LESSONS IN LOGIC: It’s Irrational To Assume Government Is Immune To Greed

The Left likes to attack ‘Capitalism,’ saying that ‘Capitalism’ is the source of greed and corruption in society.  But how can they believe such a thing?  Do they honestly believe that the people in government are less human than those in private business?  Or that being in government service somehow immunizes a person against greed or corruption?  If they do, I have to wonder what it must be like to live in their world?  Exactly what are the colors of the Mad Hatter’s outfit, and how late is their rabbit?  And will they ever find their way back out of that looking glass?

Now, I know my words sound judgmental and harsh, bu, if they sting, then they are a warning to whomever feels their bite.  To those to whom my words do not apply, there is no pain — save, perhaps, for a feeling of frustration and lament.  But it’s true: those who serve in government are no less susceptible to the failings of human nature than those in the private sector.  The real difference is that those in government represent a far greater threat than those in the private sector.

You see, all of us can become greedy and corrupt.  But, when a private businessman does it, or even the leaders of a corporation, they extent of the damage they can cause is limited.  This is because they cannot exercise control over the whole of society.  What’s more, they still have to sell their product or they will go out of business.  This serves to limit how greedy they can be, as well as to how far that greed can reach.  But the same does not apply to government.

In the case of government, the threat is multiplied many-fold.  First, a business cannot extend its greed and power into government unless there is a government official who is already corrupt enough to sell their power to that business.  I understand many will argue that the greedy business can corrupt an otherwise good government worker, but that simply isn’t true.  If a person does not have corruption in their heart to being with, then they will not sell their principles for any amount of money.  The problem is that all humans have some degree of corruption within them — all of us, every one!  So the government official who sells their power to private interests is never innocent.  They are every bit as greedy and corrupt as the person who buys them.  Only, in the case of government officials, there is the additional threat that the government official’s greed will grow beyond simply selling their power to that of extorting all businesses.

Sadly, this happens to be where we are in our nation’s life right now.  We have a government filled with greedy and corrupt people seeking their own enrichment at the expense of the entire nation — business included.  How many politicians leave office with a great deal more wealth than when they entered it?  And from where does that wealth come when they have had nothing to sell while in office — except their office, itself?  And how many politicians exempt themselves from their own laws?  How many have used their power to control private businesses?  To threaten them with legal action if the businesses did not do as they were told?  Do you remember the TARP bailouts?  When otherwise healthy businesses were told they would have to accept the government loans — and government control that went with them — or they would be put out of business? How about the stock holders who lost their money in the GM and Chrysler bailouts so that the government could pay off their allies in the unions; allies who fund the same politicians who arranged the bailouts at the expense of the rightful owners of GM and Chrysler?  Or how about a President who openly boasted that he would end the coal industry — simply because he doesn’t like coal?  Tell me, what corporation in America has the power to put an entire industry out of business? NONE!  But people still trust a government that has done so and boasted about it more than they trust the businesses that provide the jobs by which they feed their families.  And these are just a few of the examples I could give.  If I wanted, I could write a book on them.

So, I ask you again: do you really believe the people who trust government over private individuals are acting rationally?  Or do you see why I ask whether or not they’ve fallen through some looking glass somewhere?