Don’t vent over money legally spent

Don’t vent over money legally spent

Mark Bodett’s Fence Post letter has Margaret Thatcher saying that “the problem of socialism (people spending other people’s money) is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”

Whether or not she actually said this, both she and Mr. Bodett have used the concept incorrectly to tarnish what both their governments are authorized to do. Socialism, to be precise as possible, is an economic system advocating societal ownership and management of the means of production and distribution of goods and services.

However, spending other people’s money does not define socialism. It is exactly what our Constitution demands of Congress. Article 1, Section 8 and the 16th Amendment specifically empowers the Congress with the power to lay and collect taxes on incomes and other sources to pay for this country’s debts.

That means that Congress can take your tax money and mine out of our pockets to pay for what ever your elected representatives have budgeted for. If you don’t like what’s being bought, then elect a representative who will be more parsimonious. But please don’t throw around buzzwords like freedom and socialism to vent your frustration with how your tax money is legally being spent.

David Werdegar

Naperville