Think of a drug dealer working a corner with a little dime bag. They just want to get you hooked. With a little taste of the entitlement narcotic, they have you. Getting high for nothing. Americans love getting something for nothing. They are getting hooked.
That is what is happening to America today and it is scaring people as well it should. We are developing policies that will turn us into a dependency culture, a culture of wealth redistribution and socialism. If you look at countries have gone in the direction of social welfare, there is a very logical sequence. A hundred years ago the British Empire was the strongest empire in the world. The French were second. These countries dominated the world for multiple centuries not just 150 years like the United States. They were the biggest empires with the biggest militaries in the world. They enjoyed world domination with territories and colonies throughout all continents. Now they have no military to speak of in France and very little in Great Britain. They have no major economic presence. How did these powerful countries built through world conquest change? How did they become countries with huge welfare states?
How did things get so bad that they stopped having children and each citizen became more worried about themselves? What is in it for me? What do I get out of it? Slowly over time these governments began to bankroll everything. Now, they can no longer afford. While the entire continent of Europe used to dominate the world, they are now fourth behind the United States, Asian Countries and Indian. Soon South America will drop them further down the list. And look at their moral condition and their quickly changing demographics—they became tired, complacent and grew too big. Their moral condition decayed. They just could no longer afford to sustain the practices and policies in place.
The greater hope for America is our moral condition. We’re the most churched people in the Western Hemisphere. More go to church on Sunday than attend all sporting events combined in a year. That is not the case in Europe. The large governments focus on the here and now. They focus on the day-to-day needs and wants of humanity as they have lost the vision of a bigger picture and what it means to be free, to fight for liberty and for what is right and true—let alone sacrifice or even to die for it. They lost their faith and their populations continue to decline because they have also lost the hope of a better, brighter future for each successive generation. This vicious circle spirals them down. This is the dream of the ‘Left in America.’ This is nirvana in their world. This is what they seek and is what is at stake in the next election.
When we look back at how historic events came about, people often say they were not aware at the time of how pivotal a certain event or statement was; they did not recognize the full importance of what was happening when they were going through it. This is a different kind of time. I think we realize how significant this moment is and how important this is to our collective futures. We desperately need to roll back what has been recently done and move forward with an agenda that believes that free people are not dependent.
My father was part of the greatest generation. When they came to the United States it was not to join a union or be guaranteed a government handout. It was an opportunity to create one’s own financial security through hard work and sacrifice. Capitalism gave my parents and millions like them this opportunity, not the Democrats or the Republicans. When they arrived in this country, they did not even know what either was!
The greatest generation is revered in this country. A local hero Bob Feller at the height of his career, which most likely cost him being number one in many pitcher categories, stepped away from professional baseball as an all-star and went to war. We were not anxious to become involved in World War II and, in fact, this country sat for quite a while after June of 1940 when France fell. All of Europe was black with Nazis, fascism and communism — the Pacific was falling under Japanese control. What people in America do with Churchill when he pleaded for us to come to his aid? We did nothing.
We went on with our lives and were hoping it would get better and it somehow would exempt us from this war happening around us. We were separated by oceans and were determined that the War would not encroach on our soil. In the summer of 1941 congress came within one vote of repealing the draft. We would have been even further behind and more unprepared when we entered the War if this occurred. We just wanted people to leave us alone so we could just live our lives. However, the fateful bombing of Pearl Harbor roused an entire nation to stand up and sacrifice everything worth saving…our liberties, our families, our country and our God given rights.
While no one has dropped the equivalent of a bomb on Pearl Harbor today what the Obama administration is doing is the domestic equivalent of an attack on the very soul of America. The question is what are you going to do about it? Not collectively, but you individually. I think if you really reflect on what is happening in America you may agree with what I am saying. One of my favorite quotes is from a Mr. Lasch who says, “Every day we get up we tell ourselves lies so we can live.”
Many of us make the mistake of keeping our heads down and hoping this all goes away. Whatever is going on today can’t possibly affect us because it cannot happen here. But when it does who will you blame? Who will you hold accountable? Will we blame special-interest groups? Will we blame all the people with money and influence?
Closer to home, we are particularly blessed. We live in Ohio. We elect presidents! We elect our senators and governors who could be huge players in the national political scene. We are at the epicenter. What we do sounds louder than anyone else in this country. Furthermore, in Ohio congressional apportionment is the process which will occur this year due to the combined races for governor, secretary of state and state auditor. This is where seats in the State House of Representatives are redistributed amongst the 88 counties. This apportionment will play a huge role in future elections and what direction this state of Ohio will take in the future.
There is an old saying…Too whom much is given, much is expected. To whom more is given, more is required. We need to engage in this mission together to save America.
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