The New American Revolution

There's an old saying that says, "Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it."

Welcome to the new America. Believe it or not, there are nearly 20 States who have initiated or are contemplating the initiation of "States Rights" legislation. There is even talk out there about states seceding from the Union if the government continues its current path of bailouts. If you want to know what all the hubbub is about, read (if you can stomach the experience) the new spending plan released by the current administration. There is also new anti-gun laws afoot (legislation HR 45)... The States are finally getting a look at the details and don't like the contents of this "rushed-through-the-system spending bill" (rushed, because Congress didn't want people to have the ability to see exactly what was thrown into it (be careful to not trip over the kitchen sink -- it's in there too)).

The new mantra is "Failure is not an option..." That becomes much easier now because the government will step in and bail you out. In golf this is called, 'taking a mulligan.' A 'do-over.' "Whoops! My bad! Boy that was terrible! Hey, I'm just gonna take another shot. No harm, no foul, no penalty for my poor performance." That may work on the golf course, and it may work with your kid's Playstation (the 'reset' button gets used frequenlty when they're losing the game), but it doesn't work in life.

Make no mistake, this is a form of socialism. The premise for socialism is that the government decides how your money is going to be spent. Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of the socialist country of England was quoted as saying, "The problem with Socialism is that sooner or later, you run out of everyone else's money." With the trillions of dollars the U.S. government is spending (read: taking from U.S. citizens) to bail out failed businesses, and now even failed individuals who made bad decisions, in essence, bad behavior is being rewarded. Failure is being rewarded. Talk about a cushy exit strategy! 'I can do or attempt anything I want without fear of repurcussion because Uncle Sam will catch me if I fall.' More accurately, the taxpayers do the 'catching' of the fallen, and they do it at the direction and discretion of our elected officials.

Since when did this become acceptable? When did it become OK to simply take money from one group and use it to pay for the mistakes of others? Newsflash: Robin Hood was a myth! Although there is something romantic about taking ill-gotten gains from the unscrupulously rich and returning it to the exploited, it must be understood that the vast majority of the "wealthy" in America did not obtain their riches from exploiting the downtrodden -- they created their wealth from hard work (and in fact, provided jobs for many of the less-fortunate so that they could support themselves and their families). Many of these wealthy took on the risk of failure -- personal risk, risk not borne by anyone else, and perservered through the obstacles and challenges to become succesful. Individuals who achieve this should be rewarded. They fought the good fight and won.

Yet now the government has stepped in and is taking money from the hardworking and is giving it to others. The first round of bailout money, the billions of dollars known as "TARP" ('Troubled Asset Relief Program') was given to financial institutions with little to no federal oversight. Sort of like, "Here ya go, here's some money, we hope you do good things with it." That was my money that was given. That was your money. That was the money of all your friends, neighbors, fellow workers, members of your church and so on. But it doesn't stop there... because of the size of the big giveaway, the cost will also pass on to our children, and probably our children's children as well. Money taken from us by the government and given to others with little to no controls put on it. Sorry but that's not OK with me, and it shouldn't be OK with you either.

The government gave away the TARP money with relatively few conditions. It was intended to rescue banks by helping them get 'toxic assets' off of their balance sheets. The idea was that the TARP money would cover those losses so banks would be willing to continue to lend to qualified borrowers, instead of hoarding new capital to cover future losses from the bad assets. For the record, the banks have taken the money and still aren't lending. Boy, talk about 'double-dipping!' TARP-1 (notice the numbering, there will be more "TARPs" -- be prepared for TARP-2, and possibly TARP-3) was done under a Republican administration. TARP-2 and this new stimulus plan will be done under a Democrat administration. None of this was done in a single piece of legislation. Sorry Republicans, you can't blame President Obama. It wasn't done solely by TARP-1, sorry Democrats, you can't blame President Bush. The point is, nobody can walk away from this with clean hands, except maybe the Libertarian and the Green Parties.

But I digress. When did the redistribution of wealth become acceptable practice? It didn't happen overnight, although it may feel that way simply because a vast majority of Americans are now waking from their slumber to find the country they once knew has changed. With the help of the modern media, this insidious concept has spread over many years! Many times it was veiled under the concept of "fair play" and caring for the needy. Noble concepts to be sure, but not a mandate in the Constitution. The noble and moral decision to contribute to charities has been taken from us and has been placed squarely into the hands of the government via the American taxpayer -- whether the taxpayer likes it or not. And the government-sponsored programs have grown to unbelievable proportions. Not only are we now paying for people who are in this country illegally, we are now paying for people who lied on their mortgage applications to obtain houses they couldn't afford.

Most americans haven't been paying attention. The foundations of what we knew have been chipped away over a long period of time, just as the landscape changes due to the forces of nature. An american indian from 200 years ago, if brought back to life today would look around and not recognize his world, but the changes he would see took place over many years. Just as if the Founding Fathers of this country were alive to see the current state of the U.S. government. They would not recognize what it has become.

The touchy-feely, everyone's a winner mantra that has swept over this country in the past few decades is a lie. Everyone is not a winner. Everyone is not the same. Some are better than others. Imagine what the World Series or the Superbowl would look like if, after the final buzzer sounded, all teams throughout the league walked onto the field to accept the championship trophy? Ridiculous, right? But you can't stop there... What about all the athletes that tried out for the teams but didn't make it? They would get to walk onto the field and revel in the glory that was not theirs -- they didn't even make it into the league. But they're a winner!

As in sports, so goes business. Everyone is not a winner. Businesses fail, even BIG businesses fail. It happens. And like the phoenix, in most cases a new, better solution rises from the ashes. This is how we improve. This is how the free market works. We emerge better and stronger after failure. It's only when the government steps in and manipulates the free market that this natural process of improvement breaks down.

Equality in this country begins and ends with opportunity. We do not have the right to succeed, we have the right to equal opportunity to succeed. It is the God-given right to strive to win, not a guarantee of success.

Everyone is not a winner. But when outside forces manipulate the system to make things equal for all, the entire society is sucked down into the cesspool of mediocrity. No one excels, ingenuity is lost, entrepeneurship is gone. And the whole country goes right down the toilet with it.

Indeed, if the Founding Fathers were alive today, I believe they would gather their muskets and rise up in defiance. Guess what? It's coming.

To this I say, "Welcome to the New American Revolution."

Stay tuned.