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The Many Different Faces of Greed |
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May 18, 2009 by Michael F. Scotto Greed can be defined, in my opinion, in two very different ways. Greed is the opposite of contentment and greed is the desire to obtain by any means that which one is not willing to earn. Both conditions are deplorable (unless, of course, one is not content with his “goodness” or his “kindness”). Can we tell who is being greedy? Unless someone says he is greedy, we have no way to know. Greed can manifest itself in different ways. Some of these are illegal, some are not. Some hurt other people, some do not. We can look at someone’s actions and usually agree if the act itself is wrong, yet judging motive can be much harder. Juries are often called upon to determine why someone took the life of another. We can see that someone is dead, we have evidence as to who is responsible, but we must determine whether the death was planned or accidental; whether the killer was in his right mind or not; whether the death was the result of anger, self-defense or malice. Not always an easy task. |
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The Right to Lose Your Money |
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by Michael F Scotto April 13, 2009 “We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” – Declaration of Independence. The United States was founded on the notion that the most important virtues for any society (not for individuals) were liberty of conscience, self-government and the right to virtuously pursue happiness. In the view of the Founders, the greatest hindrance to that end was government (and government-entangled religion). In other words, every man should be given the right to starve to death. The day we decided that a man shall be made responsible (financially and otherwise) by force of law for the failures of his neighbor (no matter the cause), we lost that unique quality that moved the inhabitants of this continent to separate from their British brethren. “Give me liberty or give me death” was not just a convenient motto, it was the cry of the American spirit yearning to breathe free. The signers of the Declaration of Independence knew what they were doing when they pledged their “fortunes.” They were risking property, homes and rank… and they knew it… but they resolved to die free men rather than to live slaves. |
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Tax Cuts and Bush’s Policies Were Bad ‘Cause We Say So |
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by Michael F. Scotto March 25, 2009 One of the things eluding me is an answer from my liberal friends as to how the massive increases in federal spending are supposed to help the economy in the long run (I’ve already figured out how it will help ACORN and friends, but I’m looking at the larger picture). I’ve been searching President Obama’s speeches for specifics and I can’t seem to find anything beyond generalities and buzz words such as “investment in the future” or vague references to “economists all agree.” If massive government spending actually worked, I’d be all for it… but it never has had a good long term effect and, in most cases, it has a very bad short term effect. But what else should we expect? How could flooding the markets with unsecure cash help create real wealth? Combine that with the Left’s argument that tax cuts hurt the economy and we’ve got their answer: double taxes and borrow, borrow, borrow. Just do it! |
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Good News: Obscene Profits Down, Freedom Up! |
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by Michael F. Scotto
March 3, 2009
Fortunately, fewer and fewer companies are making "obscene profits" these days and now many have to lay off (free) oppressed workers from the clutches of corporate America. But there is still work to do!
First, we must identify the remaining “profitable” companies and tax them into becoming unprofitable (so we can bail them out). For small companies wanting to hire teens and new workers, we'll also have to raise the minimum wage. Better they hire nobody than hire unskilled kids at a slave labor rate.
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The Intoxicating Effects of the Word "Hope" |
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by Michael F. Scotto
February 13, 2009
The "Hope" of Paradise
In the early 1900s peasants and other members of Europe’s under-classes were promised a chance out of their desperate situations. They were promised by Socialist leaders a society wherein all were taken care of, resources were shared, housing, jobs, health care would all be provided. It sounded good. It sounded like a way out. And, best of all, it worked on paper. How can we blame them for buying this "hope"?
Imagine a group of people who kill a butcher and take over his shop. They eat well for a while. In fact, they can eat like kings for several days. All they’ve ever wanted is at their finger tips. But eventually the meat is gone and the new inhabitants have no idea how to get more. They never thought of it that way. All they saw was a thriving butcher shop and what they perceived as a magical flow of food. But it wasn’t magic at all, it was hard work, expertise, and a knowledge of the meat market that made the shop function. The butcher was part of an economic system that the invaders little understood.
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