Ahh, There's the Common Sense

I love the way that Walter Williams puts our economic situation in easy-to-understand no-bull terms.

If European governments and the U.S. Congress ceased the practice of giving people what they have not earned, budgets would be more than balanced. For government to guarantee a person a right to goods and services he has not earned, it must diminish someone else's right to what he has earned, simply because governments have no resources of their very own.


To read the whole article, go here.

So many people seem to think that the federal government (or other civil governments) has money (or something of value) of its own accord.  Granted, it can manufacture more at the factory right down the road from where I live (which is very interesting to tour if you ever have the chance).  But all that does is devalue the money you have in your bank and your future earnings.  All of the money given to various people by any form of government is taken by force from other people.  A possible exception might be rentier states.  In that case the money given out by the government still comes from other people, but the people are from outside the country who rent our buy something of value from the country and all the citizens get a share.

Anyway, Dr. Williams' quote reminds me of one from the Ten Commandments.   "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."