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Surprise! (Or not)

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

It doesn’t surprise me that a study has found conservatives to be much more generous with their own money than liberals.  After all, liberals are the ones who want to tax everyone else to support their causes!  In a recent letter to the editor of our local paper, a liberal writer said he would be happy to be taxed more to help the unfortunate if the government were more efficient and less corrupt.  There are a few problems with his position.  First, taxation is not a voluntary thing.  If he votes for more taxes, he is voting for force to be used against his neighbors, who may have other ideas about how their money should be used.  If he really is generous, he will be willing to give his own money voluntarily without trying to use force against others.  Second, governments are corrupt by their very nature.  Remember Lord Acton’s statement that power corrupts.  So, as more money is taxed away from the citizens, ostensibly to help the less fortunate, the government will become even more corrupt, and the less fortunate will find themselves in an even worse position.

On a similar note, it doesn’t surprise me that extremely socialist KY State Rep. Kathy Stein has introduced a bill that would force middle school girls in Kentucky to be vaccinated against a type of venereal disease.  Stein loudly argues that women should have control over their own bodies when it comes to abortion, but she doesn’t want to give them any choice at all when it comes to vaccination.  While Stein’s arguments are inconsistent, her position really is consistent.  She always wants the laws to enforce her own personal views rather than respecting the views of others.

As I watch all the politicians strut and crow in Washington D.C. and Frankfort KY, I am surprised that so many people who appear to be in their right minds could possibly want to put their lives in the hands of these folks.  Do people really think they are so incompetent that they would be better off with these screwball politicians running their lives?  Or do people really believe the government can give them something for nothing?  Do they also believe in the tooth fairy? 

I am also not surprised that, instead of filling potholes and getting murderers off the streets, which is what they are supposed to do, Louisville politicians are passing anti-smoking laws and anti-dog laws which further limit our rights and freedoms.  They just can’t help themselves.  And, unfortunately, the citizens who were educated in government schools do not seem to be the least bit worried to see their freedoms disappearing one by one through their elected officials’ so-called “compassion”. 

If you think government should be responsible for your health care, for your children’s education, and for the safety of your food, what, if anything, do you think you should be responsible for?  Perhaps choosing which channel to watch as you veg in front of the tube, or which brand of beer to drink?  If so, it should not surprise you when everything important in life becomes either required or forbidden by law.

If the minimum wage goes up, don’t be surprised when many more unskilled and low-skilled workers will be unable to find jobs. 

I was surprised to notice that the price of gasoline went down again.  What happened to that Republican conspiracy on gasoline prices that was going to cause the prices to go up right after the election?

After Al Gore’s man-made global warming produced a record number of hurricanes in 2005, were you surprised that it didn’t produce any hurricanes in 2006?

I am afraid I wasn’t surprised that Henry Wallace’s communist family came back from Cuba.  Unfortunately, as much as they admire Castro and communism, they seem to prefer to enjoy the benefits of capitalism while they bash it and try to destroy it.  I would much prefer that they live in the land they claim to love so much and leave us alone to practice good old American capitalism, the economic system that actually lifts people out of poverty and treats them with respect, as opposed to communism, which, at its best, drags everyone down equally.

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