Legislating Morality

“Law Is a Negative Concept….”As a friend of mine once remarked, this negative concept of law is so true that the statement, the purpose of the law is to cause justice to reign, is not a rigorously accurate statement. It ought to be stated that the purpose of the law is to prevent injustice from reigning.In fact, it is injustice, instead of justice, that has an existence of its own. Justice is achieved only when injustice is absent.

“But when the law, by means of its necessary agent, force, imposes upon men a regulation of labor, a method or a subject of education, a religious faith or creed-then the law is no longer negative; it acts positively upon people. It substitutes the will of the legislator for their own wills; the initiative of the legislator for their own initiatives. When this happens, the people no longer need to discuss, to compare, to plan ahead; the law does all this for them. Intelligence becomes a useless prop for the people; they cease to be men; they lose their personality, their liberty, their property.” Frederic Bastiat, The Law, page 25.

What does this mean? It means there is a difference between using laws to prohibit people from doing bad things to others, and laws that require people to do things considered “good” by those who happen to be in charge at any given time.

For example, outlawing murder is to prevent injustice from reigning. Making a law that everyone must purchase a product from a private institution is the loss of inherent rights to liberty and property.

The former is the proper role of government, the latter is tyranny. Sadly, we have voted in tyranny at almost every turn, and have forfeited our God given rights of liberty and property. If you don’t think this is true, see how well not buying health insurance works out for you, or not paying property taxes every year. You basically rent your house from the government, forever. You don’t pay? They take all your stuff. How is that freedom?

The guise of the property tax being good is that they use the ill-gotten money to pay for schools, in part. How could anyone be against paying for schools, they ask?

I’ll ask it like this: imagine I clean out your bank account, and use that money to feed the homeless. You don’t get to charge me with theft because I used your money “wisely.”

We have hired/elected people to be the thieves, and now it’s considered honorable. The premise is the same, and it is still theft, no matter how honorable the expenditure of the stolen money may be.

The question is: do we stand on principle? Or do we throw principle and rights out the window when something sounds nice?

You make that choice, each time you vote. Best to know where you stand.

Congratulations! You Own Your Home! …Or Do You?

Do you realize that, because of property taxes, you can NEVER own your property?
If you think you can, try not paying those taxes when you’ve finished paying off your house.

Think of it this way: you own your television, right? Would you accept paying taxes on it, that must be paid FOREVER, such that, if you didn’t, the government would come to your house and confiscate it? Would you, in this case, agree that you don’t really own your television, but are allowed to keep it by the government? What if we added all your possessions? Clothes taxes, jewelry taxes, furniture taxes, and dish taxes? Would you be able to OWN any of those things if, for any reason, you fail to pay the taxes that will never end the government comes to collect them?

Property taxes as a form of tax revenue is evil. It defies the very concept of the natural right to OWN property.

Sales taxes can be used for the same purposes. It’s a one time thing, it’s CLEAR who pays what (it’s listed right on the receipt!), it’s perfect because those who spend more will automatically pay more…but at the same RATE.

One thing that is so sick about property taxes is that not everyone sees them. It’s like they’re hidden away, and not everyone is shown the evil. So, we all go along, thinking everything is fine, when people’s homes are being held hostage by the government, if we don’t pay them the ransom amount every year, which they can raise at whim.

To put this another way: when Jefferson was president of the U.S., the Barbary Pirates exacted tribute from America to keep from attacking shipping vessels. We went to WAR over this…and now, we just sit here, paying tribute to the government.

…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

This is why I will always call out, “Happy Independence Day!” Instead of referring to it as the 4th of July. In the same way I wouldn’t wish you a “Merry 25th of December,” we must remember what these people did to secure our freedom. This is the anniversary if our nation, of the greatest nation to ever grace this planet, and likely the only nation to be born into peace after a bloody revolution.

This nation is exceptional, not only due to the men and women who made it happen, but especially due to the principles they laid out. If followed accurately, the founding documents laid at its inception would make this nation the most free, most just, and most emulated on the planet.

If the Declaration seems too ominous to understand outright, buy my book (click the pic on the right side of the screen at the top). You’ll understand exactly what these people were talking about when they signed the document that ruined most of them, yet cleared the way for the rest of us. Plus, there are cartoons…who could ask for more?!

Happy Independence Day to all!

July 4, 1826: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson Die

Adams and Jefferson…quite the pair!

Politicians Think You’re Stupid: Alphabet Agency Edition

Most of you that are reading this know that the legislative branch of the federal government is the law making body. Congress, made of the House and Senate, write laws. That’s one of their few jobs. They overstep their bounds all the time, but that’s a different post.

They are supposed to be in charge of all things law related. When they write a law, they are supposed to include what the law is, how it’s going to be implemented along with how much money it will take to be implemented, and from what portion of the Constitution they have the authority to enact such a law. They used to do this. What they started doing, instead, was create agencies like the Department of Education, the FDA, the EPA, DOE, etc. These agencies are tasked with writing all the parts of the law that have to do with how the law will be executed.

You might be thinking to yourself, “Self, that sounds absurd. There are supposed to be law makers, and law executers. How did these agencies get into the business of writing laws??”

Well, Self, you’d be onto something. Let’s discuss a scenario and you tell me if the Congress members don’t think you’re got the IQ of a gnat for falling for this nonsense.

Imagine a farmer who is being pushed on hard by the EPA. They are fixing to go out of business because the EPA has made yet another regulation that will cost lots of money to implement, yet makes no actual difference to the environment. Just a couple of examples are the regulation of dust (yes, dust) and making the handling of manure so complex as to require 15 hours of paperwork every week by the farmer.

Well, the law that the EPA is using to put the pressure on this farm doesn’t say they can’t stir up dust. It just states that they can’t pollute the air. Well, okay, but how did the EPA come up with that? They wrote a REGULATION. “Well,” you say, “that should be part of the law, so we can hold the people who wrote it accountable at the voting booths! Why are they just adding to laws?” EXACTLY. Because the congress has tasked the alphabet agency to write the rest of the law, and they can play like they have no culpability.

Now, back to our farmer. They petition their congressman to ask for help. The congressman “pulls a few strings” and has the EPA back off or give him a waiver. Well, the farmer is grateful and will vote for our congressman again!

Do you see how the congressman has shunned his responsibility in writing the law that caused the problem in the first place? He acts like he can’t do anything about the excessive and costly regulation (which costs billions – that’s NINE zeros – of dollars out of the economy each year and keep people from basing businesses in the US because of them). Don’t be thinking I’m talking about sane regulations. I’m talking about things like forcing businesses to post calorie counts. Really? If customers want to know, they already have to provide the info. But, we’re going to make them spend money of posting them, regardless if anyone cares? It’s things like that, and millions more regulations piled on idiotic things like that which force businesses to close.

You might be thinking…it’s just ONE regulation. How can it be that bad? Well, you know how they used to press people to death? They’d pile on one stone at a time. Each didn’t weigh much, but the combined weight, in the end, killed the person. Same thing. Each regulation may not be a humdinger (though, some are), but the death of the business is the same, in the end. They die under millions of regulations that your congresswoman claims to have no part of.

Here’s the worst part: there is NO place in the US Constitution where it could even be construed as to mean that these agencies are constitutional. So, let’s sum up:

The congressmen/women shirk their responsibility, play like they can’t do anything about it, and then, when they give you crutches (after breaking your legs), want you to be thankful. Yep. They’re pretty sure you’re brain power is comparable to that of a coconut.

This is why it’s important to understand natural rights. Get my book about The Declaration of Independence by clicking HERE, or on the picture at the right. You can’t understand the Constitution without understanding The Declaration. Get informed, and then know where you stand.

And, quit voting in congresspeople who think you are as smart as a pencil eraser!

 

 

Why Is Government Necessary?

Imagine a world where there is no law, no government. If you want to keep something, you have to stay with it to defend it from roving mobs/gangs that will kill you to steal your stuff. There are others out there that, like you, just want to be left alone to live in peace.

Wouldn’t you seek out these same people? Sure you would. You’d want to collaborate with them so that someone can go out and gather food or supplies, while another watches over the stuff you already have.

Maybe, just maybe, you find more than one other group like that. But, you have to make sure that everyone is on the same page, right? There have to be ground rules. Of course there have to be rules. Imagine playing baseball without any rules. That game is over and people are fighting within 2 minutes, right? No good.

So, you make some basic rules that everyone has to abide by. For instance, no stealing the stuff of some other person or group while you are guarding it while they are away, and vice versa. Then, there have to be consequences for people who break the rules.

You know what just happened there? You created a government. Laws and government is what humans create so that their stuff can be safe while they are away from their stuff. I know you know that’s insanely simplified, and while not totally inclusive, it’s premise is true.

Not all governments are equal, but that’s another post.

If you want to know on what values and principles the American government is based on, buy my book. It’s awesome. Click HERE, or on the link at the right.

Understand your government, and know where you stand.

The Part of the Edward Snowden Interview that Every American Needs to See by Chad Kent as seen on The Blaze

I have an awesome friend, Chad Kent. He is now a contributor to The Blaze. But, that’s not what this post is about. It’s about the article that Chad wrote for The Blaze and the interview with Snowden that you, yes, you, need to see.

So, just click HERE and go read/watch it.

If you don’t care what the government can/will do to you, then just keep on with being blissfully ignorant, until it’s too late. That’s how most people roll, in most countries, especially where the governments get all tyrannical and they’re all like, “Whoa! I didn’t see THAT coming at all!!” Yep. Over and over and over again in history.

Know where you stand.

Property Taxes…ugh.

I just made this comment on a Facebook thread, but I’ll be darned if it’s not a good post, so I modified it a bit (maybe a lot to make it succinct) such that it worked as a blog, and voilà! Enjoy.

My main beef with property taxes is that you never actually OWN the land. If you think having the title and no leans makes you the owner, try not paying taxes for a year. They will take “your” land. Imagine if they did that with ANY other property in your home. 

Imagine a TV tax that, if you didn’t pay, they’d come take your TV. Now imagine it for your other items like your iPhone…or stove…or furniture. You already bought it, it’s in your home, but you keep having to say taxes on it, FOREVER.

The only other time, of which I am aware, that your so-called property is taxed forever is in business. If you have inventory in your store, it gets taxed year after year…forever. It is NEVER yours. It’s a double whammy because, guess what? The land for businesses also get taxed forever. So, you never own your business or your inventory. Never. It doesn’t even end when you die. They just tax the next owner…forever and ever and ever.

With sales taxes, it’s over once you acquire the item. Done and done. It’s your private property and no government entity has sway over it.

With homes, what is supposed to be your place of solace, your palace, is under constant threat of being swiped out from under you.

I’m not saying sales tax is a magical and lovely thing. I’m just saying that, once you pay it, it’s over. It’s not something that your kids will have to pay, even after you die and leave your house to them. This is what people mean when they say that freedoms are eroding. I have a RIGHT to private property. Since when does that right end when I walk into my home? Oh, yeah, since the statists got elected into office by people wooed by their lofty rhetoric.

We need to quit doing that. Seriously. Stop it. Ignore the R and the D. Vet candidates based on how well they speak “freedom.” Know where you stand.

 

 

 

***This post has been updated to add the part about business taxes***

Cleaning House and Lack Thereof. Do I Get a Medal, or What?!

I used to be obsessively clean. I would apologize to visitors who had to “endure” my bathroom if it hadn’t been cleaned at least once in the past week. Even as a teen, my bedroom was SPOTLESS. White glove checks would have been welcome.

This carried on into my married life. When we’d move, I’d find a place for everything and everything would be in its place. Even after I had two kids (barring the few months after giving birth), things were mostly neat and tidy, and I cleaned regularly. I’d go through the kids’ clothes to weed out the too small, or too stained. The dishes got done in short order, and the laundry wouldn’t pile up to monstrous and seemingly insurmountable mounds.

Sounds delightful, right? Well, it came to a horrific end when we had #3. Oh, sure, I still kept things somewhat clean…sort of…but the clutter threatened my sanity at every turn. All in all, it wasn’t a total loss, and I had lovely friends who stepped in, like organizing angels, just in the nick of time.

Then, the death-blow to my former cleanly glory was struck. We moved to the country. I’m not sure if it was the fact that I started a huge garden and so spent more hours doing that rather than cleaning, that the dirt comes in at an alarming pace and I grew tired of trying to out-pace it, or if the kids got old enough to exponentially add to the clutter and I just gave up.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a clean house! But, you want to know what I’ve learned through all this?

If you don’t clean your house (by this I mean let the clutter build up, the bathroom go for longer stretches between cleanings, and the like), when you DO clean it, people (my immediate family included) seem so impressed that they gush over your hard work.

Guess what people never did when I cleaned all the time? You guessed it. Gush. I like gushing. For me, it’s akin to getting a raise or award at a job where one is gainfully employed. I suppose that’s a risk one takes. My mom ran a tight ship and was so good about cleaning that I once told my neighbor that she never washed my towel (you likely have surmised that she washed it and replaced it all in the same day and that I was quite dense…and you’d be right on both counts).

Well, now, when I do deep cleaning (with longer intervals in between), I basically get a medal for my efforts. Sure, I could clean my house for my own satisfaction, but I’m busy blogging right now and I want my daggum medal, thank you very much!

We’ll be moving in a couple of months, back to the city (the word city is a huge stretch, here, but it’s not the middle of nowhere) and I’m hoping I can revive my old desire to keep the house clean just for the sake of having an orderly and clean house.

Even if I do, I can count on my kids to proclaim loudly to the neighbors, church leaders, and anyone else who will listen about how the house is so much cleaner, now. I can only imagine that they’d say something like, “Yeah, mom NEVER used to clean the house.” It’s gonna be great. 😉

 

**Click on the link to the right (or on the title just over there —->) to get my book The Declaration Made Easy!**

So… why did we create this government? – by Chad Kent

I have a friend, Chad Kent, who goes around the country giving talks on the Constitution. He makes it relevant, accessible, and helps anyone and everyone understand it. If you read my blog, you know how much I love the Constitution (and The Declaration…buy my book here), and so does Chad. Read on!

Written by Chad Kent
Tuesday, April 15, 2014 20:18

At a time when so many people don’t care too much about current events, it can be hard to explain why the heck our Constitution matters.  Well the Constitution Revolution segment from last week’s Chris Salcedo Show will help you out with that:

Click Here for the Constitution Revolution Segment.

Here is the John Trenchard quote I mentioned in the clip:

“The Experience of every Age convinces us, that we must not judge of Men by what they ought to do, but by what they will do; and all of History affords us but few instances of Men trusted with great Power without abusing it, when with Security they could. […]  For these Reasons, and convinced by the woful and eternal Experience, Societies found it necessary to lay Restraints upon their magistrates or publick servants, and to put Checks upon those who would otherwise put Chains upon them.”

Just like we lock our doors at night to protect ourselves from other people, we need to take steps to protect ourselves from the people in our government.  That’s the idea behind our Constitution – we restrict the power of government because history shows us that if we don’t that power will be used against us.

It’s very simple: we should do our best to protect the Constitution because the Constitution protects us.  Without it, we are at the mercy of the people who run our government.

Don’t forget to listen to the Constitution Revolution LIVE every Saturday on The Blaze Radio!