The Foolishness of Joining a Robber Band

In-Depth by: Paul A. Cleveland | September 14, 2009

Today we are living in trying times and our leaders are telling us that if we would depend upon them our futures would be secure. However, Scripture warns us in Proverbs 1:10-19 against joining any group that aims to make its living by robbing others and sharing a common purse. This proverb suggests that every scheme aimed at eliminating human hardship by creating a common pool of sacrifices among people is foolish. The reason that it is foolish is that sinful people are motivated to contribute as little as possible to the pool while taking as much as possible from it. In addition, the members of the group are constantly looking for outsiders whom they might rob of their economic wherewithal.

In the case of using government force to extract tax revenues from the general populace in order to establish special benefit programs, a determination must be made regarding who will pay the taxes and how will the resulting funds be used. The process of determining these two issues will actually prove detrimental to the vast majority of the people, especially the poor. In the long-run, even those who initially benefit will be harmed as well. An examination of the history of current state of U.S. tax laws and spending programs should show why this is true.

The federal income tax code was established in 1913. Although the initial tax was small, it increased steadily throughout the twentieth century. The increase in federal income taxation has been used to fund benefit programs for numerous special interests. It also created a sort of political battleground over who will ultimately pay for these benefits and who will receive them. Over the years the political battles have resulted in a tax code that is incomprehensible even for the most astute. Each successive reform of the tax code has resulted in the imposition of tax penalties on some individuals while establishing privileges for others. Increasingly, the tax code discriminates between citizens and is used to steal private property from some people for the benefit of others.

It should not surprise anyone that the people who have been the most adept at gaining and using political power have been the biggest beneficiaries of the programs the government has created. Moreover, the rising tide of redistribution has not benefited the poor in our society even though many in Washington falsely claim to care about these people. Instead, the escalation in taxes has resulted in the destruction of marginal business activities which are the ones most likely engaged in by the poorest segments of populace. What has been happening is that our government has been punishing the poor and the middle class by restricting their economic opportunities in order to enhance the well-being of the politically connected people of our land. As a result, these politically connected people are living like leaches off the backs of others. However, such parasites themselves must die if they kill their host.

On the spending side, numerous government programs such as corporate and agricultural subsidies, the funding of the arts, the erection of trade barriers, and a whole host of other expenditures provide benefits for special interests many of whom are people of considerable means. In addition to spending programs, the government has set up a vast array of regulations which limit an individual's ability to participate in certain business enterprises. The combination of these factors causes the prices of products of every kind to be higher than they would be otherwise. And finally, of course, this has resulted in a reduction in opportunities for the poorest segments of society. The end result is the actual oppression of the poor. The worst part of this state of affairs is that such legal plunder is often perpetuated without troubling anyone's conscience. Indeed, in this latest environment of the Obama administration, and their gross lust after power and money, one is left to wonder how much longer the nation's economy can survive.

Paul A. Cleveland is a professor of economics at Birmingham-Southernn College where he has taught since 1990. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Texas A&M University. His principal academic research is focused on the study of political economy with a special emphasis on understanding the importance of free enterprise and entrepreneurial human action.

His articles have appeared in numerous places including the Mises Institute, the Journal of Private Enterprise, The Freeman, The Independent Review, and Religion and Liberty. As a book writer he has published Understanding the Culture Wars: The Essentials of Western Civilization and Unmasking the Sacred Lies. Contact him at www.Boundarystone.net.