Personal responsibility = Freedom

Personal responsibility will always be indelibly linked to freedom.

I live in the city and have to pay taxes to my city.  In return, a nice man takes away my trash every week.

Could I "opt out" of this system and stop paying my taxes?  Nope.  What if I started burning my trash in my backyard?  I would get tickets and would eventually be put in jail.

See?  I have given the government some of the responsibility for my life and the government is now in charge of that.  It is ok with trash and even some other things.  But, once we start applying the government standard to everything, it is not so ok anymore.

What if I don't want the government to be in charge of healthcare?  They don't do a good job of running anything.  Waste of taxpayer dollars is rampant, I prefer for the medical profession to be run privately.  Can I say, "No, thank you.  I prefer the healthcare system to be left alone."  No way.  The government is taking over and there isn't anything that I can say or do to stop it.

My socialist friends and readers, take your meds and look around.  No government-run healthcare system has ever been able to hold a candle to America's private system.  Long wait times, poor care, even death is reported constantly in Great Britain's National Health Service, which liberals hold up as a shining example of the perfect government-run system.

Don't they care that people are, like, dying?

Yes, wages are higher in socialist countries that have lots of "free stuff" like Sweden.  Apparently, fast food workers make 20 an hour in Sweden.

But, let's apply to that some facts.  I have a friend from England who says that every dollar earned in the UK is taxed at 39% and 16% goes straight to the NHS.  Everyone pays the tax.  Low wage workers are not exempt.  Teenagers are not exempt.  Everyone pays the tax.

When I was living in Germany, one of the family members worked for the German military.  His marginal tax rate was 75%.  Of each dollar he made, 75 cents went to the government and he got to keep the other 25 cents.

Where is the incentive to work?  Why would anyone work hard when they will never get ahead?  Doesn't it sound better to just relax and let the government take care of you?

By his own admission, my English friend says that it is easier to live here.  Why?  Because you get to keep more of the money that you earn.

Using a conservative calculation, let's think about how much the fast food worker in Sweden, who makes 20 an hour, actually gets to take home.  I would bet that the take home pay is around 10 an hour.

The government TAKES THE REST and DECIDES WHAT TO SPEND IT ON.

You can call that "taking care of the citizens" if you like.  But, since the government takes money without permission, wastes it and spends it, even in ways that the citizens don't like, I call that "tyranny."

Yes, there are some socialist benefits attached.  But, they are just that, poorly run, government systems.

Americans, we have to wake up.  The idea that the state should take over our lives as a matter of course has got to be stopped.  The ludicrous idea that it is somehow the responsibility of government or that it is somehow compassionate and helpful is well, ludicrous.

Private companies, capitalism and the free market have lifted more people out of poverty than all of the government programs thought up by liberals combined.  (Reagan said something like that.)

The government does "look after the well being of its citizens" in socialist countries. But, it does so, only after making its citizens so poor that they can't afford to take care of themselves.  The elite class sees no difference in their lifestyle.

There is no more personal responsibility and no more freedom.