A Measure of Lost Freedom

A Measure of Lost Freedom Perhaps it is not possible accurately to assess the growth of this political parasitism, but an idea of the trend can be gained by measuring the loss of freedom of choice an American citizen has with his income dollar. * Less than a century ago a citizen had between 95% and 98% freedom of choice with each dollar. The total take of government - federal, state, and local - was from 2% to 5% of all earned income. This take of government has, of late years, been rapidly on the increase. Today it is in excess of one-fourth of all earned income. Many people argue that that is not so bad because, on the average, we citizens still have nearly three-fourths freedom of choice with our dollars. This is a dangerous assumption. Colin Clark, one of the world's *F. A. Harper, Liberty: A Path To Its Recovery (Irvington-on-Hudson, N. Y.: Foundation for Economic Education, 1949), Chapter XIII.

19 most distinguished statisticians, who made a study of the income behavior of nations over long periods, discovered an alarming fact: Whenever the take of government in any country reaches 20 - 25 % of earned income, large segments of the population will support a depreciation in the value of the money as a way to "escape" the bur den thus imposed. Lenin was right when he said: "The way to destroy the capitalistic society is to debauch the currency." This debauchery, this depreciation in the value of money, is but a subtly planned or unconsciously accepted device by which communalization is brought about by force. It is the road to communism through the back door, unappar rent to those millions who will not take the time to reflect. Thus, it is a splendid device for those who would com munize America. A Sobering Comparison Since we began the programs of deficit financing and the monetization of debt, we have more than quadrupled our money supply. Our behavior in this respect is remark ably like that of some of the larger countries of the world, the countries we think of as being in a financial and social istic mess - such as Russia, Germany, France, and England. As short a time as 21 years ago the take by government of earned income in Russia was 29 %, where we stand today. At that time in Germany the figure stood 20 at only 22%; in France at 21 %; and in England at 21 %.