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“[N]either the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.” – Samuel Adams
Mona Charen | Polarization May Be Our Best Hope
Recent liberal laments about the increasing “polarization” of American political life are as predictable as the seasons. But pleas for centrism ring pretty hollow in light of recent history.
The Washington Post editorial board, after noting Sen. Robert Bennett’s loss in Utah and Sen. Blanche Lincoln’s primary challenge, asked: “Is there a way to push back against the movement toward partisanship and paralysis — to carve out some space for those who strive to work across party lines in the national interest? We can think of no more important question … ”
Really? How about the question as to whether the trajectory of government spending will drag the United States into insolvency? How about the problem of a governing class unmoored from the Constitution?
Thomas Sowell | “Enough Money”
One of the many shallow statements that sound good— if you don’t stop and think about it— is that “at some point, you have made enough money.”
The key word in this statement, made by President Barack Obama recently, is “you.” There is nothing wrong with my deciding how much money is enough for me or your deciding how much money is enough for you, but when politicians think that they should be deciding how much money is enough for other people, that is starting down a very slippery slope.
Politicians with the power to determine each citizen’s income are no longer public servants. They are public masters.
Are we really so eaten up with envy, or so mesmerized by rhetoric, that we are willing to sacrifice our own freedom by giving politicians the power to decide how much money anybody can make or keep? Of course, that will start only with “the rich,” but surely history tells us that it will not end there.