Guest Blog: History. Don't Repeat it. By Ken McClellan.
I've heard
that there's nothing new under the sun and that history repeats itself.
It amazes, and sometimes disturbs me that some of the things I see
going on in our country happened before. We need to know history. We
need to be informed of the past. As Edmund Burke said: "Those who
don't know history are destined to repeat it." Many people in many
societies have tried many systems of government and many systems of
economics. We need to study which ones have worked, and which have not
and why. Repeating failed experiments is a waste of time and
resources. President Obama and Governor Malloy have not studied history
or economics. Both are pushing for larger government, more taxes.
Here is a statement of fact: No society, anywhere, anytime has ever
taxed itself into prosperity. It doesn't work. Never has and never
will. President Obama and Governor Malloy may be highly intelligent
people, but even they can't make it work. Another statement of fact:
The larger the government, the less free the people and the less
prosperous is the society.
Again, history shows time and again, as a
society increases the size of it's government, ie employees, prosperity
and freedoms decrease. A larger government requires more resources,
which removes those resources from the private sector, and doesn't
produce a tangible return. The more layers of administration you have,
the less money goes to the end result. As an example take disaster
relief. Tax money is distributed by the federal government to state
governments. A staff is needed to decide how much to give to the state,
if any. Studies are needed to determine where resources are most
needed, thus spending a significant percentage of the money earmarked
for disaster relief. Next the state gets an amount of money, studies
where the resources are needed, divides it up, taking another chunk for
administrative costs. The state solicits bids for supplies, equipment
and labor. The bids are evaluated, a company is selected and the money
is spent, again costing money in salaries. Compare that to a volunteer
charity, like the Salvation Army. All funding goes directly to the
disaster area, in the form of building supplies, food, blankets and
water, along with volunteers to distribute it. The result is near 100%
of the money actually gets to the people who need it. Private companies
continually try to reduce the administrative overhead; charities are
rated on their percentage of overhead. Why should the government not
operate under the same rules? Historians, Liberals and Economists are
all welcome to challenge this assertion.
Show me one example where the
reverse is true, for either of my statements. You can't. Because big
government and high taxes have never worked. President Obama and
Governor Malloy can't make it work, either. Albert Einstein defined
insanity as performing the same action repeatedly, expecting a different
result. I wonder sometimes, are the President, Governor and their
supporters unaware or ignorant of history, or do they believe that they
can create a different result with the same process? Ignorant or
insane? I think either should disqualify someone from holding a
position of responsibility. I'll close with a final quote, from Marcus
Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman, 106-43 BC: "When a government becomes
powerful it is destructive, extravagant and violent; it is an usurer
which takes bread from innocent mouths and deprives honorable men of
their substance, for votes with which to perpetuate itself".
Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Statesman, 106-43 BC
Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.The more laws, the less justice.
The budget should be balanced. Public debt should be reduced. The arrogance of officialdom should be tempered, and assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed, lest Rome become bankrupt.
The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should betempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands shouldbe curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.
The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to foreign governments must be reduced. If the nation doesn't want to go bankrupt, people must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance.
To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child. For what is man's lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?
If you pursue good with labor, the labor passes away but the good remains; if you pursue evil with pleasure, the pleasure passes away and the evil remains.
Thomas Paine: “Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice”
These are important lessons for the people of today.
Ken McClellan, of Middletown
*Editors note: McClellan is chairman of the Middletown Republican Town Committee
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