"Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it. If you do not, I shall repent in heaven that ever I took half the pains to preserve it." -John Adams
Welcome to Patriot's Lament. We strive here to educate ourselves on Liberty. We will not worry ourselves so much with the daily antics of American politics, and drown ourselves in the murky waters of the political right or left. Instead, we will look to the Intellectuals and Champions of Liberty, and draw on their wisdom of what it is to be a truly free people. We will learn from where our Providential Liberties are derived, and put the proper perspective of a Free Individual and the State. Please join us!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
The Truth About Voting
For today's callers... Incidentally, this is the first Stefan Molyneaux video I ever watched. Thanks to Sam for sending it to me a couple years ago.
From Jeff Tucker's review of God of the Machine by Isabel Paterson:
Government Growth
Political power has a ratchet action; it works only one way, to augment itself. A transfer occurs by which the power cannot be retracted, once it is bestowed. In the lowest illustration of this, a candidate for office may promise the voters that he will reduce taxes, or the number of offices or the powers of office. But once he is elected, he can use the taxes, the officeholders or the powers to ensure re-election; therefore, the motive of the promise is no longer operative. By cutting down expenditure or the number of officeholders or graft, he will certainly create enemies, so the reverse motive, impelling him to evade his promise, is doubled. The voter can only vote the incumbent out; but the next officeholder will come into those augmented powers, and be still harder to get rid of in turn.
http://lfb.org/today/she-nailed-it-in-1943/
Why vote, indeed. It is like eating cake to lose weight.
From Jeff Tucker's review of God of the Machine by Isabel Paterson:
ReplyDeleteGovernment Growth
Political power has a ratchet action; it works only one way, to augment itself. A transfer occurs by which the power cannot be retracted, once it is bestowed. In the lowest illustration of this, a candidate for office may promise the voters that he will reduce taxes, or the number of offices or the powers of office. But once he is elected, he can use the taxes, the officeholders or the powers to ensure re-election; therefore, the motive of the promise is no longer operative. By cutting down expenditure or the number of officeholders or graft, he will certainly create enemies, so the reverse motive, impelling him to evade his promise, is doubled. The voter can only vote the incumbent out; but the next officeholder will come into those augmented powers, and be still harder to get rid of in turn.
http://lfb.org/today/she-nailed-it-in-1943/
Why vote, indeed. It is like eating cake to lose weight.
Jim in Kenai