Thoughts Aloud

OK – we have raised the debt ceiling yet again and, this round of hysteria should soon abate. That being the case, might we discuss this issue from a more rational point of view?

First, while I was against the raising of the debt ceiling by any amount, the actual dollar amounts involved, in and of themselves, are of little significance. Said another way, it matters little whether the United States owes $5 trillion or $25 trillion.

What matters is the SPENDING that causes this debt. More specifically, the precise ways in which this money is being spent.

I have no doubt whatever that, if by some miracle, the government could simply be pushed aside, American ingenuity combined with the power of a once-again free market would ignite our national economy such that GDP growth would soon trivialize the dollar amount of the national debt. If only!

As I have noted in other articles, part of our problem is that we allow the needed national discussions to be sidetracked – and this is done intentionally by those who would enslave us, with the help of their toadies in academia and in the media. This is done by distorting the language, by fear mongering, and, worst of all, by outright lies (such as the lie that failure to increase the debt ceiling = instant national default).

Thus, we have just gone through this hysteria over the dollar value of debt ceiling increases and imaginary spending cuts when neither of these is the REAL issue.

My friends, the REAL issue before us is NOT the growth of government spending; it is the corresponding growth of GOVERNMENT ITSELF a point that conveniently gets pushed into the shadows each time this particular circus comes to town.

I happen to be thoroughly libertarian in my political views. When we libertarians bemoan government spending, here are a few examples what we really mean:

→ We object to spending billions on a Department of Education not because of the dollar amounts involved but rather because we are against the harm done by the very existence of a Department of Education.

→ We object to spending billions on a Department of Energy not because of the dollar amounts involved but rather because the Department of Energy actually impedes the development of viable energy sources.

→ We object to spending billions on a Department of Agriculture not because of the dollar amounts involved and certainly not out of any animosity toward our nations farmers but rather because the Department of Agriculture distorts the markets for farm goods while primarily acting as a piggy-bank for huge commercial agricultural businesses.

→ We object to spending billions on a Department of Labor not because of the dollar amounts involved and certainly not out of disrespect for those who labor to produce our vital goods and services but rather because the Department of Labor has become little more than a front for powerful labor unions who have long since lost any legitimate reason to exist and who consistently abuse their power (look no further that the Boeing situation in South Carolina where the power of labor is being used to deny employment to prospective workers, and to deny an industrial concern its legal right to return a profit from its investments).

→ We object to the spending of billions on an oversized military not because of the dollar amounts involved but rather because we object to the unjustified wars and the number of imperialistic military outposts this allows to happen.

→ We object to the Environmental Protection Agency not because of the dollar amounts involved, and certainly not because we desire a polluted environment. We object because that agency misuses its unconstitutional power to interfere with the operation of a free marketplace.

→ We object to the Drug Enforcement Agency and the so-called “war on drugs”, not because of the dollar amounts involved and certainly not because we want a nation of junkies. We object because this phoney “war” is being used to turn our republic into a police state, while doing nothing to actually affect drug use.

→ We object to the Department Of Homeland Security not because of the dollar amounts involved and certainly not because we want terrorists blowing up our cities with impunity. We object because this agency, and the laws that allow it to operate, have done little to make us safer while being the biggest assault on our personal liberty and on our constitutionally-protected rights in the history of the republic.

→ We object to ObamaCare not because of the dollar amounts involved and certainly not because we want grandma to die for lack of medical care. We object because we honestly think a free market for healthcare is our best hope to lower medical costs while improving care. And, we fear a government run healthcare system will perform more like the U. S. Postal Service rather than like UPS or FedEx.

I could go on and on but, hopefully, you see the pattern here. The real problem facing this republic is not the number of dollars spent or saved, it is the growth of government itself, the growth of its power to interfere in every aspect of our personal lives, in our markets and in the stability of the entire world. Indeed, our government with its regulations and crony capitalism are well on the way to virtually destroying our national economy

What started as a government intended to serve the states and the people has grown to become the masters of the states and the people. Left unchecked, this is absolutely guaranteed to end in a tyrannical dictatorship – if, indeed, we are not there already.

Worst of all, as our government has grown in size and power, it has increasingly alienated the people it was intended to serve. We now find ourselves in a situation where about half our citizens are dependent on government for their sustenance, hence easily manipulated, and the other half are being used more and more like slaves. This is the road directly to ruin.

While we the people still possess a shred of liberty, I beg you to help keep the focus on the real issues before us rather than to keep letting ourselves be diverted or fear-mongered onto meaningless tangents.

Troy L Robinson

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