Thank you, Badray, for the ping!
Thank you yatros for bringing DiLorenzo's piece to our attention.
I heard a speaker say once that when you hear a politician talking about a "crisis," then you'd better start watching out for some new laws to curtail your liberty.
Most of the crises we read about are not crises at all, but they are inventions of some special interest group or some politicians who wish to regulate or tax us. "Crisis Creation" must be the job title for many full-time positions in Washington.
Now, however, a true crisis of biblical proportions occurs, which captures the attention of all of us. It arouses our spirit of compassion, and it also may increase our vulnerability to the designs of what George Washington called "artful" politicians--politicians who may exploit both the victims and the liberty of American citizens.
Our Republic was designed to rely on the intelligence and vigilance of its citizens. Madison and others warned us of the need to watch out for and stop encroachments on our liberty before they take hold.
Helping impoverished nations should not rely only on money and goods and services. Helping them to establish the rule of law and ro provide economic freedom for their citizens will, in the long run, assure that they can create wealth and prosperity for themselves.
O'Rourke, a few years back, wrote "Eat the Rich: A Treatise. . . ," recounting his travels to numerous countries, and, with his usual humor, examined (as had Adam Smith over 200 years before) the causes of the wealth of nations and the happiness of their citizens vs. those sunk in poverty and oppression. He concluded that it was the rule of law and economic freedom that distinguished one from the other.
Most of the crises we read about are not crises at all, but they are inventions of some special interest group or some politicians who wish to regulate or tax us. "Crisis Creation" must be the job title for many full-time positions in Washington.
Funny though isn't it when Democrats do this many 'conservatives' are up in arms over the audacity of a politician to do such a thing, but when Republicans do the same thing, it's an action that is 'vital to the country' or some other nonsense
Money, funding, or any sort of aid should come from the citizens of the respective states and not from the national government.