E-Newsletter No. 59 ____ November 2018

Our country’s (long and painful) 2018 political season will conclude with the general election on Tuesday, November 6th. Our Editorial Board encourages every registered voter to go to the polls and vote your conscience as you cast your votes for the various federal, state and local candidates, based on your assessment of each candidate’s “agenda” and platform, and whether they have earned your trust.

As we have noted over the past several months, our Editorial Board continues to focus on the underlying principles of the two major political parties. The 2018 elections represent yet another opportunity to choose between a smaller (limited) government, versus an ever-expanding, more intrusive federal government.

We encourage you to re-read the Seven Inevitable Results that arise from Big Government, which were listed in our August 2016 newsletter
http://f2ppr.org/seven-inevitable-results/

And we all need to keep in mind the Tenth Amendment – The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.

The choice is ours to make on November 6th.

US Debt Clock – – October 1st – $65,444 per citizen / November 1st – $65,932

E-Newsletter No. 58 ___ October 2018

In last month’s newsletter, we discussed the fallacies of Socialism. The Left continues to fail to learn from history regarding Socialism, and there are many other instances where the Left has rejected the fundamental concepts behind our country’s founding. The Left continues to deny the reasons why those ideas and concepts are the reasons why America continues to be a great country.

In some of our earlier newsletters, we have discussed the Left’s attacks on Free Speech and the First Amendment. The most troubling examples of these attacks occur on our college campuses. These attacks are oftentimes perpetrated by the members of the Radical Leftist group, Antifa, who refuse to allow the dissemination of alternative (conservative) points of view, which oftentimes contradict the Left’s narrative and the “progressive” agenda that they attempt to advance.

The First Amendment also states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Thankfully, earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the state of Colorado could not force a Christian baker to provide a wedding cake for a same-sex wedding. This ruling was important because the Colorado law was written to coerce citizens to comply with one of the key planks of the Left’s agenda. The ruling simply confirmed the exact words of the Constitution as it was written – – the baker was free to exercise his religious beliefs.

One of the key tenets of Marxism is atheism. (“Religion is the opium of the people”). Communists do not believe in God. This is an obvious rejection of our country’s official motto, which was adopted in 1956 and appears on every coin and dollar bill – – “In God We Trust”. Another example of the Left’s attacks on religious liberty is the ongoing attempt to remove the words “under God” from our Pledge of Allegiance. One of the best examples of this attack was the attempt to eliminate a reference to God from the Democratic party’s 2012 platform. Only after three votes from the floor on a proposed amendment was the phrase “God-given potential” re-inserted into the party’s platform. What is most troubling about this incident is that when the convention’s chairman announced that “The ayes have it” (after the third vote) loud boos erupted within the arena. (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/democrats-rapidly-revise-platform-include-god/story?id=17164108 ).

The Left’s attacks on the Second Amendment are well documented. Any school shooting is obviously and undeniably an extremely tragic event. The members of our Editorial Board also believe that 650 homicides in the city of Chicago during 2017 (down from 771 during 2016) represent an ongoing series of tragic events. But here are some inconvenient truths – – there has been (and will probably always continue to be) evil in the world; guns do not kill people – people kill people; putting yet another gun control law on the books will NEVER stop the next incident of murder; and banning “assault rifles” will NEVER stop the next murder. Earlier this year, the school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, was carried out by the perpetrator who used a shotgun and two pistols. The Columbine school shooting in 1999 was also perpetrated without the use of an “assault rifle”.

The Radical Left’s real agenda (and their erroneous belief) is that in order to reduce gun violence, the government needs to ban and confiscate all firearms. But unfortunately, this line of thinking is fatally flawed. While it is true that such a law could serve to prevent a law-abiding citizen from being able to defend him-/herself, such a ban would NEVER be able to guarantee that a criminal / murderer would ever follow such a law. There is only one sure-fire way to reduce the number of incidents of school shootings, and that is to implement the same type of screening at our schools that is used at other public places (such as at sporting events, concerts, our airports, the US Senate and House of Representatives buildings in Washington DC, etc.). In addition, an armed presence within our schools would serve as a deterrent (but not a guarantee) against future school shootings. Such an approach towards school safety has proven to be effective in Israel.

The Left has betrayed the US Constitution and continues to show contempt for border security and our country’s immigration laws. The concept of a “sanctuary city” is a direct, fundamental violation of Article VI of the US Constitution, which states “This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States… shall be the Supreme Law of the Land.” We find it very interesting that the Left generally wants to increase the size and power (and coerciveness) of the federal government, except in those instances where existing federal laws run afoul of their agenda.

The most troubling aspect of the immigration issue is that many elements of the Left support open borders and unrestricted immigration. They also want to implement an increase in the minimum wage to $15 per hour. With the minimum wage in Mexico being set at 88.36 pesos per hour (approximately $4.25) what “unintended consequences” would you expect to happen? Guatemala’s minimum wage is even less. Any rational person should anticipate that a flood of immigrants would arrive in our country through our open borders to compete for these “entry level” jobs. But unfortunately, a minimum wage of $15 per hour would severely reduce the number and availability of ANY entry level job, and this would only serve to keep many of our country’s legal citizens trapped in poverty and sitting on the sidelines.

Our Editorial Board supports the concept of private-sector unions and the rights of workers to voluntarily join together to negotiate with their employer regarding compensation and working conditions. Many of the goals of these private-sector labor unions have been achieved and codified into law (which is one of the reasons why private-sector union membership has steadily declined since the 1950s). However, we oppose the concept of public sector unions. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was one of the most pro-union presidents in American history, and yet he was strongly opposed to government employee labor unions. (You can read his August 16, 1937 letter here ). FDR knew these unions were fundamentally different from private-sector unions and that there is a fundamental conflict of interest between these unions and the governmental units where these union members work. By their very nature, public-sector unions are “pay-to-play” politics at its worst. These unions take taxpayer-funded union dues and funnel them back to career politicians. One of the worst outcomes of this closed-loop system is that the members of these unions have been able to obtain (coerce) compensation and pension benefits that are much more generous than anything seen in the private sector for similar types of service.

Fortunately, earlier this year, the US Supreme Court took a major step forward in its decision in Janus vs. AFSCME to limit the power of these public-sector unions. Prior to this ruling, a number of states allowed the situation where a non-union member (as a condition of their employment) was forced to pay an “agency fee” to a union whose views they might oppose. The forced payment of these fees was deemed to be a violation of these workers’ rights to free speech and free association under the First Amendment.

Another of our country’s mottos “e pluribus unum” (“From Many, One”) is also under attack by the Left. In our Editorial Board’s review of the Democratic Party’s 2016 platform ( see http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/The-2016-Democratic-Party-Platform.pdf ) we noted that the Democratic party’s platform is extremely divisive. The Left’s platform was merely a collection of promises being made to a number of special interest groups. The only common principle was the party’s desire to give a special favor to each subsegment of our country’s citizens. But probably the most egregious example of hypocrisy about our country’s motto was Representative Joe Kennedy’s response to the 2018 Sate of the Union address. Mr. Kennedy evoked the motto in his speech, and yet he also spoke several sentences in Spanish. A large portion of our country’s citizens were excluded from understanding whatever point he was conveying to the Dreamers. What is most troublesome is the Left’s refusal to support a proposed piece of legislation to make English the official language of our country. The fact of the matter is… If we can’t talk to each other, we will never be One. Our Editorial Board believes it should be a requirement that each and every immigrant possess a rudimentary level of English language skills, so that they can pass the US Citizenship test (in English) which will ultimately help them assimilate to life in our country. If we do not embrace English as our official language, we will continue to further Balkanize our country.

As Dennis Prager noted in his video on the difference between the Left and the Right (see https://www.prageru.com/courses/left-and-right-differences/how-big-should-government-be-left-vs-right-1) the Left fears Big Business and the Right fears Big Government. Coca Cola cannot break into your house or confiscate your wealth, or build concentration camps, or commit genocide – – only Big Governments can do that. The Left does not like Big Business, but more specifically, they are envious of successful individuals who are employed by Big Businesses. What the Left really fears is the advancement of conservative values and capitalism. The Left appears to be motivated more by envy of the rich than by compassion for the poor. The Left’s fear of Big Business is misguided, because we have never seen a single instance where a corporation has been able to cast a vote at the ballot box in any of our elections. What the Left really opposes is the “undue influence” of Big Business, and we agree – – we strongly oppose crony capitalism. Crony capitalism is a violation of “Favoritism to None.” The federal government should not provide any special favors to Hollywood producers, or a “green energy” company, or ANY special interest industry. We agree that the federal government has an important role to play in protecting our environment and our country’s citizens, but the government should never show favoritism to any special interest group or corporation, or attempt to “socially engineer” our country’s citizens.

And lastly… Many conservatives feel that one of the most menacing aspects of the Radical Left’s agenda is (in effect) a clandestine, undeclared war against the most fundamental building block of a stable society – – the family. Please see the Preamble of the Platform for The Party of Personal Freedom (http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/The-Party-of-Personal-Freedom.pdf ).

US Debt Clock – – September 1st – $65,320 per citizen / October 1st – $65,444

E-Newsletter No. 57 ____ September 2018

In last month’s newsletter, we discussed the Left’s obsession with “income inequality.” The Left’s solution to this “problem” is simply more Socialism and a larger transfer of wealth within America. The Left continues to fail to understand the lessons from history regarding Socialism and Communism and continues to ignore the lessons from current events (i.e., Venezuela and North Korea). Many critics of inequality seem to be motivated more by envy of the rich than by compassion for the poor.

The first pillar of the American Dream is economic freedom. Property rights are fundamentally just, and they are inseparable from liberty. Where property rights are not protected, liberty is always in jeopardy. So long as each citizen’s property rights are secure, and the laws and regulations equally apply to all, one cannot legitimately speak of injustice in the marketplace.

It is imperative that we not confuse “equality of opportunity” with “sameness of opportunity”. The former is a moral imperative and a requirement of a fair and just government. The latter is a charitable pursuit, and as such, this is an issue for civil society. We should remember that not every social ailment is a responsibility of government, much less the federal government.

Because we are free, some people will inevitably earn more and others less. An excessive focus on equality of income would unfairly constrain the full range of options that America offers its citizens. Income “equality” forces everyone into the same mold.

A free-market economy creates wealth. For one person to make a dollar does not mean that another person needs to lose one. History has shown that a Socialistic economy impedes a country’s ability to create wealth.

The fear that the United States has become a society of “haves” and “have-nots” is disproven by data on consumption. Consumption is a better measure of well-being than income, because it measures goods acquired and used. In a free-market economy, consumption is distributed much more equally, with goods formerly held to be luxuries widely available to everyone. There is plenty of evidence to show that low-income families have access to more and better goods than ever before. Virtually every household below the poverty line has a television, while nearly three-fourths have a vehicle, and over three-fourths have a microwave and air-conditioning. The same cannot be said of Venezuela and North Korea.

The welfare state that is promoted by Socialism not only fosters dependence and saps the vigor of its citizens, but it also undermines the family and eats away at the culture of work.

A free-market system celebrates and encourages competition.

Socialism may well “give” the poor many things (subsidized housing, “free” healthcare, “free” college tuition, and other “free” stuff) but someone (i.e., our federal government and then, ultimately, our children and grandkids) will have to pay for all of this free stuff.

There is a quote that is oftentimes attributed to Norman Mattoon Thomas, who was a six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America – – “The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But under the name of “liberalism”, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation without knowing how it happened.”

http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/A-Picture-is-Worth-a-Thousand-Words.pdf

http://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/One-Picture-One-Word.pdf

US Debt Clock – – August 1st – $64,885 per citizen / September 1st – $65,320

E-Newsletter No. 56 _____ August 2018

In last month’s newsletter, we included a link to a short video entitled “There is only one way out of poverty” (i.e., Opportunity for All, and Work). In that video, Arthur Brooks observes that many progressives offer only one solution – more government spending on poverty programs. They believe we need to transfer more wealth through government taxation. This is the “income inequality” argument.

This month we are including a link to a conversation piece entitled “Defending the Dream: Why Income Inequality Doesn’t Threaten Opportunity.”

https://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/defending-the-dream-why-income-inequality-doesnt-threaten-opportunity

The above link is to an extensive article on the issues regarding “income inequality”, so we are also including the following link to an excerpt of the key passages –

https://www.f2ppr.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Why-Income-Inequality-Is-Inevitable.pdf

Free-market economics is not about dividing up a dwindling pie. Instead, the free market is about expanding the pie to serve everyone. Unfortunately, government interference and over-regulation have a tendency to restrict the growth of the pie. Our Editorial Board believes “less is more” – – less intrusion by the federal government has a beneficial effect on expanding the pie. Our country’s GDP growth rate during the first half of 2018 is all the proof we need.

However, the authors do point out that there is one major threat to upward mobility that needs to be combatted – – crony capitalism. But this is not a problem of the free market – – it is a problem when the government dishes out “special favors” to “special interest groups”. Whether these favors go to Hollywood producers, labor unions, or certain favored corporations / industries, these types of actions by the government violate the concept of “Favoritism to None”.

US Debt Clock – – July 1st – $64,580 per citizen / August 1st – $64,885

E-Newsletter No. 55 ______ July 2018

Just a short newsletter this month – – we have included a link to a short video on the issue of poverty and welfare reform –

https://www.prageru.com/videos/there-only-one-way-out-poverty

Our goal should never be to merely make poverty less miserable. Our goal must be to make poverty more escapable. Earning your way out of poverty is more empowering and enduring than being supported by a variety of government programs. Through engaging in work, people earn their own success, which is the key to a more fulfilling and dignified life.

US Debt Clock – – June 1st – $64,635 per citizen / July 1st – $64,580

The federal government’s $21.2 trillion debt decreased slightly during June. Although the government’s spending has not slowed down, tax revenues have increased, primarily due to the growth in the economy and the increase in payroll tax receipts due to the decrease in unemployment.

E-Newsletter No. 54 _____ June 2018

Last month, we talked about the costs and the benefits of employment and welfare. There have been a lot of discussions lately in Washington DC about re-establishing work requirements in exchange for the “entitlement” to receive welfare benefits. Re-establishing work requirements would be a step in the right direction towards eliminating poverty in America.

However, these discussions are also somewhat mis-guided, because they fail to address the fundamental problem, which is Congress’ disregard for the Tenth Amendment and an erroneous belief that the federal government can solve the issue of poverty. The federal government can only throw money at the symptoms of the disease – – it cannot cure / eradicate poverty. Our elected officials have failed to remember the words of wisdom in Thomas Paine’s pamphlet entitled Common Sense about the fundamental differences between government and civil society.

The federal government was established to handle specific, limited responsibilities. Over the past 100 years or so, it has expanded well beyond this limited role, and this expansion has directly contributed to many of the troubling issues that currently confront our country. These social ills – – dependency on the government, a growing sense of “entitlement”, and a ballooning federal debt – – can be tied directly to the advance of Socialism.

As Dennis Prager pointed out in his video on the detrimental effects of Big Government (https://www.prageru.com/courses/left-and-right-differences/how-big-should-government-be-left-vs-right-1) “Big Government eats away at the moral character of a nation. People no longer take care of one another. After all, they know the government will do that.”

One unfortunate by-product of many pieces of legislation passed by Congress is the detrimental effects of unintended consequences. In the tax reform legislation that was passed last December, Congress significantly increased the standard deduction for personal income tax returns. We support that increase – – in The 2020 Initiative we take the position that no individual or family should be asked to pay federal income taxes until they have earned enough income to cover their own cost of living.

However, the problem with this increase in the standard deduction is that it will probably lead to a decrease in the amount of charitable contributions that are made by our country’s citizens. There have already been signs of a decrease in the amount of contributions to universities, civic organizations and religious institutions (the unintended consequences). However, we are somewhat skeptical, because this might actually have been by design – – the federal government wants to continue to crowd out civil society, and Congress wants to be seen as being the solution to all of our country’s social ills. But let’s repeat – – the federal government cannot solve the issue of poverty.

The federal government’s welfare programs simply add to the federal government’s debt. Charitable contributions made by our country’s citizens do not. This is the reason why we recommend that four national pass-through charities be established (for education, food, housing, and medical care), which would be funded by allowing a dollar-for-dollar tax credit against an individual’s / family’s federal income tax liability for the contributions to these four charities. With this change, the federal government should then eliminate all of its “non-constitutional” welfare programs, and the war against poverty should be waged by civil society at the state and local level. Local Not-for-Profit charitable organizations are closer to the action and are better equipped to deliver actual, positive results.

US Debt Clock – – May 1st – $64,606 per citizen / June 1st – $64,635

E-Newsletter No. 53 ______ May 2018

Mitt Romney once suggested that each person “should take personal responsibility” for their own life. This includes assessing the costs and the benefits of the various decisions that you make each day. Should I make my own cup of coffee this morning, or should I buy the 99 cent cup of coffee at the local convenience store, or should I drive over and buy the $4.59 cup of latte at the coffee shop?

But it’s not all about dollar and cents. Sometimes a decision might entail assessing an “intangible consideration” that only you can determine for yourself. Should I sleep in, or should I study for tomorrow’s exam? Should I invest my time in this activity, or that? Should I go back to school so that I can work towards getting into a field that sparks my interest, or should I simply go to my minimum wage job and hope the government can force my employer to pay me $15 per hour?

Here is a short list of the costs of employment – – the cost of transportation to and from your employer; the time value of your time spent going to and from your employer; the “lost opportunity cost” of the time you spend at your employer versus the time you could be spending doing something you might prefer doing.

Here is a short list of the benefits of employment – – the wages/compensation that you earn; the good feeling that arises from making a positive contribution (to your employer, or to your customers, or to society); the good feeling associated with the Pride of your accomplishments; an intangible value and sense of well-being associated with becoming self-reliant.

Here is a short list of the costs of welfare – – the dollar cost to society to provide assistance to those individuals / families in need (which could very well be appropriate in certain situations, and in certain other instances, maybe not); the “intangible cost” associated with the loss of self-esteem that arises from a feeling of dependency (but unfortunately, this intangible cost has been decreasing in our country over the course of the past 50 years or so, due to the growing sense of entitlement among our country’s citizens).

Here is a short list of the benefits of welfare – – the dollars received from society (as opposed to wages/compensation earned); the “opportunity benefit” of avoiding the costs of employment (see the list of costs above); the time-value-benefit of the extra time available to yourself.

It has been said that “Our country needs a steady in-flow of immigrants, because most Americans would never do those types of jobs.” What ??? Where did that line of thinking ever come from? Well, to a large degree it comes from the trends of what has been happening in our country over the course of the past 50 years or so. Unfortunately, the federal government’s welfare programs have had a significant effect on the cost/benefit assessment of the various factors listed above.

In a Socialistic society, people begin to believe that they are entitled to the generous benefits available from the government. But in a self-reliant society, people understand that they are responsible for their own life decisions. Frederick Douglas once observed, “People might not get all they work for in this world, but they must certainly work for all they get”. That was certainly true in the past, but then Big Government Socialists began giving away welfare benefits for “free”.

US Debt Clock – – April 1st – $64,468 per citizen / May 1st – $64,606

E-Newsletter No. 52 _____ April 2018

As we have noted on our Foundation’s website, our Editorial Board tends to approach many of our country’s issues from a “business” perspective, rather than a “political” perspective. In the business world, the management of a company has a fundamental responsibility to guard against occupational fraud.

Dr. Donald Cressey was a criminologist who developed a fraud triangle model that identified three factors that, when taken together, can contribute towards a person committing an act of fraud – Pressure, Opportunity, and Rationalization. Do these same three factors come into play in politics?

Pressure – A potential opponent from within your own party in the next primary election, an opponent from the other party in the next general election, the need to deliver results to your various special interest groups so they will continue to provide campaign contributions for your next re-election, etc…. But maybe the biggest pressure is your own desire to maintain your current lifestyle and the sense of power that comes from your position within the federal government. The question becomes – Wouldn’t these pressures on the members of the House and Senate be significantly reduced if they knew they had been elected to serve a limited number of years, so that they can devote all of their time and efforts towards promoting the general welfare of the country as a whole, rather than worrying about their next re-election?

Opportunity – Congress’ approval ratings are at historical lows, and yet over 96% of the incumbents in the House and Senate who sought re-election in 2016 were successful in getting re-elected. It is a well-known fact that incumbents have a tremendous advantage over any challengers – – name recognition, a built-in fund-raising advantage, along with the continued support they receive from their various special interest groups. However, the single biggest opportunity that members of Congress have in regards to spending our children’s /grandkids’ money is that they can’t vote yet.

Rationalization – The Scottish historian Alexander Tytler observed that “A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy.” But aren’t politicians simply giving their constituents what they want from the government? Isn’t this why we have Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, and Welfare programs? Isn’t this the primary role of the federal government? [ No ].

Our Editorial Board promotes the concept of Personal Responsibility, rather than yet another government program. We oppose Socialism and Big Government. Winston Churchill observed “The inherent vice of Capitalism is the unequal sharing of Blessings. The inherent virtue of Socialism is the equal sharing of Miseries.” Margaret Thatcher observed that “The problem with Socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” Our federal government ran out of other people’s money a long time ago (which is why our federal government is already $21.1 trillion in debt, thanks to FDR, LBJ and the other Big Government Socialists). When you run out of other people’s money, you are almost forced to go after the money of people who can’t even vote yet.

We started this newsletter with an observation that in the business world, the management of a company has a fundamental responsibility to guard against occupational fraud (and Ponzi schemes). Our country’s Founders set up a government where We-the-People are the managers over our elected officials. The time has come for We-the-People to exercise our management responsibilities and call a Convention of States to propose amendments to the US Constitution that would impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.

US Debt Clock – – March 1st – $63,450 per citizen / April 1st – $64,468

E-Newsletter No. 51 _____ March 2018

We were originally going use this month’s newsletter to discuss the cost/benefit analysis that every person performs each day, when they decide whether they should get out of bed and go to work. However, we are deferring that newsletter, and will instead use this month’s newsletter to give you another update on our federal government’s lack of fiscal responsibility.

As you are probably aware, the federal government was shut down last month for about 7 hours in the wee morning hours of Friday, February 9th. However, through the heroic efforts of our elected officials in Washington DC, this latest government shut-down was cut short by Congress when they passed legislation that will add over $400 billion to the federal government’s credit card balance. By passing this legislation, our elected officials put each citizen – every man, woman and child – on the hook for over $1,000 each. Every dollar that is added to the federal government’s debt represents one additional dollar of future taxes that will need to be paid by our country’s citizens.

And that’s not the worst aspect of last month’s legislation – – the real travesty is that the bill only funded the federal government though March 23rd, so we are going to have yet another last-minute fire drill later this month.

Here are some of the quotes regarding this latest act of fiscal irresponsibility –

Senator Rand Paul – – “I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama’s trillion-dollar deficits. Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can’t in honesty look the other way.” [ He voted No ].

Rep. John Yarmuth – – “We’re not going to get DACA as part of this. So, if we can negotiate a deal like I think we’ve gotten, that essentially meets every other one of our priorities, then I think that’s where a lot of the Democrats are.” [ He voted Yes ].

Senator Jeff Flake – – “I love bipartisanship… But the problem is the only time we discover bipartisanship is when we spend more money.” [He voted No ].

Maya MacGuineas (the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget) – – “No one voting for this bill can claim to care about the debt and deficits – in fact, it is fiscal malpractice. Congress just ordered everything on the menu (and then some) and then sent the bill over to the kids’ table.”

And…. from the Foundation to Promote Personal Responsibility – – “This is not only fiscal malpractice, the federal government’s growing debt problem and its effect on future generations is immoral.”

Our Editorial Board believes that the time has come for 34 states to come forward and call a Convention of States to propose amendments to the US Constitution that would impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.

US Debt Clock – – February 1st – $63,044 per citizen / March 1st – $63,450

E-Newsletter No. 50 ______ February 2018

So, what could be more pertinent to the discussion about Personal Responsibility, other than a review of the Seven Deadly Sins? As we pondered that question, our Editorial Board does agree with the list of the Seven sins, but we have determined that most of them do have certain positive aspects. We also took a shot at ranking them from “worst” to “least worst”.

Gluttony – OK, it’s hard to find any positive aspects about this one. As we discussed in our Conversation Piece entitled Healthcare Re-Visited, we make the case that healthcare is simply and primarily a Personal Responsibility. And we take issue with the Left’s tactic of trying to make a case that healthcare is somehow a “right” instead of a Personal Responsibility. The political debate is really about who should pay for whose health insurance policy.

Envy – We have run across references where Envy is oftentimes ranked as being the “most deadly” of the Seven Deadly Sins. We generally agree. It was a close contest, but this one doesn’t top Gluttony, because there is at least one redeeming aspect. Maybe Envy can spur someone into action to take Personal Responsibility to improve their own lot in life (rather than simply be envious).

Sloth – OK, so Sloth is another one that doesn’t seem to have very many redeeming qualities. But sometimes it’s OK to just sit back and chill out. Plus, this one is generally a “victimless crime”. But maybe sometimes a person just doesn’t want to work, and so they engage in Disability Fraud.

Wrath – This one is in the top part of the list, because it can lead to all kinds of violence (i.e., Antifa) and other kinds of deadly actions / sins. But Wrath is potentially useful if it leads to moral outrage, which can then be channeled to positive purposes.

Lust – Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Franken, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Roy Moore…. So, are we all disgusted enough yet, or should we try to finish the rest of this list? This deadly sin isn’t specific to any particular industry or political party. It should also be noted that Lust is not exclusively “gender specific” either. And [ this might be a bit of a stretch ] maybe Lust is needed to help perpetuate the species.

Greed – The Left is probably going to go nuts with this ranking. Shouldn’t this one be at the very top of the list? Our Editorial Board agrees that Greed belongs among the Seven sins, especially when it leads to either thievery or corruption. However, “Greed is good” according to Gordon Gekko in the 1987 film Wall Street. Plus, it’s an interesting debate as to what has been a better driver of civilization’s progress – – Is it “altruism” or “greed” / entrepreneurialism?

Pride – Wikipedia points out that Pride carries two antithetical meanings. Pride is one of the Seven sins if it leads to a foolish sense of one’s personal value or status. But this one is at the bottom of the list, because everyone should take Pride in their work and accomplishments.

US Debt Clock – – January 1st – $62,996 per citizen / February 1st – $63,044