republicanchick
New member
Ben Carson on Socialism/Capitalism:
My comments in [brackets]
Socialism's underlying goal of sharing with others is noble. But amazingly, many Americans who are having financial difficulty would reject the idea of the government confiscating the assets of the wealthy to balance things out. This attitude bewilders many who believe in "taxing the rich" and redistributing that wealth as the solution… Many of those seeking to gain political advantage... recognize that there are far more poor [non-wealthy] than there are rich... and that by stirring up class warfare they can create an enormous power base for themselves. [But] Americans value freedom above financial security, just as centuries ago the colonists rejected the protection promised by [England], coupled with its ever-increasing taxes [emphasis mine].
[He writes about how Greece and Ireland experienced dramatic shortages of money in 2010, how they were unable to continue their overly generous social programs... Rioting ensued.]
... In the not too distant past, public service jobs in the United States usually paid less than private-sector jobs and didn't have as many benefits. It was indeed sacrificial public service. Today, government jobs pay on average 20 percent more than private-sector jobs of the same type, and have mind-boggling benefits-all all at the taxpayers' expense. Furthermore, if you have ever tried to deal with a government bureaucracy, you probably know how difficult it is to find caring and competent people. For many... a government job is a ticket to an easy life. The founders of our nation intended for government workers to be representatives and servants of their communities rather than beneficiaries... [They] never intended for public servants to be economically better off than the general populace. Such overcompensation places an enormous strain on government budgets, necessitating [an] increased [burden on taxpayers]
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