Progressive Liberalism
© 2017 Rick Adamson
by Rick Adamson 1.7.17
Progressive Liberalism, as practiced in America, has failed. Government intervention has not helped improve society. It has insured dependency and broken long standing norms as related to families, personal responsibility and work. At some point we need to get back to common sense and the recognition of the essence of human nature; that humans have an insatiable desire for more stuff...more rights...more money...more of the belongings of their neighbors.
The progressives hardly ever back away from an opportunity to “improve” on our nature by setting up hugh programs in order to provide us with more of what we desire even though our Constitution is devoid of any authority to do so. Such programs always cost too much money and are rarely successful.
As Ronold Regan once said “The Government is the problem.”
If you doubt this assertion ask yourself "what has FedGov done for me lately?"
FedGov has morphed into more than a dozen large departments. It spends almost $4 trillion a year. It has hundreds of agencies and runs more than 2,300 subsidy programs. It employs 2.1 million civilian workers, 1.4 million uniformed military personnel, and 560,000 postal workers. It is a huge organization. Read more:
Here is an excerpt from an article entitled ”What the Progressives Want” By Carol Negro.
“Progressives divide the world into victims and exploiters, and see themselves as saviors of the underdogs who are incapable of fending for themselves. And that requires greater government power in their hands, to vanquish the exploiters. This perspective explains much of what President Obama is doing with the vast powers at his disposal.”
I am reminded of a recent book by Jason L. Riley “PLEASE STOP HELPING US: HOW LIBERALS MAKE IT HARDER FOR BLACKS TO SUCCEED”
Read a review of the book:
Here is an excerpt from the review “Mr. Riley argues convincingly that liberal initiatives intended to assist blacks have hurt them more than they have helped. Social-welfare programs of the 1960s helped wreck the black nuclear family and make socioeconomic self-independence undesirable. Minimum-wage laws priced inexperienced blacks out of jobs. Weak law enforcement endangered blacks who lived in crime-ridden neighborhoods. Affirmative action either benefited blacks who were already academically qualified or put academically unqualified blacks in rigorous schools where they struggled to succeed. Mr. Riley demonstrates that these are not empty hypothetical statements, but concrete conclusions based on experiential evidence.”
Think about this "If we learn anything from the history of economic development, it is that culture makes almost all the difference. Witness the enterprise of expatriate minorities— the Chinese in East and Southeast Asia, Indians in East Africa, Lebanese in West Africa, Jews and Calvinists throughout much of Europe, and on and on. Yet culture, in the sense of the inner values and attitudes that guide a population, frightens scholars." David S. Landes
Culture is fostered by independent "civil" institutions (schools, churches, PTA's and civil clubs) not by FedGov.
Culture is fostered by independent "civil" institutions (schools, churches, PTA's and civil clubs) not by FedGov.
Uncle Sam has a unique opportunity to find a better way to fulfill his obligation to the citizens of the country and that does not mean redistribution but skill development and jobs for our existing citizens. We must change the culture by convincing people that education and skill development is a lifelong endeavor and that they will be rewarded for the effort; that everyone must work and that productivity fosters prosperity.
And That’s that!
