The Common Sense and Reason Party

The government doesn’t have any money of its own. What money the government has is money entrusted to it by its citizens which it has acquired through taxation. However, the government does not actually own this tax money. It is still owned by the people, the government simply uses it in what it deems to be a responsible manner. It’s similar to a trust account. The government is not the owner of the money and it is the responsibility of the government to use the money entrusted to it for the benefit of those who paid it. Welfare does not do this. Welfare takes the money entrusted to the government by one party and gives it to a party which has no moral claim to that money. The money does not benefit the person to whom it belongs and only benefits a person who has not earned it but who was deemed by the government to “deserve” it. Because of this, welfare is essentially a legalized form of theft. It is a system which involves the involuntary seizure of money from one party for the purpose of bestowing it on another. Any act which involuntarily deprives a person of their rightfully owned possessions for the purpose of giving it to someone who did not earn them is an act of theft. The Bible condemns theft as sinful and welfare is therefore a sinful act. Now, it is obvious under that rationale that the act of giving welfare is sinful, but what makes it a sin on the part of the recipient? Why isn’t the government the only entity which is committing a sinful act? Well, the reason for this is because, in the strictest sense, the recipient is the one committing the theft. In a theft, the party which possess the stolen possessions is the party which has committed the crime. Can one truly say that one who knowingly obtains a stolen possession is not committing a sin? If a person buys stolen goods on the black market, they are sinning. If a person is an accomplice in the crime of another, they are sinning.  The government isn't stealing the money, the person on welfare is stealing it. The government merely facilitates the theft. Since the person on welfare is the one using someone else's money for himself, he is the one committing the theft. The government just makes it easier (and legal) for him to do it. Now, obviously, hardly anything the government does uses the people’s money for the benefit of those who paid it, but the blame for most government spending is on the shoulders of the legislators. With welfare, the recipients, too, are implicated in the crime.

            People justify welfare on what they perceive to be moral grounds. They will go on and on about how people are in desperate situations, how they are the victims of fate, how they “really need” the money, and are in their situation through no fault of their own. They will tell endless sob stories about people who encountered unexpected situations and needed somebody else’s free money to get out of them. They claim that welfare helps people who “really need” it and because of that it is somehow supposed to be morally permissible. Their logic is that something which helps people is a moral thing to do. This is not a moral argument, this is essentially an utilitarian argument: if something creates more of a benefit than a determent to mankind, then it's morally acceptable. Utilitarianism is inherently unchristian. Morality doesn't change based on "the greater good" It isn't based on what helps people the most or creates the highest standard of living. That's really a very communistic mentality which puts the ultimate benefit of the collective ahead of moral precepts of right and wrong (not to mention individual rights). When actions are justified based on “the greater good,” results are horrendous. Every genocide in history was done in the name of altruism. Hitler's justification for the holocaust was that the German people would be better off without the Jews. Obviously they would not have been, but even if Hitler had been correct, would the holocaust have been justified? No! What's wrong is wrong. Killing people is evil, even if it helps someone else. Stealing is also wrong, even if greater good results from it. The "greater good" doesn't matter.

            Morality is based on law from God. That's it. End of story.

            However, calling welfare a sin does not necessitate the abandonment of pity, as some would suggest. Christians should definitely help others out of their fortune, and hording money is also a sin. But no one has a right to steal somebody else's money to help himself, even if the government says it's ok (after all, the government said it was ok to bow down to the statue of Nebuchadnezzar). Two wrongs don't make a right. The fact that a person may be "hording" their wealth does not give another person the right to steal it from them. Yes, they have committed a sin, but that doesn't make it acceptable to steal from them. Any Christian should pity the poor, but their situation doesn't (and never will) justify theft. Generosity is fantastic, but it is not generous to be generous with other people's money. Those who want to give to charity are free to do so, and God approves of that. However, money involuntarily taken from someone to help another does not honor God. As such, the person who is using that money to benefit himself (even if he is in need) is taking something which was not his and was taken from somebody else against their will. Would you say that it's alright to steal something if you are truly in need? Certainly not. Why, then, is welfare acceptable? It's morally equivocal to theft. Forced charity is not charity. Charity is, by definition, voluntary. Charity which is forced is theft.

            The fact that welfare "helps people" does not mean it isn't sinful. “The greater good” does not equal morality. “The government says it’s ok” does not make a person morally exempt (in fact, if the government supports it, you can be almost certain it’s wrong). Things are not right or wrong depending on their circumstances, they are intrinsically right or wrong. Stealing is wrong. Welfare is stealing. Welfare is wrong. Period.

"Nothing is easier than the expenditure of public money. It doesn't appear to belong to anyone. The Temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody"-Calvin Coolidge

    How true that statement is. Every year the United States government spends more and more money and an on increasing number of programs. Meanwhile, in order to facilitate their decadent spending, the Federal Reserve prints more money further debasing our currency and making the American people pay for it. The reason for this is as Coolidge said: It's so easy to spend public money. The government keeps giving money to a plethora of programs of dubious merit. They see something that needs fixing, something that needs growth, something they feel sorry for, they throw money at it. Such is the way of things. They pay little or no regard to weather or not the given program is necessary. They pay no attention to weather or not the group upon whom they are bestowing it is worthwhile. They simply see a need and give it money.

    This is why the Common Sense and Reason Party promotes a constitutional amendment that will create what we call a "Tax Ballot." People, when filing an income tax return, will specify where they want the money to go. In other words, when you pay taxes you will get to decide if you want the money to go to the military, NASA, prevention of illegal immigration, government handouts or virtually any program or group. If this program were instated, the power of the purse would be taken away from Congress and our state legislatures. They would still have the power to create programs but would not be able to give them a penny without the people's consent. Our current problem is created largely because the same people who are making the programs are funding them. Even if there were a separate government entity in charge of funding, our government expenditure would be drastically different. However, naturally the person who creates or votes for a government measure will think that it is meritorious and will fund it accordingly. However, any measure passed must be passed by a majority. This means our legislative bodies always think that everything they pass is meritorious and deserving of money. Consequently, they over fund everything. The Tax ballot is also beneficial because it necessitates a balanced budget. Congress cannot spend any more money on a given program than the people have specified. This means that they can only spend the money they actually get from taxes.

    The only problem with our proposition is that it's unconstitutional. The constitution guarantees "one man, one vote," where the Tax Ballot system would be giving more "votes" to the people with more money. However, why shouldn't they get more votes? They've earned it. They are giving their money. The fact that they are giving more money to government makes it only fair that they would have a greater say in what the government does with it. That is why we promote a constitutional amendment instituting the Tax Ballot. Once the Tax Ballot is put in place, people will no longer be at the mercy of their government. Only meritorious bills will be funded. The Tax Ballot is obviously not a perfect system since much of the population would probably give their money to undeserving causes, but it's a lot better than what we have. Congressional approval is at an all time low. Take the power away from Congress. Give it to the rich!

Our American way of life is under attack. And it is up to us to save it. The world's elites are busy forming a North American Union. If they succeed, as they were in forming the European Union, the good ol' USA will only be a memory. We cannot let that happen. The UN wants to confiscate our firearms and impose a global tax. The UN elites want to control the oceans with the Law of the Sea Treaty, and they want to use our military to police the world. Our right to own and use property is fading because bureaucrats and special interests are abusing eminent domain. Our right to educate our children as we choose is under assault. "No Child Left Behind" is seeing to that. And our right to say "no" to forced mental screening of our school-aged children is nearly gone. These same people are pushing to give amnesty to illegal immigrants and erase our national borders. Record government debt is putting a burden on our country ant its taxpayers that is shameful.

Yes. Our American way of life is under attack. And it's understandable that many are concerned, even discouraged, about the kind of country our children and grandchildren will inherit.

But we must never let discouragement become surrender.

            One reason I am NOT discouraged is because I know I am not fighting alone. Each day I head out I know that you and thousands of other patriotic, freedom-loving Americans are right beside me, standing brave and true for what is good and right.
            I need your help now, more than ever, to save the country we love...for the people we love. I can't do this job alone. I need you. Please, reach out your hand and clasp mine. Our country is at stake, our children's future and ours is in the balance. Become a member of our party and join our Revolution. Make the largest donation you can to aid our cause. A 10-year-old said to me the other day, "Mr. Haberbush, you are the hope of my future." No, I told her, but this Revolution is. Will she grow up in a poorer, more socialist, more oppressive country? Or the free country you and I love?
            Let's work together with all our strength for the Constitution, for America, for all our people, for freedom, prosperity, and peace. Together, you and I can make a Revolution. Let's , make it so!

Alexander Haberbush (LEBFRU Party Leader)

Today Americans face an imminent threat; one not dissimilar to that faced from 1946 to 1991. This threat is that of the relentless and inevitable growth of an unstoppable power in the Far East: Red China. China's economy is growing at an alarming rate. Currently China accounts for 47 percent of US imports, and nearly all products made in other countries use Chinese materials or manufacturing somewhere along the line. The amount of products imported is a recent phenomenon. Chinese imports to the U.S. rose more than 120% between 1996 and 2006. This obviously is a huge economic booster to the Chinese economy. The increased American consumption of Chinese products is due mainly to the fact that these Chinese products can be purchased more cheaply than those made in the United States. However, it is impossible for the United States to compensate so many imports. This leads to a huge trade imbalance, a trade imbalance of more than 5 to 1 or $232,588,700,000 ($232 billion). This trade imbalance is what is responsible for the decreased value of the dollar. If these trends continue, our money will be worth less and less, until eventually the Chinese will be buying things from us because of how much less it costs. While our money is worth less, Chinese money becomes worth more. This trade imbalance is extremely damaging to our economy and extremely beneficial to the Chinese.
    Aside from these long term effects, we are seeing immediate effects of our trade problems with China. All these products we are buying are making a lot of wealthy Chinese people. These Chinese people, since they have all this money, naturally want a new car. All of these new Chinese cars need gas. This broadens the market for gasoline and drastically raises US prices (a lot considering there are roughly 4 times as many people living in China). The increased gas prices have NOTHING to do with the conflict in the Middle East; it is entirely do to increased consumption in countries like China and the decreased value of the dollar next to other currencies. So next time you pay $3 a gallon for gasoline, just remember that's it's because of that great deal you got on your new PC or your Plasma TV. Even parts from your car (even an American car) probably say "made in China". However, currently only about 4% of Chinese own a car. The price of gasoline still has a long way to go.
    Our trade with China does not only have economic effects. Recently, there have been serious problems relating to quality control in Chinese products. Poisoned dog food, poisoned toothpaste, and even children’s toys using harmful lead paint have been sold to the United States. However, these were only the deadly ones found! What else are the Chinese doing to our products that isn't even detected? What's really in that packaged food you are buying? It was found in products sold domestically in China that tofu was being made from paint, other food was being made using used motor oil, and shrimp and other seafood were being raised in sewage water. In fact, 1 in 5 products sold domestically in China do not meet their own quality standards (which are significantly lower than our own). Naturally, things this bad have not made their way to the US, but less drastic things certainly can and are! After these quality control issues, the US government did nothing to regulate trade with China! The only measure that was taken was a recall of the effected products. Why? Because of this free trade nonsense we hold so dear! Simply restricting trade with China on food products could have had some positive effect. Simply freezing trade, and requiring China to improve quality control before their products even leave the country would have been better. However, China has Most Favoured Nation Status, and Americans want cheap products.
    If you want your job taken away and sent to China, if you don't want to know what is in the products and food you and your family is buying, if you enjoy high gas prices, if you want our dollar to lose value on the world market, and if you want the United States of America to lose its power to a country run by communists, than continue buying Chinese products! As for me, I say no! Our ultimate goal is to stop free trade, and either place a high tariff on, or (on the more extreme side) embargo China. Obviously, this is not a realistic goal. For now, I urge you to stop buying Chinese products, and to ask your congressmen to improve the law mandating that the country of origin be put on packages. If the current trend continues, China will be the most powerful country on earth in the very near future, and a new, even more terrifying cold war will arise. This future can still be avoided, take action now!

As of today, we have a new website. If you are reading this you are on it. This is the next step in our efforts at control of the U.S. government through election of party members and party supported candidates.