I do all my own auto repair work. I rely on my cars to
get to work. They are old cars. So what do I do when
one breaks down? I fix it. I spend a lot of time
driving one car while fixing the other. Isn't that the
American way?
I used to have just one old car. When it broke down I
had to fix it immediately. It didn't matter if it was
raining, cold, snow, on the side of a road or in a
grocery store parking lot I was stripped of my
independence, and most of my dignity until I got it
fixed. Whatever it took. I walked, took the bus, rode a
bike, or heaven forbid, called a friend, to get parts
at the local parts store, and then to work if the car
still wasn't running the next day. I know I'm not
alone. I see a lot of people who go to great lengths to
get their cars running again so they can get going.
It's part of our Americana.
One of the most important things I noticed was the
motivation. That's key. After a while I got pretty good
at fixing my own cars but I didn't want to spend any
time fixing other people's cars. Some were good
friends, girl friends or family and sometimes their
need was drastic enough that I'd give it a try, but I
just couldn't find the same motivation to fix their car
as with my own. I wasn't exactly a professional at
this. It was always something new, and it was always a
lot of hard work. Granted, I've had many successes
fixing a friend's or relative's car, and soon they rely
on me. Eventually I found limits to my motivation.
I can't help but make the comparison between this basic
motivation and governments motivation to provide social
services. Part of socialism is where the government
provides services to people at little or no cost when
they enter the front door and they're supposed to work
hard and pay taxes that provide for those services. The
deep rooted motivation just doesn't seem to be there.
Am I missing something? Why should somebody work hard
for something somebody else is going to get?
Friends and family are different, to a degree. I have
found motivation on occasion to fix their cars. The
motivational hierarchy is somewhere between personal
and what I'd do for a stranger. Sure I might fix a flat
tire to be a good samaritan, but an engine overhaul or
clutch repair, of course not. Not for a complete
stranger, for free anyway. So why am I asked to pay for
someone's health care needs, shelter, food, education
when I don't know them, and worse, at times not even
had some of those myself. Where is the motivation to
put in the extra time and effort at work, to pay the
taxes, for a service for someone I don't even know.
Even more important is the motivation of business. Talk
about a super human effort. Small business owners are
the heros of our economic system. The pain and
suffering they've gone through to make their small
business work and the personal sacrifices are
immeasurable. How is someone supposed to find the
motivation to generate goods or services, against all
odds, against incredible competition, and then find the
extra resolve to generate the funds that will pay the
taxes to provide social services mandated by the
government? I don't know. Go figure. It just doesn't
pencil out. Why not sit on the receiving end rather
than the working end. And trust me there are some
pretty smart people sitting on the receiving end who
know how to drag their feet. We've all worked with
them.
The problem with socialism is that you eventually run
out of other people.s money. This Margaret Thatcher
quote, revived in the media recently, says it all. Plus
I heard it takes two dollars for every dollar the
government distributes. Where does the money come from?
Economic reality is painful. So how can I be expected
to divert my pain for someone else's benefit. It's
asking a lot. I wish I could give it, but it just
doesn't pencil out.
