August 25, 2008 - By True Patriot and Congressman
Ron
Paul
As the Olympics wind down, I am amazed at how things change
every four years. Many Americans were glued to their televisions
to watch the excitement from Beijing, and also heard announcers
wax nostalgic with memories of times when the Soviet Union
was the USA's biggest competitor for Olympic gold. There
was a time when it was unthinkable that a government as powerful
as that of the Soviet Union's could possibly crumble, yet
crumble it did. The irony is that the strength of the Soviet
government was also its weakness, as no country, no economic
system can remain strong under the crushing burden that is
central planning.
Central Planning is sold to a hopeful people as a way to solve
societal problems, to right wrongs, and bring about perfect
justice and equality. Central Planning promises you everything
you are entitled to. As a bonus, goods and services produced
by others are added to the list of commodities that everyone
has a "right" to. Suddenly everyone is entitled to
healthcare, housing, education, food, et cetera. It might sound
nice that the state will magically provide all these wonderful
things, but these rosy promises mask a dehumanizing, ugly reality.
The other side of these entitlements is that now the doctor,
the builder, the teacher, the farmer are slaves to the all-powerful
state. No longer do they serve patients, students, or customers.
They work in complete obedience to the state, their only customer.
Central planning will tell you that you are entitled to many
things. Liberty tells you that you are entitled to life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness; to whatever you earn, and nothing
that you don't. While it may seem harsh to some, we must look
to basic economic truths and to history to see which model
is cruel and which model is kind.
The truth is that central planning cannot provide for economic
success like freedom can. Central planning makes promises it
cannot possibly keep. We live in a world of unlimited wants
and limited resources. If you put a massive and powerful government
in charge of distributing those resources, it is not a surprise
that government and those in bed with government are first
in line for those resources. The poor and the middle class – the
most hopeful and trusting are hurt the most, as the state always
underestimates their needs and overestimates their ability
to pay taxes and absorb inflation.
The Soviet Union's collapse is a dramatic example of the failure
of central planning. Americans celebrated this collapse, not
only because it meant less competition for Olympic gold, but
it provided hope that with the end of the Cold War, our policy
makers could drastically reduce overseas commitments and out
of control military budgets. Most especially, we celebrated
because with the collapse of Soviet communism it was apparent
that liberty, not central planning, is stronger. Freedom empowers
the individual. Central planning dehumanizes the masses. There
may always be a struggle for power and government, but for
this reason, freedom will always win out in the end. And as
we celebrate the accomplishments of our individual athletes
in Beijing this year, we must continue to go for the gold here
at home, and keep the flames of liberty burning bright.
Read more Articles by Ron Paul at http://www.house.gov/paul/legis.shtml
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