"I've never been poor, only broke. Being poor is a frame of mind. Being broke is only a temporary situation." - Mike Todd
Europe's attitude in regards to the role of government during the days of the Founding Fathers, even to this day, is to take from the "haves" and give it to the "have nots"; in the European mind it made everything "truly equal." But, our Founders seen right through this flaw and decided to take a different approach.
Let's start with a premise.
The American people can't give power to the government to do anything, except that which they have the power, or lawful right, to do themselves. In other words, if the people don't have the lawful right or power to do anything, they can't very well delegate it to the government.
As an example. We know that every American is entitled to protect his or her life and property. With that in mind, it would be within the governments power to establish a police force. The people are entitled to protect themselves, thus they have the right to delegate that power to government. In that sense, it would also be legitimate for the federal government to establish a police force as well, such as the FBI, DEA, etc.
Now, let's suppose that you live in a neighborhood where you have a car, your neighbor has two and his neighbor has none. You decide one day, out of benevolence, to walk over to your neighbor's house with two cars, relieve him of one of them and give it your neighbor that has none. No doubt that your local police would be paying you a visit for grand theft auto, regardless of your intentions, you stole from someone that has and gave to another that had not.
Because your actions were completely misunderstood, you decide to take action and collect signatures for a ballot on the city council. You want to make it law to take from the haves and give to the have nots, because in your world view, the government's role should provide equal things across the board. Because you were not thinking of the consequences, the city council has made it law; not only has your neighbor lost his car, but now he has lost his rights.
And so have you.
If you don't think so, consider this. When the Soviet Union seized control of Hungary, the peasants were overjoyed with the so-called 'justice' meted out to the wealthy land owners when the Communists confiscated their lands and gave it to the peasants. In the following years after they seized control and gave it the peasants, the communist regime took roughly three quarters of that land back to establish communal farms. The overjoyed peasants weren't so joyful when this happened and vociferously complained about their property rights. During those days, we know what happened when a peasant complained too much.
Our Founders recognized what would happen if the government was allowed to redistribute wealth and goods. If it was authorized to do so, then our government would have the power to give rights and take them away at will, which we all know as tyranny.
Our Founders knew then that the key to prosperity was to protect equal rights and not provide equal things. Samuel Adams even said that the very ideas of a welfare state were purposely made unconstitutional when he stated:
"The Utopian schemes of leveling and a community of goods, are as visionary and impractical as those which vest all property in the crown. These ideas are arbitrary, despotic, and, in our government unconstitutional."
Welfare states never last long, just look at Europe now. They are economically collapsing and if we don't look to them and understand the mistakes they have made, we will be following the same collapse as well. With the current administration, we're already on the path.
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