Posted on 09/07/2002 5:00:11 AM PDT by Valin
Edited on 04/13/2004 3:37:10 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
WASHINGTON - From Aug. 26 through Sept. 4, over 4,000 official delegates, some 3,000 activists from non-government organizations and heads of state from 100 countries have met at the U.N. Sustainable Development Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference was billed as the largest event the United Nations has ever staged, meant to tackle the largest problem the modern world has ever faced: economic development. Yet the entire venture can be summed up in one word: redistribution.
(Excerpt) Read more at 24hour.startribune.com ...
The KEY point here! And it SHOULD be OBVIOUSLY so in Washington, but...
Aye, this is true. In a zero sum world, there would exist no politics, no rights- just the rule of the gun.
Luckily we do not live in a zero sum world.
Also, there's a logical fallacy in this guy's reasoning. In a zero sum world there is NO wealth production therefore there can be no wealth producing assets. There is no such thing as "redistributing wealth producing assets" because the primary apparatus for the creation of wealth is the human mind- how do you chop that up?
Furthermore, it seems apparant that he buys into the Marxist world view by calling it the world's wealth producing assets. He uses the possessive- implying that it belongs to the world when nothing could be further from the truth. Companies and Corporations do not and should not belong to the world or even the state in which they operate. Ford Motor Company isn't one of the USA's assets. It is an asset of its shareholders- end of story. Company/business/corporations belong to individuals not states- not the collective. It's about private property.
No, you are correct, it isn't a zerosum world. But I think it might be a "zerominus" world.
When you buy and sell stocks your broker always makes money. So if you win, you win the amount the other person lost less commission. If you lose you lose the amount plus the commission. Both winners and losers are hit by commission.
Governments work that way too. All these "humanitarian" transfers include the Government rake off. So, if we give anything the receiver gets less than we give by the amount of Governments "overheads".
The best policy isn't to "give" anything at all. The best policy is to BE a shining example of what CAN BE done, and be willing to TEACH otheres how to do it for themselves.
I noted with interest that all these delegates to the South African convention seemed very well fed, indeed. They get the rake off.
Democrats believe in take from Peter and then give to Paul. Republicans believe in the productivity of individuals and protecting them from being ripped off.
This is only one aspect of the stock market and it is properly called speculation- not investment. You don't invest in the Stock Market you invest in a company that you understand and that has sound business practices. Simply calling the broker and saying 'Maria Bartiromo says Dell is going up today is like shooting craps'- this isn't investing.
At any rate, the broker isn't just confiscating your money when he charges a fee- you are receiving something for it- just like handing over 50 cents for a candy bar (or whatever they cost).
Governments do not work that way. Governments in their present form are in the wealth confiscation and redistribution business. You usually never see your money again or you see it in a much reduced form- ie shoddy postal service, inefficient public works, transport that you don't use, etc. Taxation is simply extortion below the tolerance threshold. It is still robbery.
Now if this should read like this – The first is the notion the it is unfair for the Unions and other laborers to have so little while the corporations and those who work hard to succeed to have more than those in the Unions.
Sounds just like Tom Daschel and Dick Gephardt and their on-going poor against the rich rhetoric and for the same reasons as the UN, control through welfare.
These people need to be taught to get off their butts and get out at sunrise the same way our forefathers did. America didn't become powerful by them staying in bed and taking siestas every afternoon.
The first item on the U.N. priority list, "free trade" will continue to be the most effective tool of income redistribution. It will expedite the further movement of factories out of the United States into "export platforms" overseas. The arena for this plundering of the Western economies will not be the United Nations but the World Trade Organization, whose Doha Round talks are committed to his end.
"Whether the redistribution of the world's wealth-producing assets are orchestrated by international organizations or transnational corporations, it must be resisted by U.S. officials whose duty is to protect the prosperity and security of the American people. "
RESISTANCE????????
BULL$H!T!!!!!!! GATT and NAFTA were passed as easily asthe USA PATRIOT ACT, without much serious discussion.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.