Entitlements are a threat, not a promise of prosperity

Entitlements are a threat, not a promise of prosperity

EDITOR:

The biggest problem we have in our economy is not the sub-prime bubble or the socialist Democrats or the cowardly Republicans or those evil bankers. It is the entitlement mentality. We have been conditioned to believe that there is someone out there who will save us. So we wait. We wait for them to send us a check; to give us a job; to provide a bailout; to turn the market around. And the longer we wait, the deeper the recession.

You cannot have entitlements without tyranny. In order for one group to be entitled, another group must be enslaved. It doesn’t matter whether those entitlements are royally bestowed, divinely endowed or socialistically imposed. They are the banners of slavery, and a free people disdain them.

In the last Great Depression, it wasn’t government entitlements that saved us. Many economists argue that the government made it worse. And it wasn’t World War II. At the time, most economists predicted we would go back into depression after the war. But we didn’t. Why? Because we were free, confident and innovative.

Those three words are the foundation of our prosperity. A free, confident and innovative people build their own lives, shape their own futures and overcome obstacles. This is not fancy rhetoric. This is a proven reality. We didn’t fall back into depression in 1945 because our victory in World War II confirmed our freedom, restored our confidence and released our creativity. Our parents built our post-war prosperity. They were not entitled to it. No one gave it to them — not the world or the government.

Entitlements destroy freedom, undermine confidence and stifle innovation. Thus, the government cannot turn the economy with more entitlements, bailouts and deficits. Entitlements are not the solution. They are the problem.

This is not to say we shouldn’t help the unfortunate among us. We are a charitable people. We do not let the poor starve, the sick wither or the aged tremble. We give. Some of us, till it hurts. But when the people who receive become entitled, we, who give, become slaves. And you cannot enslave a productive people. Once you enslave them, they become less productive because you have stripped them of their freedom, confidence and reason to innovate.

If you want to avoid the looming depression, don’t look to others for your prosperity. Accept their charity when offered, but don’t demand their largess. Give to those in need, but don’t withhold your gifts until others give. Remember that your economic worth is measured by your productivity. And your productivity cannot be maximized in a land where entitlements trump freedom. Our economy won’t recover because of hope or change or government. What’s needed is a fresh injection of freedom, confidence and innovation.

THOMAS MASKELL

Poland

Nothing new about burning

EDITOR:

I am greatly disturbed that a Rhode Island company is planning to build an incinerator in Smith Township for burning trash. The company, known as Jefferson Renewable Energy, is leading the public to believe that they will use cutting-edge technology to create energy and will do so in a manner that is 60 percent cleaner than burning coal. When Jefferson Renewable presented this information at a public meeting, I clearly pointed out that this is 60 percent more than what we currently have. The company official responded: “That’s another way of looking at it.”

Residents should not be misled. There is nothing “new” about this project other than its proposed location. If approved, this incinerator would mean “new” smoke stacks cluttering the scenery, spewing pollution into the air and dropping particulates onto the ground.

DANNY LEWIS

Alliance