Joe gets up at 6:00am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good clean drinking water that has been filtered by the unit he purchased with his hard earned money because the federal government is particularly poor at setting and enforcing public health standards.
He gets ready to take his medication, but then he realizes that, though safe and effective, it is still not available due to bureaucratic in-fighting at the FDA. He realizes that a more free market would be a much more efficient means of regulating the release of drugs.
For the drugs he does have, he discovers he has to pay for them out of pocket because the rationing of healthcare by government and HMOs has led to necessary drugs losing coverage.
Joe prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because republicans fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. Moreover, he's done his homework and has bought high quality food because the market does a good job of differentiating the quality of consumer products.
Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo. His bottle is labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. He suddenly realizes that his shampoo cost more than it would have without the absurd label detail and that he doesn't know what the hell isopropyl-4-beta-phenol is anyway.
Joe dresses, walks outside and takes in the beautiful country around him, country where he cannot hunt, ride his snowmobile, or have camp fires, because a caribou might be offended.
Joe drives to work in one of the safest cars in the world because he used his good sense to do some research and buy a safe one. He realizes that government safety standards are minimal and that the free market encourages manufacturers to construct safer cars because that's what consumers demand. Unfortunately, when he goes to fill that car up, he has to pay $2.00 per gallon because of high gasoline taxes and environmental regulations that intensify our dependence on foreign oil.
Joe begins his work day; it's May 15th, and he realizes that he still hasn't earned a dime from his hard work this year -- every penny he has been paid so far this year eventually will have to go to pay taxes to support a bloated and wasteful government; unless he lives in a "right to work" state, he is upset about the fact that he is legally required to join the union and pay dues, whether he wants to or not, and that his union dues may be used to support political and other causes with which he does not agree; he also realizes that his job's "benefits" are not a good fit for his needs and that he would have been much better off receiving his compensation in the form of salary so he could choose to purchase the coverage that he wants and needs.
Joe's employer structures his compensation in this inefficient manner because it is held hostage by unions and fears litigation (as a result Joe's employer also hires fewer workers and eventually outsources the factory to Mexico). If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get minimal government coverage that costs his employer a very great deal. As a result, Joe is paid less than he would be under other circumstances and is unable to afford to purchase the coverage that would fit his needs.
Joe realizes that in a time of true economic crisis, like the Depression or the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s, FDIC and FSLIC insurance won't be worth the paper the regulations are written on. In the meantime, such costs to his bank reduce the amount of interest he earns on the money in his accounts. He shakes his head and sighs, asking himself, "why does the government always think it knows best?"
Joe doesn't have a mortgage or student loans because he has skimped and saved to pay them off early. If he still had them, though, he woud understand that indirect govenment subsidies are incredibly laden with operating costs and inefficiencies. He would much rather pay a lower tax rate so he, rather than the government, could decide how he should spend his hard earned money.
Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house. As he looks around, he acknowledges that his father won't live forever. When he passes, there will be no more generations of Joe's growing up on the farm because the property will be subject to the Federal Estate Tax at the rate of 47%. Despite the fact that taxes have been paid on the property every year for three generations, Joe and his siblings will have to sell the land his ancestors worked so hard to acquire just to be able to pay the tax bill.
He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension. The money doesn't go far, entitlement checks never do, and crooked union leaders raided the pension fund. Joe can't help but think that, had his father had the freedom to invest part of his payroll tax in a simple tax-free CD or other instrument for his entire career, he would now be a wealthy man.
Instead, he was forced to subsidize a growing and inefficient web of federal programs designed to redistribute his meager earnings to those the government deemed more deserving. It's not that Joe and his father don't want to help the less fortunate, they just resent the confiscatory and woolheaded manner in which the government does the job. Had they the freedom to spend their own money, they would give much more liberally to church and charity than the government could imagine. This would put the money directly into the hands of those who need it, instead of in the hands of an unaccountable government worker.
After his visit with his dad he gets back in his car for the ride home. He is becoming very angry at how government intrudes in his life. He turns on a radio talk show, the host keeps saying that citizens should be free to spend or save more of their own money, free to use and husband natural resources without unnecessary regulations that hurt the economy and reduce enjoyment, and most importantly free to make their own decisions rather than having them made for them by the government.
Joe agrees, "We don't need big government running our lives. Government should be free to do the things it does well -- defend the nation, build roads and other public works projects of large scope, deliver the mail, regulate the currency, insure our constitutional rights, and provide a framework for stable interstate commerce. Otherwise, I have a healthy skepticism of government programs.
"I'm a self made man, but I did have help along the way and was a lucky SOB to have been born in the United States, a land of opportunity. I believe I owe something to this country and community that made my success possible -- I believe in looking after my brothers and neighbors and doing what I can to make sure that they have the same opportunities I had -- but I also believe that government doesn't have all the answers and that throwing money and red tape at problems often does more harm than good."
He gets ready to take his medication, but then he realizes that, though safe and effective, it is still not available due to bureaucratic in-fighting at the FDA. He realizes that a more free market would be a much more efficient means of regulating the release of drugs.
For the drugs he does have, he discovers he has to pay for them out of pocket because the rationing of healthcare by government and HMOs has led to necessary drugs losing coverage.
Joe prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because republicans fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. Moreover, he's done his homework and has bought high quality food because the market does a good job of differentiating the quality of consumer products.
Joe takes his morning shower reaching for his shampoo. His bottle is labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. He suddenly realizes that his shampoo cost more than it would have without the absurd label detail and that he doesn't know what the hell isopropyl-4-beta-phenol is anyway.
Joe dresses, walks outside and takes in the beautiful country around him, country where he cannot hunt, ride his snowmobile, or have camp fires, because a caribou might be offended.
Joe drives to work in one of the safest cars in the world because he used his good sense to do some research and buy a safe one. He realizes that government safety standards are minimal and that the free market encourages manufacturers to construct safer cars because that's what consumers demand. Unfortunately, when he goes to fill that car up, he has to pay $2.00 per gallon because of high gasoline taxes and environmental regulations that intensify our dependence on foreign oil.
Joe begins his work day; it's May 15th, and he realizes that he still hasn't earned a dime from his hard work this year -- every penny he has been paid so far this year eventually will have to go to pay taxes to support a bloated and wasteful government; unless he lives in a "right to work" state, he is upset about the fact that he is legally required to join the union and pay dues, whether he wants to or not, and that his union dues may be used to support political and other causes with which he does not agree; he also realizes that his job's "benefits" are not a good fit for his needs and that he would have been much better off receiving his compensation in the form of salary so he could choose to purchase the coverage that he wants and needs.
Joe's employer structures his compensation in this inefficient manner because it is held hostage by unions and fears litigation (as a result Joe's employer also hires fewer workers and eventually outsources the factory to Mexico). If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get minimal government coverage that costs his employer a very great deal. As a result, Joe is paid less than he would be under other circumstances and is unable to afford to purchase the coverage that would fit his needs.
Joe realizes that in a time of true economic crisis, like the Depression or the savings and loan crisis of the early 1990s, FDIC and FSLIC insurance won't be worth the paper the regulations are written on. In the meantime, such costs to his bank reduce the amount of interest he earns on the money in his accounts. He shakes his head and sighs, asking himself, "why does the government always think it knows best?"
Joe doesn't have a mortgage or student loans because he has skimped and saved to pay them off early. If he still had them, though, he woud understand that indirect govenment subsidies are incredibly laden with operating costs and inefficiencies. He would much rather pay a lower tax rate so he, rather than the government, could decide how he should spend his hard earned money.
Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house. As he looks around, he acknowledges that his father won't live forever. When he passes, there will be no more generations of Joe's growing up on the farm because the property will be subject to the Federal Estate Tax at the rate of 47%. Despite the fact that taxes have been paid on the property every year for three generations, Joe and his siblings will have to sell the land his ancestors worked so hard to acquire just to be able to pay the tax bill.
He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension. The money doesn't go far, entitlement checks never do, and crooked union leaders raided the pension fund. Joe can't help but think that, had his father had the freedom to invest part of his payroll tax in a simple tax-free CD or other instrument for his entire career, he would now be a wealthy man.
Instead, he was forced to subsidize a growing and inefficient web of federal programs designed to redistribute his meager earnings to those the government deemed more deserving. It's not that Joe and his father don't want to help the less fortunate, they just resent the confiscatory and woolheaded manner in which the government does the job. Had they the freedom to spend their own money, they would give much more liberally to church and charity than the government could imagine. This would put the money directly into the hands of those who need it, instead of in the hands of an unaccountable government worker.
After his visit with his dad he gets back in his car for the ride home. He is becoming very angry at how government intrudes in his life. He turns on a radio talk show, the host keeps saying that citizens should be free to spend or save more of their own money, free to use and husband natural resources without unnecessary regulations that hurt the economy and reduce enjoyment, and most importantly free to make their own decisions rather than having them made for them by the government.
Joe agrees, "We don't need big government running our lives. Government should be free to do the things it does well -- defend the nation, build roads and other public works projects of large scope, deliver the mail, regulate the currency, insure our constitutional rights, and provide a framework for stable interstate commerce. Otherwise, I have a healthy skepticism of government programs.
"I'm a self made man, but I did have help along the way and was a lucky SOB to have been born in the United States, a land of opportunity. I believe I owe something to this country and community that made my success possible -- I believe in looking after my brothers and neighbors and doing what I can to make sure that they have the same opportunities I had -- but I also believe that government doesn't have all the answers and that throwing money and red tape at problems often does more harm than good."
