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A Journal for Western Man |
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On the fourth day of July, in 1776, a small group of
men, representing 13 colonies in the far-off Americas,
boldly told the most powerful nation on earth that
they were free.
They declared, in terms that still are radical today,
that all men are created equal, and endowed with
certain inalienable rights that government neither
grants nor can take away.
In the Declaration of Independence, the founding
fathers sought to demonstrate to the world that they
were rejecting a tyrannical king. They listed the
“injuries and usurpations” that contain the
philosophical basis for our Constitution and Bill of
Rights.
One point of consternation to our founding fathers was
that the king had been “imposing Taxes on us without
our Consent.” But 230 years later, taxation with
representation has not worked out much better.
Indeed, one has to wonder how Thomas Jefferson and
Benjamin Franklin would react to the current state of
affairs. After all, they were outraged by mere import
tariffs of a few pennies on the dollar. Today, the
average American pays roughly 50 percent of his income
in direct and indirect taxes.
In fact, most Texans will not start working for
themselves for another week. Texans, like most
Americans, work from January until early July just to
pay their federal income taxes, state and local taxes,
and the enormous costs of regulation. Only about half
the year is spent working to pay for food, clothing,
shelter, or education.
It is easy to simply blame faceless bureaucrats and
politicians for our current state of affairs, and they
do bear much of the blame. But blame also rests with
those who expect Washington, D.C., to solve every
problem under the sun. If the public demanded that
Congress abide by the Constitution and pass only
constitutional spending bills, politicians would have
no choice but to respond.
Everybody seems to agree that government waste is
rampant and spending should be cut—but not when it
comes to their communities or pet projects. So
members of Congress have every incentive to support
spending bills and adopt a go-along, get-along
attitude. This leads to the famous compromises, but
the bill eventually comes due on April 15th.
Our basic problem is that we have lost sight of the
simple premise that guided the actions of our founding
fathers. That premise? The government that governs
least is the government that governs best. When we cut the size of government, our taxes will fall. When we reduce the power of the federal bureaucracy, the cost of government will plummet. And when we firmly fix our eyes, undistracted, on the principles of liberty, Americans truly will be free. That should be our new declaration. This article originally appeared on Ron Paul's Congressional Home Page. It is reprinted with his permission. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas enjoys a national reputation as the premier advocate for liberty in politics today. Dr. Paul is the leading spokesman in Washington for limited constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency. He is known among both his colleagues in Congress and his constituents for his consistent voting record in the House of Representatives: Dr. Paul never votes for legislation unless the proposed measure is expressly authorized by the Constitution. To learn more about Congressman Ron Paul visit his Congressional Home Page. This TRA feature has been edited in accordance with TRA’s Statement of Policy. Click here to return to TRA's Issue LXV Index. Learn about Mr. Stolyarov's novel, Eden against the Colossus, here. Read Mr. Stolyarov's new comprehensive treatise, A Rational Cosmology, explicating such terms as the universe, matter, space, time, sound, light, life, consciousness, and volition, at http://www.geocities.com/rational_argumentator/rc.html. Visit PanAsianBiz for interesting perspectives on international business and current events in
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