“THE GOVERNMENT TOOK MY JOB, DAMN CAPITALISM”

“THE GOVERNMENT TOOK MY JOB, DAMN CAPITALISM”

By Domenick J. Maglio Ph.D. Traditional Realist

On a recent visit to Daytona Beach it was quite windy and I feared that my own little cabana would blow away. I decided to rent an umbrella and chairs from the local truck that rented them for $30 per day. They asked for $40 this time instead of the
$30 that had been the standard for years. The worker told me the price was mandated across the board by Volusia County government. I checked with another competitor down the beach to verify the government pricing not only of the umbrella and chairs but the fact that government would now take a percentage of the yearly profits.  The businessman would not only have to pay the county an increased percentage of profits but in addition would be mandated to pay a minimum wage of $10 per hour for each worker.

The worker said this arrangement was causing a layoff of employees to install the umbrellas and chairs in order to maintain a profit. Then he shockingly and angrily said, “The government is taking my job, damn capitalism.” This utterance was bizarre on two fronts. First this young man knew the county made the economic decision to change the business model. The local authorities confiscated the proprietor’s capitalistic rights to set up his business according to his own vision. This was ripped away by capricious government. The percentage of the income taken by the government from the business was now in the hands of government bureaucrats rather than the proprietor. Yet this naïve and simplistic young man aimed his injustice at capitalism not on the real culprit: local government confiscating private businesses. These private businesses have lost the right to do their business in a rational competitive manner as any owner deemed fit.

This episode vividly demonstrates that our young people do not understand the difference between capitalism/ free market and central government control of our economy. “Damn capitalism” in this situation should be a frightening indictment of the chilling ignorance of our free market economy by our citizens. The lack of understanding of the difference between these two systems weakens our knowledge leaving the citizens vulnerable to a socialist take over. Americans need to understand how free market wealth is accumulated and dispersed throughout the United States. Without this knowledge the public will be susceptible to charlatans selling us a bill of goods that is too good to be true. It will lay the foundation for the raping of our material wealth to leave us as a Venezuelan-like skeleton of our once great nation. It can actually happen.

The older generation has personally seen too many countries go down the socialist/communist path ending in complete and utter economic and cultural devastation. China, Cuba, Cambodia, Argentina, Yugoslavia and currently Venezuela have been examples. These leaders sold out their people’s sovereignty for personal economic advancement and glorification. Inevitably the country’s politicos had to focus on restrictions to keep the people from leaving rather than entering their decaying nations. This is a repressive failure.

Many young US voters and older ideologues (Hippies) pathetically want another opportunity to redistribute the wealth that hardworking Americans earned. They do not want the common good and freedom of the people to determine their own destiny.  The absurd promises of free everything and relief from all of one’s debts is hard for most citizens to resist. This mirage of promised lies can only be overcome by a clear knowledge of historical evidence that shows everyone loses except the politico elites.

Only by teaching factual history can these appeals be recognized as unworkable utopian notions that lead to chaos, violence and repression. We need Americans to disregard PC propaganda and openly debate to short-circuit the indoctrination process. Our older, wiser citizens have a responsibility to our nation’s youth to pass on our great, actual and not revisionist history. We should never allow our young people to believe our free market capitalism is “a privileged system,” which favors one group over another. It is an open competitive economy that encourages opportunity for anyone who can produce better and more positive results.

We should reject the falsehood that a businessman or corporation is too big to fail. This is a basic distortion of capitalism. In capitalism, “any king of the hill” loses its edge to a new and better business, invention or service and should be replaced by the new, more efficient ones. Redistributing the property of others that has been rightfully earned results in robbery and is a disincentive for industriousness. To “damn capitalism” through pure ignorance would be the greatest mistake and sin that would damn the United States to a world we do not want.

Domenick Maglio, PhD. is a columnist carried by various newspapers, an author of several books and owner/director of Wider Horizons School, a college prep program. Dr. Maglio is an author of weekly newspaper articles, INVASION WITHIN  and a new book entitled, IN CHARGE PARENTING In a PC World. You can see many of Dr. Maglio’s articles at www.drmaglio.blogspot.com.