Spending forcing nation into corner

The American way of life is facing its most serious crisis since cannons shelled Fort Sumter 150 years ago. With one notable exception, the media pursues with religious fervor its objective of convincing the American voters that the following two policies will end our economic malaise and return America to prosperity: 1) Use tax policy to redistribute wealth to the less well off. 2) Increase the size and scope of the federal government because wise politicians and bureaucrats will promulgate regulations that allocate resources to businesses and the people more fairly than individuals do under our historical free market economy.

The November 2012 elections will be a pitched battle between the free market economy adherents and the political class, which desires a centrally controlled, planned economy. The free market proponents believe that if individuals are allowed to keep the money they earn and are not hampered by oppressive regulations, prosperity will return to America and everyone will benefit. The political class avers that only the federal government has the wisdom to ensure that all Americans will enjoy a good quality of life with quality medical care. Therefore, most of our income rightfully belongs to government, which will wisely invest it for the good of all of us. The government will also decide what food we are permitted to eat, who is permitted to receive specific medical treatments, what light bulbs we are permitted to use, what temperature we are allowed to set on our thermostats, etc.

In his July 11 press conference President Obama stated "I am able to keep hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional income that I don't need." This incredible statement echoes a famous 1875 quote written by Karl Marx in Critique of the Gotha Program: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!"

The extent of disinformation disseminated on a daily basis to the American public is awesome:

1. The big lie is that the Bush tax cuts in 2003 and the Bush wars in Afghanistan and Iraq plus Wall Street greed caused the 2008 global financial collapse. However, despite the Bush tax cuts, federal tax revenues were $786 billion (44 percent) higher in 2007 than 2003, the biggest four-year gain in U.S. history. Despite two wars, defense spending had declined to 4.0 percent of GDP in 2007 from 4.8 percent of GDP in 1993, the last year of the Bush 41 administration. National defense remains the primary function of the federal government.

2. Keynesian deficit spending is asserted to be the only policy that will revive the American economy. In reality, massive deficit spending has never led to prosperity anywhere at anytime. Massive continued deficit spending will always lead to high unemployment in the private sector and debasement of the currency leading to either a repudiation of government debt or runaway inflation and collapse of the governmental system.

3. Social Security is a welfare program for seniors, not an insurance program. The FICA tax was determined to be general revenue tax similar to excise and income taxes under the 1937 Supreme Court decision in Steward Machine Co. v. Davis.

The spending for 2011, which will exceed 25 percent of GDP, will likely become progressively worse unless the American voters decide to vote for a return to a free market economy in the 2012 elections. By contrast, federal spending during the Great Depression peaked at 10.7 percent of GDP in 1934!

As Ronald Reagan prophetically stated, "raising taxes will not balance the budget, it will only encourage more government spending and less private investment."

The writer lives in North Myrtle Beach.