It is my observation that in our American government, there is a tendency to take from producers and give to non-producers.  That is the reality of the desire to “Redistribute the Wealth.”   That plan, if implemented, will punish success and create a perpetual state in which people are “Completely Dependent” upon the government for their livelihood. 

The Founding Fathers viewed this attitude and condition as anathema to the nation’s existence and success and detrimental to its citizens.   That statement may lead you to think I am wrong and that the founders were uncaring aristocrats who only sought to protect their fortunes and had no concern for the poor or needy.   I believe that both statements I have made are correct, so let me elaborate briefly.

Benjamin Franklin was a brilliant man and one who loved America.  The concept of a Free Nation was so deeply ingrained in his psyche that when the Boston Tea Party occurred, he offered to reimburse the Crown for their losses to prevent overreaching retaliation against the colonists, but was refused.   Does that sound like someone who didn’t care about people and only wanted to protect their fortune?   It doesn’t to me, but then that is my view.

Mr. Franklin also saw a danger in creating a “Welfare State” and argued:

“To relieve the misfortunes of our fellow creatures is concurring with the Deity; it is godlike; but, if we provide encouragement for laziness, and supports for folly, may we not be found fighting against the order of God and nature, which perhaps has appointed want and misery as the proper punishment for, and cautions against, as well as necessary consequence of, idleness and extravagance?  Whenever we attempt to amend the scheme of Providence and to interfere with the government of the world, we need to be very circumspect, lest we do more harm than good.”

Mr. Franklin and the other Founders believed that kindness and charity were admirable traits, but they also recognized that these qualities could be destructive.  They realized that if the government were to give continuous support to people, those who were lazy or irresponsible would be enabled, not helped. 

Samuel Adams took it a step further and said, “The utopian schemes of leveling (redistribution) and a community of goods (where the government owns everything) are as visionary and impractical as those which vest all property in the Crown.”    He called those ideas Unconstitutional.  I do not believe it is difficult to know what they would have thought of the liberal leftist policies of Obama, Biden, and the Democrats today.

I believe that most Americans want to be benevolent; I do.  But if you research true history and the writings of our Founders, you will find the words of President James Madison when he spoke to the House of Representatives in the 3^rd Congress in 1794: “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” 

Our founders designed the Constitution and expressed a desire that our Republic be a Limited Government, where congressional representatives or Presidents would be restricted from creating a Welfare State.   But alas, that is precisely what we have done!    We have created a government with little or no fiscal or financial responsibility, devoid of prudence. 

We are spending for political purposes rather than humanitarian purposes and out of genuine concern for the people.   If we genuinely cared for the people and were humanitarian in our efforts, we would find ways to enable and insist that the people who can work do so in order to provide for themselves and their families.  That is a concept foreign to most liberals and many Republicans or RINOs.

Thomas Jefferson had a particularly strong view on this matter and stated:

“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.”

He continued saying:

The principle of spending money to be paid by future generations under the guise of funding is, in effect, swindling futurity on a large scale.  Democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

James Madison said:

“If Congress can employ money indefinitely to the general welfare…. The powers of Congress would subvert the very foundation, the very nature of limited government established by the people of America.”

John Adams took it a step further and made a statement that we have ignored:

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”

My fellow Americans, where are we today if not precisely where they warned us not to go?    It is time that ‘We The People’ become the Power of Government, utilizing the means provided by the Constitution and the authorizations of it, and our Bill of Rights, as well as the Bible, and Stand Up, Stand Firm, Stand Tall, and Stand Together against Tyranny (Soft or Hard). 

May God bless you, and may God bless America!