“If man will not recognize the inequalities around him and voluntarily, through the gospel plan, come to the aid of his brother, he will find that through ‘a democratic process’ he will be forced to come to the aid of his brother. The government will take from the ‘haves’ and give to the ‘have nots.’ Both have lost their freedom. Those who ‘have,’ lost their freedom to give voluntarily of their own free will and in the way they desire. Those who ‘have not,’ lost their freedom because they did not earn what they received. They got ‘something for nothing,’ and they will neither appreciate the gift nor the giver of the gift.”
—Howard W. HunterWhy we shouldn't have public health and education. No really, find fault in this logic please.
- You: Pretend in the 80's, government nationalized cell phones
- You: Everybody gets a cell phone
- You: They're bulky, cost $2000 (through taxes)
- You: But are free on the surface
- You: you get one in the mail
- Stranger: Oh no, please no
- Stranger: This is an awful idea
- You: Now flash forward to alternate-2012
- You: We still have these government-mandated phones that haven't been updated. Still expensive (no government department ever tends to shrink over time).
- Stranger: Because there's no motivation to innovate
- Stranger: because the government would have a monopoly
- You: And then I were to say to an average person "government shouldn't give out phones"
- You: The response might be something like "But how can poor people afford phones themselves? Why are you against cell phones?"
- You: And if I were to try and explain the magical devices we could have had by this point, it would sound utopian
- You: but using force only results in diversion of resources
- Stranger: True
- Stranger: Force is always (and has always been) an incredibly impractical way of getting things done.
- You: in this case, from a bunch of competing companies with incentive to improve quality and cut costs, to a monopoly who is guaranteed the money each year, no matter what
- You: Now let's look at the things that people always claim the government has to provide, and realize that we are in that alternate-2012 right now
- You: Public Education, Public Housing, Public Roads, Public Security
- You: All the things that are crumbling apart
- You: It's not a coincidence
- Stranger: Because of lack of motivation to improve
- Stranger: because of lack of competition
- You: right
- You: Imagine, if you will, an "Apple" of education
- You: imagine what that could look like, each year striving to improve and innovate, meanwhile cutting costs for the students to beat out competition
- Stranger: Wonderful wonderful wonderful
- You: Instead we have schools that kids hate.
- Stranger: That foster hate
- Stranger: and ignorance
- You: They are unnaturally regimented
- Stranger: and mediocrity
- Stranger: and, frankly, stupidity
