Thomas Sowell makes a few good points in this video. Often times I will hear the whining of a Leftist decrying a bit of social injustice, one of their favorite phrases, and then demand a form of governance which is directly responsible for the very things they claim to be against. The politics of simple mantras and chants may sound good, but when considered critically, are as empty as those who employ them.
Almost exactly one year ago, I met two retired teacher friends in a Chipotle. We enjoyed a lunch together and during the course of that conversation, they informed me the the United States of America had the greatest disparity between rich and poor than any nation on Earth. That made our country the single most unjust place in the world, and that the current national leadership of former hipsters and Marxist Revolutionaries were going to correct it all. Dumbfounded, not from the brilliance of their arguments, but because that may have been the single dumbest thing anyone has ever said out loud in my presence, I queried as to where they developed such a theory, and was there any actual evidence to support this stunning thesis.
The record on this point is crystal clear. Throughout history, no where have the poorest of any society been better off than here in the United States. 99% of our poor have electricity, running water, refrigeration, cell phones, cable T.V., video games, cars, and shelter which is insulated against the elements. As a matter of fact, this is true for all societies in which political and economic freedom is prevalent. Those societies in which there is a central authority present, those are the places in which there is more likely to exist a separation of classes. An open challenge to those left of center, prove me wrong with actual examples.
We, here in America are somewhat victimized by our own success. Many of us here, feel that we were just lucky to have been born in a Nation which controls 67% of the world’s GDP and wealth. Many of us feel that for this to have happened, it means that the remainder of the world is forced to do without. The fact is, that wealth and productivity were created by our great grandparents and grandparents who worked hard and made sacrifices on our behalf. The U.S., way back in its infancy, was in fact a third world nation. it was the economic freedom, and the very restrictions placed on authoritarians which made the industrial revolution and subsequent increase in living standard possible. There is a reason why we here in America, even with our latest economic crisis, continue to feed most of the remainder of the world. Bear in mind also, that most of this aid is in the form of aid, and not compensated for properly.
We all have a tendency to believe what we are shown on T.V. There are many Americans who believe that the greatest source of pollution in the world is industrial productivity, and not the lack of sanitation. The life expectancy in countries with out refrigeration and running water for the majority of their citizens is almost half that of the U.S. People living in their own squalor is far more of a health hazard than the minor inconveniences afforded by coal burning power plants. Plastics, for all of the vitriol given them, have saved and prolonged countless lives around the world. In short, stupidity is something which can be afforded, and we here in this country can afford more than anyone else.
The problem is that the unprecedented wealth and productivity of our country is not a foregone conclusion. We are capable of frittering it away. This path, that half our country seems to want, of building a dependent entitled class, while doing everything possible to malign those responsible for producing in order to pay for the entitlements is the surest way to destroy that unprecedented wealth, and become that which we so desperately care about correcting. When Californians block the production of any new plants designed to produce energy at an affordable price, while continuing to enjoy air conditioning, they can do so only because Arizona will sell them cheap energy. When Californians insist on Arizona following the same asinine rules that they have set for themselves, Arizona will be unable to provide for them any longer. Then what? The answer of course will be a return of our old friend the rolling black out.
Before extolling the virtues of Socialism, each and every one of these dolts should be forced to spend 3 months living in one of these Utopian societies. Amoebic Dysentery can just be part of the learning process.
Cross Posted at Musings of a Mad Conservative.
UPDATE: Some very interesting facts about America’s poor.
Hat tip Waldensianspirit / Work credited to Bill Whittle.
