Monday, September 14, 2009

Broken Capitalism is Superior to Socialism

We keep getting reminded that the economy is broken and it needs to be fixed. Mr. Obama ran on such a message and felt he was given a mandate by the American people to to do just that. Now and again he reminds us just how broken the economy is. To many, the economy translates into capitalism. Capitalism is broken and the only way to fix it is the have the government take charge of the economy... and when the government takes over an economy, you no longer have capitalism. That is what we call socialism.

Now, I'm just a basic guy, but it seems to me that the economy has always been broken. Use the other word if you like: capitalism has always been broken. At least to one degree or another. Why is it, or always has been, broken? None other than John Adams has given a hint as to why. He said:

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

Just as our Constitution works best with a moral people, the same goes with our economy. Capitalism works best in the hands of a moral people. We have had plenty of evidence of this principle over the last decade as we have watched the parade of financial scandals that have rocked this nation.

Some believe that the answer lies in a heavy handed government. So, let me get this straight. We should take our economy out of the hands of a scandalous private sector and put it into the hands of a scandalous public sector... the government in Washington. That makes sense. Take it out of the hands of thousands in the private sector and entrust it in the hands of hundreds in government (or in our case... one). I'm sorry, but that makes no sense at all. Socialism is entrusted the world we have known into fewer hands. And what if those hands have an even more insidious agenda? America would be in serious trouble.

This is what I think. Capitalism has been the engine that has built the greatest nation in history. It has produced the greatest wealth and inspired ingenuity and unmatched philanthropy. No country that has languished under the cloud of socialism has achieved so much. I know capitalism has its problems and sometimes severe weakness. But even with all of that, broken capitalism is a far better friend to and answer for America that any form of a government run economy.

That said, the best thing for us is to inspire to superior morals in this country. From father to son, mother to daughter, teacher to student, banker to customer, Wall Street to Main Street, preacher to congregation, let's do ourselves a favor and inspire to be a moral people. Let's not allow John Adam's words to haunt us, but to inspire us. We need to reclaim the American dream.

Friday, September 4, 2009

President or Community Organizer?

Is any one else as confused as I am? I've been watching with interest the first few months of Mr. Obama's presidency. I have to tell you that I'm confused. What do I mean? Well, let me make it as simple as I can. When Mr. Obama was voted into office, did we get a president of the United States and servant of the people or a community organizer. It's kind of hard to tell.

When you see this president establish a large staff of Czars who are independent from the cabinet and the congress, you realize that this is not business as usual. In fact, as you consult the Constitution, you begin to wonder just what country Mr. Obama thinks he's in. The only one I can think of is Chicago.

Then this latest episode. It's one thing to want to inspire America's youth to greater educational heights, but quite another to slyly organize them into some nation-wide community youth group. Are America's children in school to serve the president? I imagine if you were to ask most any parent, you'd find that they don't think so.

So, I ask again, what is it that Mr. Obama wants to be, the president or some national or global community organizer? I think the jury is out on this one. As for me, I have been suspicious of this man from the beginning. Since taking office, he has done nothing but to add to the confusion and mystery. At this point, my vote would be, Mr. Obama, go back to Chicago and organize some community there. America and the Executive Branch need to be returned their foundation, the Constitution and free enterprise.