- If indiviuduals choose to give, that's their business. But keep public money here!
As the I Ching says: "Dispersion leads in turn to accumulation. This is something that ordinary men do not think of."
Posted on 12/30/2004 1:17:50 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Our money is not the government's to give.
As the death toll mounts in the areas hit by Sunday's tsunami in southern Asia, private organizations and individuals are scrambling to send out money and goods to help the victims. Such help may be entirely proper, especially considering that most of those affected by this tragedy are suffering through no fault of their own.
The United States government, however, should not give any money to help the tsunami victims. Why? Because the money is not the government's to give.
Every cent the government spends comes from taxation. Every dollar the government hands out as foreign aid has to be extorted from an American taxpayer first. Year after year, for decades, the government has forced American taxpayers to provide foreign aid to every type of natural or man-made disaster on the face of the earth: from the Marshall Plan to reconstruct a war-ravaged Europe to the $15 billion recently promised to fight AIDS in Africa to the countless amounts spent to help the victims of earthquakes, fires and floods--from South America to Asia. Even the enemies of the United States were given money extorted from American taxpayers: from the billions given away by Clinton to help the starving North Koreans to the billions given away by Bush to help the blood-thirsty Palestinians under Arafat's murderous regime.
The question no one asks about our politicians' "generosity" towards the world's needy is: By what right? By what right do they take our hard-earned money and give it away?
The reason politicians can get away with doling out money that they have no right to and that does not belong to them is that they have the morality of altruism on their side. According to altruism--the morality that most Americans accept and that politicians exploit for all it's worth--those who have more have the moral obligation to help those who have less. This is why Americans--the wealthiest people on earth--are expected to sacrifice (voluntarily or by force) the wealth they have earned to provide for the needs of those who did not earn it. It is Americans' acceptance of altruism that renders them morally impotent to protest against the confiscation and distribution of their wealth. It is past time to question--and to reject--such a vicious morality that demands that we sacrifice our values instead of holding on to them.
Next time a politician gives away money taken from you to show what a good, compassionate altruist he is, ask yourself: By what right?
David Holcberg is a research associate at the Ayn Rand Institute in Irvine, Calif.
And you would propose ... what???
Leave the US ships at home? Do you know of any private organizations that have several large scale water purification systems that are operable, on a ship and ready to move out right now? Because if they have to start from scratch, there's a little problem with time. By the time funds are raised and a water filtration system is installed at each critical area, it would be a good two weeks. Then, instead of tackling starvation and homelessness, we'd be facing a cholera pandemic (as well as starvation and homelessness).
The upfront nickel per person investment makes my private donation more efficient.
You cheap bastard. If you want to save the nickel, try experimenting with rounding the digits on your tax return to the nearest dollar this April. You'll get your damn nickel back.
But do it in the name of Libertarian Purity.
"I think people really get their hackles up when they think about the government using our money and then the Euroweenies making us feel cheap because it's not enough.
"
Stick a couple of "some"s in there and you'll be right, as long as your "some" is just a percent or two.
"TWENTY years ago they were saying "Randroidism" fizzled out 10 years ago!
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And so it did. That is why the Libertarians cannot get more than .5% of the vote. Liebertarianism is a bogus philosophy that has no real support from the American people. Give it up.
The USGS and NOAA knew of a seismic event of 8.0+ off the coast of Sumtra as it happened and a few hours before the waves strcuk.
1.5 hours is what I've seen(almost instant in quake area) These are third world countries and there is no tsunami warning system at all. I've read that the warnings were not sent out in Thailand because they didn't want to upset their tourist industry.How many would have heard a warning anyway?
As the I Ching says: "Dispersion leads in turn to accumulation. This is something that ordinary men do not think of."
I agree with you, and disagree with those who think that the "general welfare" clause empowers the government to take anything and do anything it wants. Federalist Paper #41 argues that proximity to the listing of the powers of the federal government would preclude outrageous misinterpretations of what counts as "promoting the general welfare."
I second that! Great story.
And if you, as an individual, choose to do that...great!
The issue is whether public money should be spent this way. And I continue to argue that it should not be.
That's collective mentality for ya. It stilll wouldn't be their money.
This country was founded on individual liberty, not mob rule.
Could you please give the Scripture's Chapter and verse?????
I do belive the KEYWORD in what you quoted is YOU
I wasn't being serious!
Hey CJ
Been a while since I've been on one of the Libertarian threads. But this one is particularily repulsive.
Its sort of a "Lets be as outrageous as possible so that we can draw attention to ourselves" kind of thread. In the name of Libertarian "purity", the defenders of this article would like to pretend that this money is going to build a library somewhere rather than prevent a malaria breakout.
Meanwhile, they enjoy Freeping on the DARPA-funding-developed internet with complete clarity of conscience.
There is nothing in the Constitution which authorizes such 'giving'.
L
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