Musings and Hodge Podge

A new Pope named Francis has progressives buzzing as Francis of Assisi gave up wealth to follow the Church.  Wikipedia concurs: "While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter's Basilica. The experience moved him to live in poverty."

In 12th century Rome, a religious center of power, disagreement meant being burned at the stake literally.  Our Constitution protects the individual's inalienable rights to disagree with any majority, regardless of how extreme or mainstream, as long as we do not violate the rights of others.  Ludwig von Mises: "If one rejects laissez faire on account of man's fallibility and moral weakness, one must for the same reason also reject every kind of government action." So why do we assume a government bureaucrat can design a better system for spending our funds than we can?  As some priests abused their power, so do some who administer DC's progressive ideas.  Great wealth is leaving the centers of commerce like New York City and settling in DC where unemployment is 3%.  Rome became rich, as well, as peasants paid priests to release their loved ones from purgatory.

Washington, DC wages wars worldwide by invading and occupying nations or covertly training Libyan and now Syrian Islamist rebels with funding from the monarchies in the Middle East.  What if American militias were being funded by Middle Eastern monarchies and trained by the Chinese military to unseat Obama?  What if a drone had hit the home of our Anthrax terror suspect in Maryland and then hit the first responders with a military 'double-tap?'

Charity comes from the heart not from DC or Rome.  Compassion comes from humans not from drone operators.  Don't confuse society with government or caring with confiscation of earnings or military actions.

GE paid zero corporate taxes last year and submitted a 52,000 page tax return. Imagine the loss in brain power and advancements in our economy if those tax attorneys had not been slaving away on that return but had started a business of their own?   Zero out corporate taxes and watch the growth that follows.  Corporations don't pay taxes, after all, as they only add them to the cost of their products or services.