5 Threats to your economic freedom

Poor Man Survival

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The Middle Class needs a new economic bill of rights to protect itself from the Washington-Wall Street Cartel. >>The Poor Man

The size of the U.S. budget deficit is falling… as politicians are too eager to remind us these days. After deficits topping $1 trillion every year from 2009–2012, the 2014 shortfall might well clock in below $500 billion-no matter…

The collapse has already started. With 105 nations running from the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency, there is nothing left to back up the dollar. Our currency will hyper-inflate and America’s economy will make the crash of the Weimar Republic look like a picnic.

Our own government is the biggest threat to economic freedom…

 From a micro perspective, the personal economic health of America is abysmal. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 146 million Americans are either “poor” or “low income”. Stunningly, more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government, not including the massive entitlement programs of Social Security or Medicare. The number of people on food stamps has grown to 47.79 million Americans. In 2008, when Obama first took office, only 32 million Americans were on food stamps. Approximately, 20.2 million Americans spend more than half of their incomes on housing, which represents a 46% increase from 2001. Parents under the age of 30 experience poverty rates consisting of 37 percent. The number of Americans living in poverty has grown to one out of every six US citizens.

5 Threats to Your Economic Freedom

By Geoffrey Pike

Having a free economy means having strong property rights, a generally stable form of money, and few government regulations.

Where there is more economic freedom, there is usually more prosperity. There is less poverty and a higher standard of living. When people are allowed to voluntarily trade and do business, it encourages savings and investment. It encourages entrepreneurism.

While there is always a risk in starting a business, the risk of government confiscation or interference is diminished in a society that generally respects property rights. An entrepreneur who is successful in a relatively free economy will get to reap the rewards of providing his goods and services.

In some countries, economic freedom outweighs civil liberties. For example, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are two of the freest places on the planet, economically speaking. They are great places to find a job or do business — but they are not as good in terms of civil liberties and social freedoms.

On the other hand, some European countries are freer when it comes to civil liberties yet not as economically free — they’re often considered welfare states.

With that said, there is no question that there is a relationship between economic freedom and liberty in general. It is no coincidence that North Korea is probably the most authoritarian country on Earth and also has almost nothing in the way of a free market. It is an extremely impoverished country.

The United States in the 19th century was perhaps the most economically free country in history (not counting the 1860s, which was a period of war).

This was one of the greatest periods of growth in history, too. It was also a time of great civil liberties in the respect that government, particularly the federal government, had little involvement in people’s lives.

“In the current political vocabulary, ‘need’ means wanting to get someone else’s money. ‘Greed,’ which used to mean what “need” now means, has come to mean wanting to keep your own. ‘Compassion’ means the politician’s willingness to arrange the transfer.” — Joseph Sobran

Government Intervention and the Economy

Those who identify themselves as Republicans and conservatives (civilians, not politicians) tend to favor economic freedom, including lower taxes and less government regulation.

Unfortunately, many conservatives don’t care to pay a lot of attention to issues of civil liberties and foreign intervention — or worse, they cheer on big government when it comes to these things. There is something of a contradiction in thinking that the government is too incompetent to run our health care system and plan our economy yet is an efficient machine when it comes to fighting wars, stopping drug abuse, and keeping us safe from terrorists.

It must be stressed that economic freedom goes hand in hand with the general cause of liberty. It is rare that you have a government that will spy on you, control you, and intervene overseas, while also maintaining strong property rights and economic freedom at home.

Read more at:

http://poormansurvivorblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/5-threats-to-your-economic-freedom.html