The Hairshirt of Blogs

For all my talk of never accepting unearned guilt or punishing myself for living, I can’t really explain my attraction to this blog other than it seems to be some type of self-flagellation for not being more active—no, more effective—in the fight against the tyranny of our ever-expanding government.   It is filled with ostensibly sunny ideas from our paternalistically benevolent government written with hopeful enthusiasm by some of the top bureaucrats in our nation. 

Introduction to the Middle Class Task Force (Or The Voice of Collectivism)

“A strong middle class equals a strong America. We can’t have one without the other.  This Task Force will be an important vehicle to assess new and existing policies across the board and determine if they are helping or hurting the middle class.  It is our charge to get the middle class – the backbone of this country – up and running again.” 

Vice President Joe Biden

“This investigation answers the President’s call for accountability, but his call for action is equally important. Addressing modern workplace hazards means equipping MSHA, as well as the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) with modern tools to enforce every employer’s obligation for the safety and health of their workers.”

Joseph Main, Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration

“Importantly, it’s not just government officials who recognize the importance of subsidized jobs right now.   Back in May, we heard first-hand how this program is helping small businesses to take advantage of new opportunities while making a difference in the lives of workers.  With many businesses still struggling, these subsidies for new employees can make the crucial difference between small business owners hunkering down or deciding to expand their businesses and create new jobs.”

Jared Bernstein, Chief Economic Advisor to the Vice President

“Vice President Biden was in Louisville today to visit a General Electric facility called Appliance Park, where GE is investing $600 million to expand their manufacturing of energy-efficient appliances. But they’re not doing it alone – their investment is being supported by $24.8 million in Recovery Act funds through a program called the Section 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, or “48C” for short.

We’ve written about this program before, because it’s one of our favorite programs here at the Middle Class Task Force – it uses Recovery Act dollars to spur private-sector investments in the clean energy and energy efficiency technologies we need to tackle our energy challenges. And those investments create good jobs now, while planting the seeds for vibrant new industries in the future.”

Tobin Marcus, Deputy Economic Policy Advisor in the Office of the Vice President

Contrast these pols’ statements regarding the role of government with these other elected officials:

“A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.”

New President, Thomas Jefferson, in his first inaugural address

“. . . I venture to declare it as my opinion, that were the power of Congress to be established in the latitude contended for, it would subvert the very foundation and transmute the very nature of the limited Government established by the people of America; and what inferences might be drawn, or what consequences ensue from such a step, it is incumbent on us all well to consider.”

Representative James Madison, to Congress regarding a bounty to Cod Fisheries

How much further can we remove ourselves from the principle of individual rights before we realize all talk of government fixes as anathema to the very purpose of our once rights-respecting government, and, as such, a contemptuous disregard for unique foundational success of our country?