here's my list of how the gov't infringes on our freedoms. I explicitly chose not to use the word "rights" as we don't have quite so many as people seem to think sometimes. Nonetheless - in no particular order, and not all of which I agree or disagree with - here's what I got...
1. Income Taxes.
There is no right to NOT be taxed. The 16th Amendment makes it legal for the federal gov't to tax our income. However, it obviously goes counter to property rights, by confiscating our property. More importantly, it is the single most intrusive gov't invasion into our private lives by collecting a vast amount of information on our wealth, family, activities and other areas of our life. Further, it is used to PUSH the government's will on us through specific tax breaks and tax penalties. And last, but certainly not least, talk about an impediment to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the planning, preparation and payment of taxes is the single most stressful, annoying, costly and painful effort that I undertake year after year after year to obey the law. There is no other law that affects me and every other American in the way, in terms of breadth and depth, than this law - and I mean EVERY law.
And whenever I speak of taxes, I have to mention the Fair Tax (www.fairtax.org). The Fair Tax bill (HR25) would repeal the 16th amendment and replace the income tax with a consumption (sales) tax. I don't care if it means I would pay more in taxes or less - it matters not. The key benefit of the Fair Tax for me is that I would never have to worry about planning or preparing for taxes again. The gov't would be almost entirely out of the business of gathering some of my most personal information and I could actually start to worry about silly little things like wire-tapping.
2. Sunday Alcohol Sales
Sad but true, this is the second most annoying infringement on my freedom. Of course this varies by county and state, but living in the south, one can have a very hard time finding a locale which allows beers sales on Sunday. I can't tell you how many times I've been grocery shopping, grab a six pack or bottle of wine and end up at the checkout counter only to find out I was about to break the law. What a joke.
Over the last few years, Georgia has considered repealing the Sunday ban. I've been on blogs and such that have locals discussing the pros and cons. Those that oppose it have absolutely NO good reasons for the ban. Here are some lame examples:
- shouldn't drink on Sunday - church day you know
- those who drink should just plan better
- alcohol sellers already make enough money
- will lead to increase in drunk driving and more people will DIE!
- One should have at least one day off from drinking a week
None of those rise to the level of the gov't preventing me from BUYING alcohol on a Sunday. These are all "Nanny State", religious zealot grievances that could be applied to everything from alcohol to overly fatty foods. If you think the gov't should regulate what we eat, then you are part of the problem.
3. Public Schools
Two of my 3 children are currently enrolled at the local public school. My choice in the matter is quite limited, but I readily admit there are choices. We could choose to home school, but given the ages of our children and the time commitment, we did not feel that option made sense. We could send our kids to private school. There are several private school options in our area that range from about $6k to $15k per year per child. With all 3 of mine at school at the same time, that's somewhere in the range of $30k minimum of pre-tax salary just to pay the tuition. So, at the moment, we have "chosen" the public school. Mind you, we don't choose which public school, rather we MUST go to the one that the gov't tells us to go to based on our address.
At the Federal level, the gov't created a bloated, unnecessary and likely detrimental bureaucracy called the Department of Education. Combing lack of school choice, Federal oversight and the teacher's union, you end up with substandard schools with no incentive for excellence. In addition, the school, by being tied to the Federal Government, infringes on our freedoms in a variety of ways:
- Forced purchase of "healthy" foods and restrictions on other foods. Whether you bring or buy, our children have restrictions on food "for their own good". Not for the safety of others (such as a peanut allergy), but for the "health" of our children. Never mind that about 50% of the purchased food is literally thrown into the trash without a sip or a bite taken.
- No prayer or discussion of religion or moment of silence or moral discussion whatsoever. Most of that, I'm okay with, but it gets pretty silly when schools - including ours - have to change the words "Christmas Holiday" to "Winter Break".
- Issues of evolution versus any discussion whatsoever of the possibility of supernatural assistance.
- Sex education curriculum dictated by gov't.
- Social Studies dictated by gov't.
- Mandated "sharing" of school supplies.
Just remember, Karl Marx's Communist Manifesto included public schools run by the centralized government as a key component of a successful socialist state.
4. The FCC
The Federal Communications Commission is, in part, an attempt to regulate the "dangerous" and "public" airwaves used by radio and television broadcasters. First, the idea that gov't is necessary to license these airwaves and thus the ability to regulate what goes across them to its liking is ludicrous. When the commission was created, I believe it was as much about guarding against monopolistic broadcast companies - NBC and CBS in particular. However, over time, it has become the censorship arm of the president for stifling free speach on radio and television. The director, who is appointed by the president, has the authority, without additional legislation, to define and then fine and-or intimidate broadcasters regarding their content.
To give you an example of how it might be different, let's look at the unregulated internet in comparison. If the FCC is tasked with having two major functions: protection against monopolies and maintaining decency, how does the internet stack up against TV and Radio.
Monopolies: Can you even envision a way where 1 company could create a monopolistic situation on the internet? The next internet GIANT is probably something no one has even heard of yet. What was Google in 1995, eBay in 2000 and MySpace in 2003? Why won't there be a monopoly on the internet? because there is a low barrier to entry. Any one can get on the internet. In contrast, the FCC and it's licensing and restrictions have made the barriers to entry so high that it is unlikely to see upstarts in Radio or TV.
Decency. While it's impossible to argue that the internet is 100% "safe" or "decent" as compared to television, look at the way the free market is handling it. Virus software, pop-up blocker software, porn filtering software and so on. The free market is responding to the public's desire for the ability to at least protect themselves from unwanted content. While the FCC has certainly kept some bad words and porn off of the "public airwaves", look at the relatively low diversity of content on broadcast radio and television. Would you rather have the ability to control what you see and have a greater diversity of content to choose from, or be told by the gov't what you should and shouldn't be able to see?
I think it's an easy choice.
5. Seatbelt and other "Nanny" laws
6. McCain Feingold Campaign Finance Reform
7. Eminent Domain abuses
