Tony Isaac, April 3, 2006
The Declaration of Independence of the United States outlines three basic rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Most of us would agree that these three rights are good, even essential, to a thriving democracy. But in recent times, more "basic" rights have been added to the list. These new rights are chipping away at the original rights, that made our country the Greatest Nation on Earth.
The Right to a Secure Retirement
The Social Security act seemed to be an outstanding idea. With this law, the elderly would be able to retire, knowing that they would receive an income for the rest of their lives. This would happen regardless of whether they had enough savings to carry them through these years.
After all, the reasoning goes, if the government didn't provide for our senior citizens, some of them would go hungry, and might even die, because of their lack of income. But this guarantee of a retirement income comes at a price: we must all forfeit some of our hard-earned cash. Those who work the hardest must pay the most. This provides an incentive for people not to work quite so hard. It also deprives us of some of the liberty we once had to spend our money as we choose.
Worst of all, the system is eventually doomed to fail as the baby boom generation grows old enough to retire. When that happens, we may well hurt more people than we helped in the first place!
The Right to Healthcare
Medicare, Medicaid, and numerous other government healthcare programs attempt to guarantee healthcare to every American, regardless of whether they can afford it. If we did not have this guarantee, some people would suffer, and even die, because of the lack of health insurance.
But if the Government will take care of our health needs when we can't pay for them ourselves, why should we work hard to pay for them ourselves? This "right" provides yet another powerful motivation not to work. Like Social Security, the system is not sustainable. As more people leave the rolls of the paid insurance, the government will be responsible for more people, and the costs will spiral out of control. We will all be stuck paying the tab.
The Right to Housing
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, among other agencies, provides free or reduced-cost housing for people who cannot afford their own housing. The Federal Emergency Management Administration provides housing for those whose homes were destroyed in disasters, and were not covered by insurance.
If the Government will provide housing for those who cannot afford it, then why should people work hard to provide their own? Again those who work hard are required to pay for the housing of those who won't work.
Rewarding Hard Work
Those who work hard should be rewarded for their work. This inevitably means that those who don't work hard will not receive those rewards. This is not harsh or un-caring, it is the meaning of liberty.
So do we turn the other way and ignore the plight of those who are not able to provide for themselves? No, of course not! But this is not the Government's role. It is our responsibility as individuals to care for the less fortunate. When the government gets involved, everyone suffers, rather than just a few.
Copyright © 2006 by Tony Isaac