|
Freedom? We don’t need no stinking freedom!
As a young father and husband with two children enjoying the freedoms within this country for many of my childhood years, only to see those rights stripped away and meaning nothing, it's brought me to question how all of this has happened. When you look at the Democratic or Republican party, you could easily say most of the voting Americans do not care about freedom.
Not anymore! Both parties seemingly appear to want more government control and more regulation. Yet the story that we see unfolding before us is the very same people that go to the ballot box and give more and more control, are the very same people voting with their feet and moving to freer places. California ranks among the lowest freedoms and second only to New York according to a study by cato.org. The Census Bureau has been collecting data on interstate migration since the 1990s. What we have seen is that around the year 2000, people began moving out of this state in droves and others not moving in despite its wonderful weather, abundance of natural resources, etc. We have the 5th lowest rate of personal income growth in the country. We have some of the highest taxes with an average around the state of 8.56%. California ranked 38th among the 50 states and District of Columbia in 29 categories according to the Wallet Hub study.
There is a curious video from Mark Blyth called “Global Trumpism” where he explains the common failures of capitalism in favor of socialism. Although I vehemently disagree with his foundations on our progress forward (leading to socialism), he makes very valid points of where our system is failing. Mark explains that capitalism only works so long as you do not add into it socialism, otherwise it creates bugs within the machine that causes a collapse on the average of every 30 years. We can see this play out with our healthcare. In 1935, the Social Security Act was passed by Congress and based on Mark Blyth’s assessments proved accurate. In the years between 1960 and 1965, health care spending increased by an average of 8.95% a year. By 1965, households paid out-of-pocket 44% of all medical expenses. Health insurance paid only 24%. This system created an over-reliance on emergency rooms across the nation. By 2011, there were 62 million people of the 311 million people in the nation that used the emergency rooms 136 million times. An astonishing one out of five adults uses the emergency room each year and of those many are repeatedly using it for common colds or general things normally handled by a walk in clinic. In essence, these programs created the issue of making insurance peak higher unattainable rates, driving up healthcare costs so the only way you can afford to see a doctor is to be part of the elite or are beholding to the government. These forms of nanny states, nanny government and socioeconomic changes are ruining our country and our state, rendering us less free and more enslaved with each bill.
When we vote we should be asking our politicians not what laws they will create or what changes they will add, but what will they do to destroy the laws that are hurting our nation. I lend my support for the State of Jefferson because I’m not moving. I’m not fleeing to other states' freedoms where those enslaved in California will bring their votes and broken ideologies to where I have fled. I support Jefferson because our voice has no meaning as when the delegation for the 116th Congress has a total of 53 members, with 45 Democrats and 7 Republicans. Only one represents most of the Jefferson counties despite having the land mass just slightly smaller than West Virginia and its residents slightly more than Idaho. Despite these numbers, we here are completely and utterly voiceless. Taxation without representation is theft. I am part of the movement that started in 1852, revitalized, renewed, with new inspiration for the future of my boys, my family, my freedom.
- FiresEmbrace (Twitch.tv/firesembrace)
David Johnson
Tehama County
************************************************************************************************
Addendum:
The Three Jefferson Movements
There have been three separate State of Jefferson movements over the years and each of them for different reasons. In 1850, California passed the Foreign Miners' Tax to discourage immigration and removed incentives to come to the United States and remain here. To try and remedy this for the miners in 1852, a bill was introduced into the California State Legislature to create a new state. It didn't pass. Even after Oregon was incorporated as a state, the miners refused to have allegiance to either state nor pay taxes. In 1941, several counties in Oregon and California banded together because they weren't being fairly treated for infrastructure funding between Salem and Sacramento (double crossed). These issues included poor roads and bridges making it difficult to earn a living in the remote areas. This movement ended due to World War II. The last and current movement started August 3, 2013, with the issues being lack of representation and dilution of vote. It is ongoing to this day to separate from California with most of the representation still being in the southern part of the state.
Penny Garland
|
