The United States achieved greatness through individual independence.  We are now living in an age where failure and mediocrity is rewarded with government handouts while success and hard work simply means a greater burden. Do we simply give up and go with the flow, or is there a smarter way?

In my mind, government causes problems, then tries to shift the blame elsewhere. We are now being told that we will all have to “sacrifice” for the “common good” and that the government will save us. Sacrifice implies a windfall gain for someone else. The same government that causes widespread problems also purports to have the solution.

Let’s take this down to an individual level. This may not be a popular sentiment, but society doesn’t owe you a living just because you’ve fronted up on this planet. If your business judgement is bad, government money won’t make it better. If you don’t want to work, should someone else work extra hard so that you can sit and watch TV and eat? Conversely, you have the rights to what you earn, and it isn’t your job to subsidise a competitor. These statements were once axiomatic, but now all seem to be unconventional wisdom.

The only way out is independence rather than dependence. Independence means having your own escape plan. The government escape plan is always too little, too late, and for the elite rather than the rest of us.

How can you be independent? Well to answer that question, what is independence? The work itself implies a separate operation distinct from factors around it. It means relying on yourself rather than on “society”. It means thinking as an individual rather than thinking what the TV and the talking heads tell you to think. It means looking after your own money rather than be living from one pay packet to another, hoping that all will be right. It means having marketable skills rather than relying on position and “networking”.

The person of independent means and motion will ensure that they have their own destiny rather than be rocked to and fro by the machinations of those in power. No matter what, they will survive and prosper in the upcoming tough times.

Tags: bailout, dependence, independence

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 19th, 2008 at 9:59 pm and is filed under Practical freedom. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.