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It’s Government That Can’t Exist Without Businesses

In a recent speech, Barack Obama delivered the line that Mitt Romney is quickly turning into the centerpiece of the 2012 presidential campaign: “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that; somebody else made that happen.” The Obama campaign is crying that this line is being taken out of context. Well, you can see the larger context in the video below, and it doesn’t make Obama look any better.

The basic thrust of the speech is that wealthy people need to pay higher taxes because the government provides services for them. This is a common argument for liberal politicians because they are always trying to increase taxes. So, I thought I might tackle this oft-repeated theme.

First, it isn’t the case that businesses can’t exist without government services; it’s government services that can’t exist without business. Government may build some of the things that businesses use. However, everything that government has is taken from businesses. Without them, government has nothing.

Second, businesses rely on some government services because government regulations forbid the private sector from providing them. Look at education: Government requires it, forces everyone to pay for it, and then stifles competition by opposing school choice programs. Despite that, virtually everyone who can afford to pay twice for their children’s education opts to send their kids to private schools, even public school teachers. The public education system is extremely expensive and does an incredibly poor job, and that is the sad truth of almost everything that government does.

That is reality. We are all forced, by the government, to pay extremely high taxes for incredibly bad services. Then, if the government actually manages to do something that isn’t completely useless, we are expected to get down on our knees and praise government workers because they “made that happen.”

It’s as certain as the sunrise that when a liberal politician wants to raise your taxes, they will tell you how much you need the one or two government services that people actually use. They will threaten you and say that those services will be cut if your taxes aren’t raised.

When they do threaten you, remind them that your taxes already overpay for those services. Remind them that you pay excessively high rates for those crummy services because government, unlike the private sector, is a monopoly. Remind them that, for every government service that you use, you pay for a thousand others that are completely useless. Remind them that most of the money that you are forced to pay into each government program is wasted. Remind them that it is the politicians that should get down on their knees and praise you because without your money, they wouldn’t have jobs. Remind them that it was your work and your taxes that “made that happen.”

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July 20, 2012 at 11:03 am Comment (1)

Ayn Rand Explains Objectivism; Milton Friedman Explains Capitalism

In this 1959 interview, Ayn Rand talks about her philosophy and explains the principles behind Objectivism. This Mike Wallace interview, which occurred just a few years after “Atlas Shrugged” was published, shows how liberal journalists use loaded statements and questions to launch attacks.

He begins by misstating the name of her philosophy as “Randism.” Surely, Mike Wallace knows that her philosophy is called “Objectivism.” The use of her name is intended to imply her philosophy is her subjective opinion and undercut the idea that it is objective. Ayn Rand quickly corrects him and explains the basic precepts, but Mike Wallace returns with “you like a certain kind of Ayn Randist selfishness.”

Next, Mike Wallace goes on to say “What is wrong with loving your fellow man? Christ, every important moral leader in history, has taught us that we should love one another. Why then is this kind of love, in your mind, immoral?” Aside from the obvious phoney bandwagon argument about “every important moral leader,” this loaded statement really comes out of nowhere. Ayn Rand didn’t say anything about love; she was talking about altruism and self-sacrifice.

Mike Wallace continues the “interview” with more of the same, and Ayn Rand does an excellent job of explaining her philosophy. It would have been nice to see her challenge Mike Wallace’s fallacious statements more. However, she was probably more interested in explaining her philosophy than she was in beating back the communist onslaught.

What should Ayn Rand have said to Mike Wallace? This clip below of Phil Donahue interviewing Milton Friedman demonstrates the method perfectly. Watch as Donahue loads up his “question” on capitalism and greed only to have utterly deflated as Milton Friedman counters with, “Is there some society that you know of that doesn’t run on greed?”

When speaking to liberals, always question the premise. Also, take note of the manner in which Phil Donahue asked his question. He spent about 25 seconds to ask a simple question about whether Milton Friedman ever had any doubts.

The question itself takes a few seconds to state. However, Donahue stretches it out to set the trap and and make his attack. The inherent implication of the question is that capitalism and greed are the cause of misery in the world, but Milton Friedman quickly knocks down that fallacy. That is how it is done!

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July 6, 2012 at 1:23 am Comments (2)