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Police Kill Handcuffed Man; The Harms of Light Rail; Corruption of Gov’t Officials; and “Living Wage” laws

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

1.                In Louisville, the police handcuffed a man’s hands behind his back.  Then the handcuffed man, holding a knife having a blade that was 2.5-3 inches long, began lunging at one of the policemen.  The police then shot eleven times, killing the handcuffed man.  On the national scene, a man was sentenced to 37 months in prison for talking about “burning Bush”.  These incidents are stunning reminders of George Washington’s wisdom, when he said, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force.”

2.                Highways are funded by user fees (gasoline taxes), and local roads are funded by property taxes from the local property owners who benefit from the roads, so there is a relatively close tie between the funding and the people using the highways and roads.  Light rail projects, on the other hand,  are funded by money that is completely divorced from the prospective users.  Of course, if there had to be a tie between the users and funding, the light rail projects would never be built.  After all, what rational person would freely choose to spend $40 of his own money to ride a slow train a couple of miles?  If the users of light rail actually paid the real cost, without hidden, force-based funding, the decisions would be much more rational.  Instead, the money is wasted.  Remember, every dollar spent on a wasteful light rail project is a dollar that is not available to be spent elsewhere.  To see the harm caused by light rail construction projects, see http://www.heritage.org/Research/SmartGrowth/em838.cfm

3.                The media blitz about campaign finance and corruption is on again!  Again, we are being told that rich, powerful people are corrupting our government officials, or are “buying influence” to the detriment of the regular folks.  The media’s answer, of course, is to take all the power away from the regular folks and give it to the media.  Campaign laws prevent like-minded people from pooling their money to promote an issue or a candidate, whether those like-minded people be insurance executives, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or gun rights advocates.  It is hard to see how putting all the power in the hands of incumbent politicians and the media could possibly reduce corruption.  In Kentucky, which has operated under a similar type of “reform”, we certainly haven’t seen the dawn of clean politics.

We need to understand that the real corruption is among the regular folks.  We regular folks get the government we deserve.  Any person who believes he has a right to a “free” education, or “free” medical care, or who wants the government to take people’s property rights in order to protect scenic views or otherwise wants to use the government to support himself or his causes at someone else’s expense, is the real source of the corruption.  In the U.S., people used to have pride and self-respect that prevented them from asking for handouts.  Unfortunately, the proponents of big government have largely killed that pride and self-respect, and now most Americans, rich and poor, have no shame as they ask government to pick someone else’s pocket on their behalf. 

Their arguments are framed in terms of “need”, or “the good of the country”, or “rights”, but they all involve legalized theft, which is a form of corruption.  So, if you are one of the majority of people who support these forms of legalized theft, whether on behalf of “the poor”, or for “the good of the economy”, or any other cause of your choice, then you are the cause of the corruption. 

Many people say they have paid money in taxes, and asking for government spending is just a way to try to get some of it back.  If that is your motivation, then you should be asking for a tax rebate or tax reduction, not more spending.  When we all regain a sense of pride in our own resourcefulness and ability to take care of ourselves, accompanied by a sense of shame in asking for handouts,  then we will have gone a long way toward reducing government corruption.    

4.      Louisville has recently passed a “living wage” law.  I encourage you to read the following article to consider some of the harm caused by such a law. Look  beyond the good intentions of “living wage” legislation http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/120302/opi_120302019.shtml

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