"Gemeinnutz geht vor Eigennutz" [i]

“The common good supersedes the private good”…was a slogan of the Nazis’ but it has become the contemporary mindset of way too many in our own society as well. Consider how you are told what is best for your own good by nearly every institution which was originally set up to serve your needs. Those institutions, more frequently than not, now exist for their own good at your expense but all in the name of the common good of society. That is why Thomas Jefferson penned the following words: “God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion.” Too bad he and the rest of us didn’t make those words a reality.

Instead regulations have come about which dictate to you what is best for your own children…from place of birth, vaccines to schooling; what foods you should eat…from infant formula to Ensure and everything else in between; what doctor you must visit, when you must visit and for what you must visit your doctor for; where, when and how you can travel from your first bicycle helmet to the X-rated Transportation Security Administration tactics; how to prepare for your retirement…from your first simple passbook savings account to your government qualified plan; what risks you are able to take in your investments from Real Estate to Wall Street; and finally the taxes you must pay to fund all these programs and the experts who have set themselves up to protect you from yourself but in reality have simply carved out a niche for themselves at your expense and ignorance.

How many of you have heard, or even said to yourself at one time or another, “There ought to be a law that would protect people from that”? All too often, regulations come about via well intentioned people but hinder the very folks they were instigated to protect. Often when the “immediate consequence is favorable, the ultimate consequences are fatal, and the converse.”[ii] This has to do with the concept of the “seen” and the “unseen” as Bastiat put it. It takes wisdom to foresee the unseen of any law or regulation which is enacted and that is why the first amendment to our Constitution states;

• “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Today our world sits on a precipice. Regulators have squeezed and controlled the liberties of individuals for so long that the masses are revolting. America seems to think that she is above the possibilities of what we are witnessing in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. But the reality is we are just one step away from the same. As States witness their ability to tax their constituency being limited, due to a lag in production, those that have become dependent upon those State’s largess will cry out just like those in distant lands are doing today. And just when these folks may need to turn to charity, this congress and this administration are seriously considering cutting the tax deduction for charitable donations.[iii] But that is typical of those who believe, “The common good supersedes the private good”.

What Americans really need to do is wake up and become productive with what they have been blessed with. By learning to create value and grow your own money like bankers make your money grow (Goldman Sachs Group Inc. posted record earnings as revenue from trading and stock underwriting reached all-time highs less than a year after the firm took $10 billion in U.S. rescue funds.)[iv], you’ll be positioned to fill the gap that the regulators, bureaucrats and dictators have created.

In the past I’ve discussed how the “tax the rich and middle class” policy of regulators has failed miserably. This is because such policies are founded on mathematical impossibilities and are therefore become non-sustainable as time progresses. Today we must encourage elected servants to tighten the purse strings on public spending and relax their regulator grip on personal production. Such measures would empower the individual and encourage charitable giving so that, once again, we can become that shining city on a hill which created so much prosperity and wealth that it enriched the entire whole world and made many world citizens long to come to America…the land of promise!

Wealth doesn’t come from the State any more than it comes by exploiting those less fortunate than you. On the other hand, learning to create wealth (value) helps not only those less fortunate than yourself it also helps you! And when that takes place the world becomes a better place for everyone to live and share. Beats “Gemeinnutz geht vor Eigennutz.” History guarantees it!

By Tomas McFie

Check out Dr. McFie's latest book: Prescription For Wealth

[i] Nazi Slogan
[ii] Frederic Bastiat, Essays on Political Economy, 1874
[iii] Gautham Nagesh, The Daily Caller
[iv] Christine Harper, Bloomberg.com, 7-14-1009