Is Liberty at the Point of Extinction?

Frederic Bastiat is an heroic person in history in that he was one of the lone voices crying out against socialism in 1800. He was a French economist, statesman and author who wrote just before and after the Revolution of February 1848, a period when France was rapidly turning to complete socialism. "As a Deputy to the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Bastiat was studying and explaining each socialist fallacy as it appeared. And he explained how socialism must inevitably degenerate into communism. But most of his countrymen chose to ignore his logic" (Intro to The Law by Frederic Bastiat).

I muse about Mr. Bastiat's writing in connection to:

• Mr. Obama's writings (see blog of 24 October) and ideas ("we're spreading the wealth" uttered on the campaign trail to Mr. Joe The Plumber, recently).
• The bailout of brokerage firms
• The possible "bailing out" of home mortgage owners who have defaulted
• The most recent nationalization of our top 10 banks
• The talk of nationalizing the Insurance Industry
• Government run: schools, health care, retirement, parks, welfare etc. etc. etc.

This compact book "The Law" was reprinted in the United States in 1950 at a time when "The same socialist-communist ideas and plans that were then adopted (in 1848) in France are now sweeping America." Here are some quotes from a defender of liberty, a rare species today.

"It is not true that the legislator has absolute power over our persons and property. The existence of persons and property preceded the existence of the legislator, and his function is only to guarantee their safety.

"It is not true that the function of law is to regulate our consciences, our ideas, our wills, our education our opinions, our work, our trade, our talents, or the pleasures. The function of law is to protect the free exercise of these rights, and to prevent any person from interfering with the free exercise of these same rights by any other person."

..."Law is solely the organization of the individual right of self-defense which existed before law was formalized. Law is justice."

Next, Bastiat explains what law (government) should not do.

The mission of the law is NOT to oppress persons and plunder them of their property...It's mission is to protect persons and property.

...The law is justice - simple and clear, precise and bounded...If you exceed the proper limit - if you attempt to make the law religious, fraternal equalizing, philanthropic, industrial literary, or artistic - you will then be lost in an uncharted territory, in vagueness and uncertainty, in a forced utopia or, even worse, in a multitude of utopias, each striving to seize the law and impose it upon you. This is true because fraternity and philanthropy, unlike justice, do not have precise limits. Once started, where will you stop? And where will the law stop itself?

THIS IS A QUESTION WE SHOULD ALL ASK OURSELVES. Of course that's if you remember what liberty is...

Democrats Plunder Michigan

Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, public schools, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on. All these plans as a whole—with their common aim of legal plunder—constitute socialism.

The state is the great fictitious entity by which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else.”
Frederic Bastiat 1801-1851.

Is there any difference between the plunderers in Lansing and those of our history books? Today our politicians commit "legalized" plunder and the citizenry quietly and meekly takes it without so much as raising it's collective voice. At least the historical plunderers unabashedly knew what they were and what they were doing.

See if this makes sense. Michigan has a 1.75 billion dollar deficit caused by our politicians runaway spending. They just pass a "flurry of bills" that will bring in 1.35 billion dollars. So, 1.75 + 1.35 billion equals 3.1 billion dollars in taxes for Michigan citizens which will inevitably mean more job losses and emigration of the best and the brightest from our state.

"The House and Senate passed a flurry of bills in the hours before and after a midnight deadline, including an income tax increase, an expansion of the state’s sales tax and an emergency extension budget that would give lawmakers an extra month to eliminate the deficit." (Read)

"An 11.5 percent income tax increase and expansion of the 6 percent sales tax to a strange brew of services will close most of the $1.75 billion hole in the state budget year that began Monday.

"The tax on 23 new services -- which will generate $725 million over a full year -- means Michigan now taxes 49 services, according to the Treasury. The state already taxes some services, including storage and auto leasing. That puts the state at 27th in the country in the number of services taxes, up from 36th, Kleine said. "

"Another measure of tax burden is state and local taxes as a percentage of personal income, with the national average at about 11 percent. Kleine said the new tax boosts mean Michigan edges up from slightly below 11 percent to slightly above 11 percent.

"But the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., which tracks such data, takes a different view of Michigan's ranking. The combination of the sales and income tax hike puts Michigan's tax burden at 11th-highest in the nation, up from No. 14, the institute says...

" 'Republicans refused to put up votes for anything,' said House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township. 'Basically, this entire package was delivered by Democrats.' "

This is downright corruption and ineptitude by our legislatures but especially the Democrats.