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« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2018, 05:50:15 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 1-4-2018
From The Federalist Patriot
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The common thread in the government-loving leftist narrative is that government has a right to whatever portion of our earnings it deems necessary to achieve its ends, with taxpayers as slaves whose labor provides the necessary funding.
Democrats have hijacked and distorted language and turned it on its face, accusing workers who want to keep more of their money to provide for their families of being “greedy,” while painting government, which takes our earnings by force to give to those who have not earned it, as altruistic. Harvard economist Thomas Sowell captures the essence of this looking-glass logic, stating, “I have never understood why it is 'greed’ to want to keep the money you have earned but not greed to want to take somebody else’s money.”
As to the why of the progressive Democrat pursuit of what renowned economist Frederic Bastiat called “legal plunder,” well, that is a logical political calculation on their part, and it comes down to raw power. For, as socialist playwright George Bernard Shaw smugly noted, “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul.” Democrats seek to steal greater amounts from a shrinking number of workers, with the clear knowledge that voters benefitting from the redistribution of those ill-gotten gains will keep them in power.
Democrats claim to be horrified at the thought that tax cuts will (allegedly) increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years (as if keeping money in private hands, rather than ever-expanding government spending, is the problem). Yet an astute observer would note these same Democrats happily ran up the deficit during the Barack Obama years, resulting in $10 trillion in new debt.
Tax cuts are good policy. As liberal icon John F. Kennedy declared in 1962, in calling for significant cuts to the corporate and personal income tax rates, “In short, it is a paradoxical truth that … the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now.”
Tax cuts are also morally sound, allowing free men and women to provide for the care of their families, rather than be rendered serfs on a government master’s plantation, retaining just enough of the fruits of their labor to maintain subsistence.
And while leftists claim taxes need to be higher so the so-called “rich” can pay their “fair share,” let’s remind them they can voluntarily donate more of their money to government if they wish. That is, unless they wish to admit their philosophy is not about caring for the needy, but about cultivating envy and justifying theft.
Thus, speaking of benevolence with money, another fear33 regarding the impact of tax cuts is that, with the standard deductions and child tax credits doubling, it will drastically reduce the number of people who itemize and, therefore, reduce the number of people who give to charity.
Such a thought shows a misunderstanding of the nature of charity, which is a voluntary, individual act (by definition, government cannot be charitable, because it uses force). The American people are empirically the most generous people on Earth34, giving twice as much in personal charity as the next closest country, Canada.
People give to charity not for tax breaks (which would be silly; the taxes saved are far less than the amount given to charity), but out of a sincere desire to help their fellow man. Last year alone, individual Americans donated nearly $300 billion to charity, nearly three times more than was donated by foundations and corporations.
The reality is that with more money in their own pockets, there will be more available for Americans to donate to charity. Multiple studies show the more conservative and religious a person is35, the more they donate to charity, both in hard dollars and as a percentage of income. (Perhaps that’s tied with the way leftists think about taxes and deductions.) There is no reason to think the tax cuts will do anything but encourage even greater charitable giving, since those who were previously barely making ends meet may now have the means, and the desire, to share.
And voluntary sharing is a very good thing. Government redistribution is not.
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Will Democrats Run Against Peace and Prosperity in 2018?39 — They can’t support Trump’s position on Iran or economic growth. So that leaves opposition.
California: The Lawless State40 — Democrats’ new “sanctuary” law protecting illegal aliens went into effect on Monday.
Washington Post Pollutes Scott Pruitt’s EPA41 — According to the newspaper, the EPA is “one of Trump’s most powerful tools.” Actually, it was Obama’s.
Humor Video: 2017 in Review — We Are All OFFENDED!42 — YouTuber Chad Prather takes aim at Trump derangement, how everything is racist, and more.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Larry Elder: Instead of ‘Infrastructure Investment,’ How About Killing Davis-Bacon?43
Victor Davis Hanson: Will Nuclear North Korea Survive 2018?44
George Will: America Needs a Balanced-Budget Amendment More Than Ever45
Ed Feulner: A Six-Question Test for 2018, and Beyond46
Ann Coulter: Al Franken’s Touching Departure47
For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion48.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Larry Elder: “What if, instead of spending more on infrastructure, the government began paying nearly 20 percent less for projects? And how about pushing privatization, where possible, over the inevitably more costly government spending? The Davis-Bacon Act, a Depression-era measure, was designed to thwart black workers from competing against white workers. It requires federal contractors to pay ‘prevailing union wages.’ This act sought to shut out black workers from competing for construction jobs… It is remarkable the Davis-Bacon still lives despite its racist intent and its discriminatory effect — to this day — on black workers. Passed in 1931, two Republicans teamed up to sponsor it. In a labor market dominated by exclusionary unions that demanded above-market wages, blacks, at the time, competed by working for less money than the unionists. Davis-Bacon stopped this by requiring federal contractors to pay prevailing local union wages, causing massive black unemployment. Lawmakers made no secret of the law’s goal. … Davis-Bacon adds as much as 20 percent more to the cost of any federal project. And most states have enacted local Davis-Bacon laws that similarly jack up the price of those government construction projects. This brings us to privatization. Why not encourage more projects to be built and run by the private market?”
SHORT CUTS
Insight: “Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage more than criticize.” —Elizabeth Harrison (1897-1955)
For the record: “As Americans, you need identification, sometimes in a very strong and accurate form, for almost everything you do…..except when it comes to the most important thing, VOTING for the people that run your country. Push hard for Voter Identification!” —Donald Trump
But also for the record: “[Donald] Trump is less an aberration than a leader for his time. In his rhetorical contempt for free speech, his ignorance of basic constitutional facts, his addiction to drama and ratings, his personalization of every political question and conflict, and his uncanny ability to bring out the same qualities in his biggest detractors, he breathes new life into H.L. Mencken’s definition of democracy as ‘the theory that the common people know what they want and deserve to get it good and hard.’” —Jonah Goldberg
Throwing Hillary under the bus? “I don’t think any Democrat would’ve beaten Donald Trump, aside from President Obama.” —former Clinton adviser Philippe Reines
Braying Jenny: “I don’t want to hear about the silence of me. I want to hear about the silence of Melania Trump. I want to hear from her. She has so much that’s valuable to say. And so does Ivanka. I want her to speak now.” —Meryl Streep on the sexual misconduct scandal in Hollywood
Belly laugh of the week: “I’m sad that [Al Franken] resigned. I happen to know him for decades and decades and I can tell you that all he cares about is the well-being of the lives of his constituents in Minnesota. It’s just all he thinks about, it’s all he cares about — and his wife.” —Sarah Silverman
And last… “Cold weather proves climate change, warm weather also proves climate change, but weather isn’t climate because shut up skeptic.” —Twitter satirist @hale_razor
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. We also humbly ask prayer for your Patriot team, that our mission would seed and encourage the spirit of Liberty in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Nate Jackson, Managing Editor
Mark Alexander, Publisher |
