Liberism: Africa's and New Orleans's Common Ailment

So I admit, I like to watch American Idol. But I don't want to comment about Sanjaya's hair or whether Ryan Seacrest will ever admit he has a secret crush on Simon Cowell. Rather, I was a little annoyed by their recent charity night, "Idols Gives Back". This was a fundraiser for combating poverty in Africa and New Orleans. Now I know you do-goody liberals might bristle at my conservative audacity to be annoyed at the so-called attempt to improve the lives of the poor. The host of the show waives a packet of pills that cures malaria and states that ten dollars would cure twenty children. Naturally, we conclude that we should send the money to cure the kids. Why don't the kid's parents shell out the fifty cents themselves? No, really? Because, as you might say, they can't. That is the real problem to be solved. So why do liberals not address that? For decades, we have been shelling out billions to Africa with no end in sight and no improvement either. Liberals not only do not want to look at the underlying problems, they seek to bring the problems to America. Let's take a closer look.

The underlying problem is that people have lost their ability to take care of themselves. In Africa, this is largely caused by their governments through war, slavery, corruption, and high taxes. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, African tribes made war on each other and made slaves of one another (ya, that's right, you liberals out there, Africans employed slavery long before the Europeans arrived.) Through institutionalized racism, blacks were barred from opportunities to take care of themselves. Education and equal employment opportunities were kept from native Africans. In South Africa, a minimum wage was employed with the stated purpose of making is prohibitively expensive to higher blacks with an exception for menial jobs such as gardeners and maids. In this country liberals promote the same thing by supporting raises in minimum wage with opposing illegal immigration which carves out and exception for gardeners and maids. With the end of colonialism, the black Africans have majority rule. Yet democracy has brought them no relief. They have elected people who thwart the rule of law, taking through corruption that which is not rightfully theirs. People who cannot count on planting crops and raising cattle and having is for themselves later, simply stop. Business cannot start because credit markets and and stock markets cannot count on a return without someone stealing it. The result is an economy that collapses. Governments that rely on economic activity for tax revenue react by raising taxes, which, of course, hastens the collapse. Heavy government borrowing robs the countries' citizens through ever-increasing interest payments. Government services slow and even stop. Desperate, some turn to war and even outright slavery. Human capital is wasted in a literacy dearth and made dependent on international relief aid. So instead of improving life, these aid shows perpetuate the problem.

So what is the solution? Unfortunately, it's like the old joke: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one, the bulb has got to want to be changed. Corruption and high taxes can only exist if people put up with it. In this country, we constantly fight with liberals who want to raise taxes and protect corruption. Every time taxes are cut, revenue to the treasury increases (unfortunately, government spending increases more along with government borrowing). And the recession that came at the end of Clinton's last term that was supposedly talked into existence by Bush, was just Clinton's tax policies finally taking effect. Just once, I would like the moderator in a presidential debate to ask whether it's more important to maximize revenue to the treasury or "soak the rich".

And corruption is the liberal stock and trade. When it was clear the Nixon had become corrupt, the Conservatives joined in drawing articles of impeachment, including one accusing him of lieing to the American people. Ultimately they asked him to resign. Clinton, whose smallest sin may have been lieing, sought to use his power as president to fix the outcome of a court case in which he was the misdoer. Liberals insisted on keeping him so he went on to pardon Mark Rich and Dan Rostenkowski. New Orleans, famous for corruption and Democrat rule, had a separate government agency for each levy. Did they spend the money on the levies? No, the commissioners squandered funds on expensive luncheons and monuments to people you never heard of.

And New Oreleans knows its share of slavery and war. Trapped in schools that do not teach, liberals fight resident's attempt to flee through education vouchers just vigorously as illegal slave holders in Africa guard their human livestock. People's ability and will to provide for themselves is robbed through welfare payments and empty promises to make things better. Desperate, some have turned to drugs and the ensuing crime and gang wars have made life miserable. Businesses flee and the economy collapses. And liberals keep the wars going by opposing long prison terms that would otherwise separate the waring factions for the citizenry.
So maybe next year, Ellen DeGeneres will come on American Idol and announce they have plan to rescue Africa by exporting capitalism and save New Orleans by getting more Republican elected. Until then, my wallet stays closed and the clicker stays in hand to fast-forward past her diatribe. Gee, I hope I don't sprain my thumb in the meantime.