A New Declaration
By Rep. Ron Paul, MD.
July 3, 2006
On the fourth day of July, in 1776, a small group of men, representing 13 colonies in the far-off Americas, boldly told the most powerful nation on earth that they were free.
They declared, in terms that still are radical today, that all men are created equal, and endowed with certain inalienable rights that government neither grants nor can take away.
In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers sought to demonstrate to the world that they were rejecting a tyrannical king. They listed the “injuries and usurpations” that contain the philosophical basis for our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
One point of consternation to our founding fathers was that the king had been “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” But 230 years later, taxation with representation has not worked out much better.
Indeed, one has to wonder how Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin would react to the current state of affairs. After all, they were outraged by mere import tariffs of a few pennies on the dollar. Today, the average American pays roughly 50 percent of their income in direct and indirect taxes.
In fact, most Texans will not start working for themselves for another week. Texans, like most Americans, work from January until early July just to pay their federal income taxes, state and local taxes, and the enormous costs of regulation. Only about half the year is spent working to pay for food, clothing, shelter, or education.
It is easy to simply blame faceless bureaucrats and politicians for our current state of affairs, and they do bear much of the blame. But blame also rests with those who expect Washington DC to solve every problem under the sun. If the public demanded that Congress abide by the Constitution and pass only constitutional spending bills, politicians would have no choice but to respond.
Everybody seems to agree that government waste is rampant and spending should but cut—but not when it comes to their communities or pet projects. So members of Congress have every incentive to support spending bills and adopt a go-along, get-along attitude. This leads to the famous compromises, but the bill eventually comes due on April 15th.
They declared, in terms that still are radical today, that all men are created equal, and endowed with certain inalienable rights that government neither grants nor can take away.
In the Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers sought to demonstrate to the world that they were rejecting a tyrannical king. They listed the “injuries and usurpations” that contain the philosophical basis for our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
One point of consternation to our founding fathers was that the king had been “imposing Taxes on us without our Consent.” But 230 years later, taxation with representation has not worked out much better.
Indeed, one has to wonder how Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin would react to the current state of affairs. After all, they were outraged by mere import tariffs of a few pennies on the dollar. Today, the average American pays roughly 50 percent of their income in direct and indirect taxes.
In fact, most Texans will not start working for themselves for another week. Texans, like most Americans, work from January until early July just to pay their federal income taxes, state and local taxes, and the enormous costs of regulation. Only about half the year is spent working to pay for food, clothing, shelter, or education.
It is easy to simply blame faceless bureaucrats and politicians for our current state of affairs, and they do bear much of the blame. But blame also rests with those who expect Washington DC to solve every problem under the sun. If the public demanded that Congress abide by the Constitution and pass only constitutional spending bills, politicians would have no choice but to respond.
Everybody seems to agree that government waste is rampant and spending should but cut—but not when it comes to their communities or pet projects. So members of Congress have every incentive to support spending bills and adopt a go-along, get-along attitude. This leads to the famous compromises, but the bill eventually comes due on April 15th.
Our basic problem is that we have lost sight of the simple premise that guided the actions of our founding fathers. That premise? The government that governs least is the government that governs best.
When we cut the size of government, our taxes will fall. When we reduce the power of the federal bureaucracy, the cost of government will plummet. And when we firmly fix our eyes, undistracted, on the principles of liberty, Americans truly will be free. That should be our new declaration.
Congressman Ron Paul of Texas is a leading advocate for limited constitutional government as envisioned by our Founding Fathers. A true statesman, he is also the nation's premier spokesman for low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies based on commodity-backed currency.
posted by Julie at 7/06/2006 12:27:00 PM
4 Comments:
What??!!! You mean having a government-paid health plan with 100% coverage and no deductible, no premium, no coinsurance or copayments, and complete coverage of everything isn't the answer??
. . . As one of my favorite mentors is fond of saying, "Change begins with awareness."
Thanks for visiting again, Beth! Isn't it funny how many Americans believe all those things can be provided by government without anyone having to pay for them? It reminds me of the saying, "The government that's big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take away everything you have."
Very true. We don't realize the government's money is our money and there's not a bottomless pot somewhere paying for all these freebies!
Congressman Ron Paul has the spirit of our Founding Fathers. If all so-called Republicans in congress had his courage and dedication to upholding the U.S. Constitution, our nation would change almost overnight. Our freedoms would return.
If only we could get Americans to start voting right, our liberties would return. If an incumbent suported a bill which violated the Constitution - he should be voted out of office. This simple rule would rid us of 99% of our current congress, and leave room for those who would stop violating our constitutional rights.
Unfortunately, most Americans have been duped and frightened into always voting for candidates in the 2 major parties, and thus we continue sinking into tyranny.
How can we Wake Up America?
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