We
often think of the average politician as being stupid and a liar. Lying, yeah
you can make a case for this, but stupid, no. They know exactly how to tap into
the culture of greed.
For
example, our political system has deteriorated even more to the point
where politicians are now appealing primarily to greed by attempting to
purchase votes. Just consider the current promises that presidential candidates
are making:
The
forgiveness of all college loans.
A
guarantee of free college education in the future.
The
provision of reparations to all descendants of slaves.
A
promise of reparations to same-sex couples.
A
pledge of universal medical care.
The
gift of a $1,000 savings account for each new baby.
The
provision of free child care.
A
guaranteed job for every person.
A
guaranteed minimum income.
This is insane because there is nothing above that's
free! So why promise such things? Because the promise-makers know that in the
same way they are greedy, the people they are appealing to are also greedy,
probably even more so.
So this insane mantra goes on and on. All the candidates seem to be yelling -- "Free stuff! Free stuff! Vote for me and get free stuff!" And people are responding like cows running to a fresh bale of hay. It's a sad scene of unmitigated greed.
And who is going to pay for all this "free stuff"? The answer of the these promise-makers is, of course: "Someone else, but certainly not us."
It was H. L. Menken who once wrote when he characterized elections as "an early auction on stolen goods." George Bernard Shaw put it this way: "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul."
Every good or service is produced at a cost, and producers demand to be paid. So [politicians], while promising you free stuff, are really promising to make your neighbor pay for it.
So this insane mantra goes on and on. All the candidates seem to be yelling -- "Free stuff! Free stuff! Vote for me and get free stuff!" And people are responding like cows running to a fresh bale of hay. It's a sad scene of unmitigated greed.
And who is going to pay for all this "free stuff"? The answer of the these promise-makers is, of course: "Someone else, but certainly not us."
It was H. L. Menken who once wrote when he characterized elections as "an early auction on stolen goods." George Bernard Shaw put it this way: "A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul."
Every good or service is produced at a cost, and producers demand to be paid. So [politicians], while promising you free stuff, are really promising to make your neighbor pay for it.
So, if the greedy masses are not going to pay for all the "free stuff," then how is it to be financed? The solutions being put forward are: "tax the rich," "tax the corporations" and "print money."
When corporations are taxed, they respond by one of three things or a combination of them:
Freeze
or lower wages.
Reduce
the dividends to investors.
Raise
prices to the consumers.
The
most frequent choice is, of course, to raise prices. In any case, it is people
who end up paying the taxes. Therefore,
in the real world, corporations cannot really be taxed!
End
of Part 1
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