A MINORITY VIEW
BY WALTER E. WILLIAMS
RELEASE: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2008, AND THEREAFTER
Are Americans Pro-Slavery?
Let's do a thought experiment asking whether Americans are for or against slavery. You might say, "What are you talking about, Williams? We fought a war that cost over 600,000 lives to end slavery!" To get started, we might find a description that captures the essence of slavery. A good working description is: slavery is a set of circumstances whereby one person is forcibly used to serve the purposes of another person and has no legal claim to the fruits of his labor.
The average American worker toils from January 1st to the end of April, and has no legal claim to the fruits of his labor for that period. Federal, state and local governments, through the tax code, take what he produces. A small portion of the fruits of his labor is used to provide for the constitutional functions of government. Most of what's taken, up to two-thirds, is given to some other American in the forms of farm and business subsidies, Social Security, Medicare, welfare and hundreds of other government handout programs. As in slavery, one person is being forcibly used to serve the purposes of another person.
You might ask, "Williams, aren't you a bit off base? Slavery means that you are owned by another person." Who owns a person is not nearly important as who has the rights to use that person. In other words, a plantation owner having the power to force a black to work for him would have been just as well off, and possibly better off, not owning him. Not owning him means not having to bear medical expenses and loss of wealth if the slave died. During World War II, Nazis didn't own Jews, but they had the power to force them to labor for them. Not owning Jews meant that working and starving them to death had little cost to the Nazis. The fact that American slaves were owned, with prices sometimes ranging from $800 to $1,300, meant that owners had a financial stake in the slave's well-being and they were not worked and starved to death.
You might argue that my analogy is irrelevant because unlike American slaves and Nazi concentration camp inmates, we can come and go as we please, live where we want, buy a car, clothes and other things with the money left over after the government gets four months' worth of our earnings. But, does that make much of a difference?
During slavery, visitors to the South often observed "a great many loose *****es about." Officials in Savannah, Mobile and Charleston and other cities complained about "nominal slaves," "virtually free *****es," and "quasi free *****es" who were seemingly oblivious to any law or regulation. Frederick Douglass, a slave, explained this phenomenon when he was employed as a Baltimore ship's caulker: "I was to be allowed all my time; to make bargains for work; to find my own employment, and to collect my own wages; and in return for this liberty, I was "¦ to pay him (Douglass' master) three dollars at the end of each week, and to board and clothe myself, and buy my own caulking tools."
There are some benefits to being a quasi free person such as Frederick Douglass. There are two ways U.S. Congress might force me to serve the purposes of another American. They might force me spend a couple of hours each day actually working, without compensation, for another American. Or, they might forcibly take a portion of my earnings so that American can hire someone. I see myself as being better off with Congress doing the latter -- taking a portion of my earnings and giving it away.
Some might be put off by my thought experiment and consider it an illegitimate use of the term "slavery." At what point should we consider ourselves a quasi free American -- when government takes two-thirds or three-quarters of our earnings?
Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University. To find out more about Walter E. Williams and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
hmmm....the definition kinda sounds like WalMart employees (or even worse employers who pay minimum wage). It's cheaper for the company to let them live on their own and pay them piss poor wages, throwing in a couple crappy benefits, than have to pay for their food, clothing, shelter, to keep them alive and healthy. Of course a lot of people who complain about paying taxes to help them survive don't think they are even worth the 7 bucks an hour they're making at walmart. Employers are getting even a better deal now because a lot of them don't even have to worry about their employees starving because they can rely on the government to take care of them.
hmmm....the definition kinda sounds like WalMart employees (or even worse employers who pay minimum wage). It's cheaper for the company to let them live on their own and pay them piss poor wages, throwing in a couple crappy benefits, than have to pay for their food, clothing, shelter, to keep them alive and healthy.
No one is forced to take a job at Walmart so what are you talking about?
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John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
in a lot of places they are...and I'm not just talking walmart...I'm talking pretty much any retail store, etc. Come to the Ohio Valley and see what else is available that pays better (which is pathetic). Ask a 50 year old miner or steel mill worker who lost their job making 20 an hour what other choices they have.
these are the types of jobs we're swapping, good paying manufacturing jobs for retail and other crappy service jobs. Sure the guy that got laid off from the plant is still working, but now he's making 8 an hour at lowes (a wopping 17,000 a year for people who really don't know how little these people make) instead of 16 an hour, maybe with a little overtime thrown in also.
I think your analogy is streching a bit far. As far as antibellum American slaves are concernedthey reaped NONE of the fruits of their labor.
Furthermore the money that they produced with their labor; did not go to make their quality of life any better. Which that is argueably what we are taxed for. i.e.- roads, law enforcement, military.
Slaves are also controled by their "master" 100% I defiently dont feel like the government controls my life to the point that it could be compared to slavery.
If you consider the real reason why people have always been against slavery you would have to agree with this. The reason why slavery is so abhorrent to free peopleis because financially a free man cannot compete against a slave. By allowing slavery you are cutting your own throat as slaves and their masters willalways be able to offer lower cost goods thereby depriving a freeman of a livable wage. While this article complains against low paid workers here in the USA, the bigger problem is other countries like China or Mexico. All that crap we buy from China is being made by a worker putting in 14 hr days and getting as low as $6 a month at some factory in some hell hole.None of them cancomplain and there is nothing else they can do, they are essentially slaves in eveery manner except name. For the price of workers in these far offplaces you could realistically have a team of 100 men putting in 35,000 man hrs a month devoted to collecting spider webs and turning them into dresses for sale to the west for approximately 600 dollars, and thats giving them 5 days off a month which is being overly generous. At these slave wages anything is possible and it is simply impossible for us to compete except by automating every possible job which effectively does the same thing of putting people out of work.Ever wonder how the dollar stores have so much crap and how anyone could make a profit selling plastic junk like10 plastic saladbowls for a $1.00.No free person would ever make such crapbecause they would never make a profit but by using slaves you actually can. "Freetrade" is going to hit us bigtime soon as it starts to move up the ladder. Radiologist and other high end positions are going to start being hit and the crap is really going to start hitting the fan. Have a low paid tech do an x-ray,mri etc, and then email the scan to India and 15 minutes later you will have a report faxed back to you for $15.00. Wavethat $100,000.00 a year American job bye-bye. As I am starting to accept more and more, for all the talk of free trade and global economy etc, etc, Free men cannot compete in such world. The Human race is simply to selfish and greedy for such a system to work. Maybe in the future if we evolve into some altruistic creature it would be possible but for now all I see is the world slowly sinking to the lowest common denominator which unfortunately happens to be mostly slaves or their equivalent.
No one read the article except maybe Shamlin but the important part went straight over everyone's head.
FD3, someone has to work at Walmart and they aren't have a bit of problem getting applications. When that happens they will raise their wages accordingly.
Shep, I know all about the Ohio Valley, I also know no one is forced to live their. My wife isw from their and most of her family has chose to move and find work all over the USA, including Alaska. This is nothing new.
Nyorange, free trade has helped this nation go study the facts don't sit there and just read the liberal press. More manufacturing jobs are lost to automation, then out sourcing everyday. It's what allows our wages here in America to continue to rise and that is a fact.
Key thing in this article has to do with our over bloated Government stealing our hard earned money and giving it to someone else who didn't earn it.
Quote:
The average American worker toils from January 1st to the end of April, and has no legal claim to the fruits of his labor for that period. Federal, state and local governments, through the tax code, take what he produces. A small portion of the fruits of his labor is used to provide for the constitutional functions of government. Most of what's taken, up to two-thirds, is given to some other American in the forms of farm and business subsidies, Social Security, Medicare, welfare and hundreds of other government handout programs. As in slavery, one person is being forcibly used to serve the purposes of another person.
Shamlin, you may have missed it. Here is a master acting just like our Government acts today:
Quote:
During slavery, visitors to the South often observed "a great many loose *****es about." Officials in Savannah, Mobile and Charleston and other cities complained about "nominal slaves," "virtually free *****es," and "quasi free *****es" who were seemingly oblivious to any law or regulation. Frederick Douglass, a slave, explained this phenomenon when he was employed as a Baltimore ship's caulker: "I was to be allowed all my time; to make bargains for work; to find my own employment, and to collect my own wages; and in return for this liberty, I was "¦ to pay him (Douglass' master) three dollars at the end of each week, and to board and clothe myself, and buy my own caulking tools."
__________________
John Adams “The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence.”
Ronald Reagan: 'Everybody that is for abortion has already been born'
"I never said I was worth it. I only said I wouldn't do it for less " William F. Buckley Jr.
The problem we have is bias, preconcieved ideas which automatically set the parameters of a definition but, if a person can step away form it all and look at something for what it is, not what we think it is or are told it is we can come away with truth.
Many of us don't want that because it often goes against what we've proclaimed as truth and fear being seen as the hypocrits we are and risk loosing our slave holder privalages.
Key thing in this article has to do with our over bloated Government stealing our hard earned money and giving it to someone else who didn't earn it.
It's the free market. You don't have to pay it. Your not forced to generate wealth. Who are you to tell those who sell something how much they can charge? Who are you to tell someone else what the definition of "earn" and "steal" is?[8D]
It's a two edged sword buddy and many americans are getting slashed by both. In my mind both sides, government and oil,cut the same. [:@]
Are Americans Pro Slavery?
