I heard an interview of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, today. She (again) stated how off-shore drilling for oil would not solve today's energy crisis, since we wouldn't be able to take advantage of any drilling for at least 5 years. She had all kinds of reasons why the "oil man in the White House" and his plan to help the energy situation were worthless; but the only solution she offered was a call to open up the strategic oil reserves to increase the oil supply and (hopefully) bring down prices. This struck me as a good example of the difference in approaches to problem solving between those who believe the Government can solve every ill and those who believe in self-reliance (as much as possible).
Speaker Pelosi's proposed solution was for the Government to give away something put aside for true emergencies. (Yes, I know the cost of gas is approaching emergency levels; but come on, is it a true National emergency?) She wants to "redistribute" oil reserves as a short-term fix rather than take the long-term approach of drilling into the resources available to us. She proposes using the Government to alleviate the immediate need, without fixing the source of the problem; our dependence on foreign oil. This is the same type of solution Speaker Pelosi and those who believe in Big Government have for so many problems: use the Government to redistribute assets, create entitlements, and make people dependent on the Government to solve their problems.
We also see the same proposed solution to the "mortgage crisis." Certain lenders gave loans to people who couldn't carry the debt. The lender took that risk in return for a higher payoff on the loan. The people who signed the mortgage made a bad judgment in taking on more debt-burden than they could carry. That was their risk. Why is this now the taxpayer's crisis to resolve? Why must Big Government step in and redistribute taxpayer's dollars to absolve bad judgments on the part of the lenders and those who took the loan? I know I'm looking at this one-dimensionally, but doesn't a Big Government generated solution create sense that everyone is entitled to have the Government solve their problems? What happened to self-reliance?
6,912
6 years ago
3 comments:
Self-reliance is anathema to those who want big government. They want to control our lives, and if we refuse to let them do so, we jeopardize their power. If you're self-reliant, you aren't dependent on them.
The Thunder Run has linked to this post in the - Web Reconnaissance for 07/17/2008 A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
Obama will likely win the election, the result of a confluence of many factors -- including the strong stench the misrule of the last eight years of the current Administration has left in the nostrils of many (including a large number of Republicans). So, elitist Mr. Obama may well be, but it will not ultimately swing the tide in favor of Senator McCain.
S. Dakota, hmm. The thought occurred to me, reading your thoughts, about just how many Ivy League lawyers populate the military ranks? No matter, the point you make is on the money.
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