Government Entitlements: a Libertarian Point of View?
The Welfare/Nanny State is a popular discussion that entertains a variety of notions. Views such as the Libertarians’ believe that self-reliance and responsibility are of great importance when referring to government issues. For example, the government’s role is not that of a “Nanny” state in reference to Universal Health Care. Are we to look to our government for complete and unearned help? Does the government have the right to dictate to us when, where, how and how much we are to have, do and enjoy? The Libertarians’ views on this are very simple. Let’s take a look at these points and determine exactly where the Libertarians stand, and determine if the government is stepping over its given powers. First, I will take a look at our government’s right to control our bodies. This would also be in reference to the government’s ability to control the health care of our nation. Our founding fathers believed that “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” was important enough to write in our Declaration of Independence, why? They believed that life was one of our responsibilities as humans to protect. The Declaration of Independence was our document declaring us independent from the tyranny of the British government. We were not declaring these as responsibilities of a new government to rule over, but on the contrary the dependence to control these things on our own. “Thus arises the question of corporal ownership. For Americans, the answer has been settled. Since the terrible bloodletting of the Civil War, and now excepting military service, ownership of one’s body is a matter between the individual and God, with no intermediation by government. Yet assertions are now being made that government should have responsibility for, and thus authority over, the maintenance of our bodies. It necessarily follows that government must have the power to approve or withhold care. This concept collides destructively with the founding principles of individual responsibility
Cited: Anderson, William. “Who owns your body? Under Obamacare, not you.” The Weekly Standard 31 Aug. 2009. General OneFile. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010, from Gale Library Document Number: A206564506 Antle III, W. James. “Welfare State Begets Family Breakdown.” American Partisan 6 May 2002: n. pag. Web. 24 Nov. 2010 Beach, William, and Ratrick Tyrrell. “The Heritage Foundation.” Heritage.org. The Heritage Foundation, 28 June 2010. Web. 7 Dec. 2010 Gondy, Sarah. “When health care is a sacred principle—one Frenchwoman’s thoughts about the U.S. health care system.” Women’s Health Activist Mar.-Apr. 2010: 8+. General OneFile. Web 24 Nov. 2010. Retrieved from Gale Library Document Number: A222315042 Hostetter, E. Ralph. “Today’s Tea Party Tackels Taxation With Representation.” Newsmax 29 Oct. 2010 General OneFile. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. Retrieved from Gale Library Document Number: A241121809 Kennedy, David M. “1933: Anew deal compromised: compromise upon compromise whittled FDR’s dreams down considerably but enabled him to pass his Social Security Act, perhaps the most sweeping social reform of the 20th century.” American Heritage Summer 2010: 26+. General OneFile. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. Retrieved from Gale Library Document Number: A239644903 Tanner, Michael. “On Welfare, an Unlikely Voice of Reason.” National Review Online 24 Nov. 2010: n. pag. Web. 24 Nov. 2010 “That lesson ought to be applied to President Obama’s nomination of Berkley law professor Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit federal appeals court.” National Review 3 May 2010: 8. General OneFile. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. Retrieved from Gale Library Document Number: A224168929 “Repeal: why and how.” National Review 29 Nov. 2010: 14. General OneFile. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. Retrieved from Gale Library Document Number: A242017098