(Hat tip to Scott at Powerline)
The Toledo Blade has some pieces on Obama, and FDR’s Second Bill of Rights.
Without further ado, here is that list of “rights” that the left want to append to the Constitution:
- The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or
shops or farms or mines of the nation; - The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing
and recreation; - The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a
return which will give him and his family a decent living; - The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an
atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by
monopolies at home or abroad; - The right of every family to a decent home;
- The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to
achieve and enjoy good health; - The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old
age, sickness, accident, and unemployment; - The right to a good education.
Amazingly, this list shares many common points with the UN Declaration on Human Rights, which I have commented on before.
And I have the same general comment – everything listed here is a Benefit, not a Right.
Benefit:
Right:
Something that is due to a person or governmental body by law, tradition, or nature.
Your Rights are yours from birth. No one has the power to give them to you, though they can easily be taken from you, with or without your consent.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, the Original Bill of Rights, does not grant your rights, or even enumerate them. It specifically prohibits the government from infringing upon several of them, that the Founders thought so fundamental that they needed to be named, including the practice of Religion, Defense, Security from the state in your person and personal effects, protection from government and judicial abuse, and most importantly, in the 9th and 10th amendments, from the Government itself.
- Ninth Amendment – Protection of rights not specifically enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
- The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
- Tenth Amendment – Powers of states and people.
- The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the
states respectively, or to the people.
To reiterate, the 9th amendment specifically states that the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights are not the only rights. The 10th amendment specifically limits the Federal government to the powers granted in the Constitution, and reserves all others to the states and people.
What the Second Bill of Rights would do is to grant Benefits. Benefits guaranteed by the Government. And anything granted by the state is controlled by the state, can be taken away by the state, and makes you subservient to the state. You cannot have a benefit from the state without losing some portion of your inalienable rights.
The most insidious of the items on FDR’s list is the first. When the State guarantees you a job, you no longer owe your allegiance to your employer, but to the state. We see that in the Union workforce today. Union members owe their allegiance to their Union. The employer is almost immaterial to them. I have known Union members in the construction industry who are dispatched to different companies, almost as though the Union was a skilled labor pool agency. The Contractor they work for varies as projects come and go. This amendment would destroy the worker/employer relationship throughout the economy (more than likely by making Union membership mandatory), with the State being the ultimate arbiter.
This would also have the effect of transferring control of all business to the State; since the State would be the guarantor of jobs, they would certainly move to require levels of benefits and employee (Union) representation in management.
If all this sounds somewhat familiar, it is the model followed by many failed states, most notably the Soviet Union.
Sounds good for the worker, though, right?
Well, the cost will be the loss of your right to choose where you work, who you work for, and your ability to negotiate your own compensation and job benefits. Companies will be bound to offer standardized pay and bennies for comparable work. You will, in essence, be like the Union worker, at the Union Hall, taking the next job on the list that more or less fits your skill set.
Most of the items on the Second Bill of Rights flow from or are linked to guaranteed employment.
Of the others, two demand further discussion:
- The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an
atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by
monopolies at home or abroad
A monopoly at home is only possible when a) the government grants it, or b) when a company has sole control of a resource (or technology) to create a product or service. The second instance can usually be overcome by countries from outside the state. The first instance is very easily remedied. Stop creating government monopolies (for example, Cable and Power, and other Utility companies are usually granted monopolies pn products and services in specific areas).
Free trade makes monopolies difficult, if not impossible, aside from government action to create them.
- The right of every family to a decent home
Ever seen Public Housing?
There is a basic rule of human nature, that cannot be simply wished away: People do not appreciate things that they are given, as the appreciate things that they work for.
When the state gives you a home, it is the state’s home. You are just allowed to live there. You have no incentive to care for the home, and the state makes the rules governing how you live in the home.
When the state cares for you from cradle to grave (or womb to the tomb, if you prefer), your are no longer free; you are a servant to the state. The Government Of the People, For the People, and By the People, becomes the Government of, for, and by the Bureaucrat and the Political aristocracy.
When the state guarantees your job, your home, your food and clothing, your health care, your retirement, and your education, the payback will be the loss of your ability to choose these things for yourself, and the ability to improve your lot.
We have seen this movie before. Look at any of the countries of Eastern Europe that suffered under the yoke of Socialist domination for the last half of the 20th century. That is the future of America if we fail to learn the lessons of history, and condemn ourselves and our children to repeat it.
Even the Chinese have learned this lesson. And as the state recedes from peoples daily lives, their economy and opportunities grow exponentially. As economic freedom continues to grow, political freedom will follow.
It is sad to think that many in this country have lost the will strive ahead, and now want to fall back into the cold comfort of serfdom.
