How much freedom are the Citizens of New Mexico willing to give up in exchange for security, provided by dictates from Santa Fe and “free” (Paid for by the taxpayer) stuff? No one really knows the answer to that question because as the saying goes “the jury is still out”.
In probing the answer to that question all one has to do is define and analyze the words security and free!
Let’s talk about security
Security:
Dictionary definition:
The state of being free from danger or threat.
The state of feeling safe, stable, and free from fear or anxiety
Questions:
Is it possible to go about the business of day to day living without encountering either danger or a threat? Especially in Albuquerque!
Famous Benjamin Franklin quote: "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”.
The COVID pandemic and the decrees coming out of Santa Fe should have been a graphic lesson on what will happen when the population of a state turns their entire lives over to the government in the hopes of getting security from COVID.
The demands of the government were insatiable and refusal was met with huge fines and other severe penalties. When all was said and done, did any of these dictates really help or did they exacerbate the situation? It will be years before we know the real cost!
One thing we learned for sure! The government will assume as much power as possible and once they have it they will not give it up. Has Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham given up her emergency powers? Has the Legislature of New Mexico taken those emergency power away?
Let’s talk about free
First, there is no such thing as free. Someone, somewhere, somehow has to provide the goods or service that another person is supposedly receiving “free”. When you hear the word “free”, substitute the words “Paid for by the taxpayer”.
New Mexico is the number 1 state for most welfare recipients:
21,125 per 100k this is food stamps only
welfare spending per capita $2,741
Total public welfare expenditures $5.72 billion
This does not include the city of Albuquerque’s expenditures
People on Medicaid in New Mexico:
755,665 out of a population of 2,117,522
Money coming from any government agency, federal state, county, city all have stings attached. If the recipient tries to work their way off government assistance, they are penalized by reduction in benefits. This in effect creates a population permanently a ward of the government.
Is this what we call being “free”?
What about the financial burden on the taxpayer?
The biggest lose of individual freedom is just around the corner! Free Medical! In order to receive what the government is calling “free” medical you will have to turn over complete control of your lives to a government bureaucrat! Just look at Germany in the 1930s
Security: There is no such thing!
Free: There is no such thing!
Tom Vaillancourt is a U.S. Navy Vietnam Veteran. He is a retired small business owner and is married with two children and two grandchildren