The Unvarnished Truth

By Robert Ringer

As the U.S. edges ever closer to coming face to face with the consequences of its $100+ trillion of debt and “unfunded liabilities,” the cries from the never-give-up-the-fight progressives over “unfettered” capitalism are becoming increasingly louder. The coalition of communists, Marxists, socialists, progressives (a.k.a. “liberals”) — along with those who are simply envious, ignorant, or angry — are calling for capitalist scalps.

They say that the worsening depression (euphemistically referred to by politicians and media pundits as “recession” — and one that is on the verge of a rebound, at that) is a result of capitalism run amok. More regulation and more redistribution of wealth is the only thing that can save America, right? Not quite.

If you want to give a true-believing progressive apoplexy, just tell him the unvarnished truth: The overriding reason that the United States has devolved into a financial basket case is too much regulation, too much taxation, too much printing of fiat currency, too much borrowing, too much government interference in the marketplace, too much nannyism.

You can go right down the list — Social Security, Medicare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — all of these programs drain capital from the productive free market, which makes everyone worse off. Another unvarnished truth, one that very few people want to hear, is: The government has no Constitutional — or moral — authority to operate any wealth-transfer program, no matter how worthy some people may believe it to be. Unfortunately, the idea that a politician’s self-proclaimed compassion gives him the right to take the property of law-abiding citizens and give it to others is a perversity that has come to be accepted by a large percentage of the population.

A few politicians dance around the edges of this issue, but none seem to be willing to speak out on it unequivocally, which is why the tea party movement is so refreshing. Many politicians have finally said that they’ve heard the message of the tea party people loud and clear. But, in truth, they haven’t.

Even Sarah Palin, whose basic ideology seems to be pretty much on target, avoided being specific in her keynote address at the tea party convention in Nashville. Like all other conservatives, Governor Palin said that government has to cut spending, which is fine. But, also like all other conservatives, she did not specifically mention Social Security and Medicare, the two programs that, all by themselves, are 100 percent guaranteed to bankrupt America — no matter what other spending rollbacks government implements.

I’ll cut the governor some slack here, because it probably wasn’t a good time for her to get specific and take on the sacred cows. But hear me on this, Washington: Sooner or later, someone is going to have to get serious with a public that is addicted to nanny statism — a public that doesn’t want to hear about economic reality, much less morality.

So I end this article with the same question (borrowed from an article by Thomas Friedman, no less) I’ve asked many times before: Who will tell the people the truth? Right now, no politician has the courage to advocate the phasing out of all wealth-redistribution programs, because they do not believe there is a constituency for cutting entitlements. (Note that I used the term phasing out, because to pull the rug out from under Social Security and Medicare recipients cold turkey would cause too much pain and suffering.)

Which is why the tea party people are probably America’s last hope. What I believe most of the tea party people are saying is “No!” — no to any kind of wealth redistribution … no to any kind of government involvement in health care … no to any kind of tax increases … no to any kind of “green” legislation … no to any kind of new regulations. No! No! No!

If so, strong voices in the tea party movement must speak up and deliver that message loud and clear to both politicians and voters. If they do not, or if a majority of voters will not accept it, then the question will be not if, but when, the U.S. will experience a complete financial collapse — and Americans will lose what is left of their freedom.

Admittedly, it’s a tough message to deliver to everyday Americans, but someone must be willing not only to step forward and do it, but explain, in clear, easy-to-understand terms, why it is not in their best interest to continue to receive government benefits of any kind. Put simply, the public has to be taught that the price of unsustainable wealth-redistribution programs is servitude. And, like it or not, that’s the unvarnished truth.

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