I found this quote from awhile back and wanted to share it. This is a principle the government today is going against.
“You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.” ~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1996 - Ten Secrets of a Successful Family
Some people take this as meaning corporate executives should be able to get large salaries and a “golden parachute” for running their companies into the ground. That is not what this is saying and a very different topic. As we say a lot on this site, understanding the topic is key and we need to be careful to not cloud the discussion with non-sequiter. While they are both validate topics and need to be addressed they are not the same thing and cannot be solved with the same policies.
“The personal right to acquire property, which is a natural right, gives to property, when acquired, a right to protection, as a social right.”
James Madison
People acquire property (rather that is actual property or money) through their labor. Now some of us may think people get paid more then their labor warrants. This may be true at times. The person however gained that property through his labor and the legal contract for the reward, and because of this the reward cannot be taken from him. If the balance between labor and reward are not justified then the people need to change the contract not withhold the reward because they don’t like the outcome of the contract. When this process is circumvented the legality of a contract is at risk as well as people’s obligation to understand the nature of the contract.
