Ramirez on the slavery analogy
posted at 10:55 am on December 10, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
Harry Reid likened opposition to a government takeover of the American health-care system to support of slavery in the mid-nineteenth century, saying that reactionary opposition to “change” always exists. Unfortunately, Reid used the right analogy but in the wrong application. The problem with ObamaCare is that it will eventually enslave a free people to the elite few in its capital, who will have the power to invade every aspect of their lives with the fulcrum of health-care costs as the excuse. Also, as two-time Pulitzer Prize winning editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez points out in his excellent entry today, the costs of this system alone will force Americans into that kind of relationship with Washington:
Our founders wrote the Constitution to limit the power of Congress to avoid precisely this kind of outcome. When elected officials tell their serfs subjects constituents that Congress has the power to write any kind of laws they want, it exemplifies the founders’ most basic fear of centralized, federal governments. They knew that serfdom could come through the ballot box, and they’re about to be proven prescient.
Ramirez has a terrific collection of his works: Everyone Has the Right to My Opinion, which covers the entire breadth of Ramirez’ career, and it gives a fascinating look at political history. Read my review here, and watch my interviews with Ramirez here and here. And don’t forget to check out the entire Investors.com site, which has now incorporated all of the former IBD Editorials, while individual investors still exist.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Maybe the Reid’s been readin Wikipedia:
Unemployment problem solved.
davidk on December 10, 2009 at 11:01 AM
Tax slaves.
the_nile on December 10, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Shouldn’t the Congressional Black Caucus be up on the porch?
unclesmrgol on December 10, 2009 at 11:07 AM
This is absolutely EXCELLENT!! They shoulda had Pelosi dressed up like a hag version of Scarlett O’Hara or something.
Firefly_76 on December 10, 2009 at 11:08 AM
The average American already pays more in taxes then for food, clothing, and shelter combined.
At what percentage of income does a person become a peon, a wage slave, to the government? 50%? We’ve passed that long ago. 75%, 80%, 90%? To pay for the staggering, dare I say unprecedented, debt 0bama and the democrat party is forcing on us, we’ll have to hit one of those marks.
0bama’s new American dream – wage slaves for four generations to pay the Chicoms.
Rebar on December 10, 2009 at 11:08 AM
We exist only to feed the insatiable appetite of big government.
Track-A-'Crat on December 10, 2009 at 11:08 AM
It was Saturday night in Memphis when a redneck grabbed my shirt
And when he said go back in your cotton sack I let ‘im dyin’ in the dirt
They’d take me in the mornin’ to the gallows just outside
And in the time I’ve got there ain’t a hullava lot that I can look back on with pride
But I never picked cotton… Roy Clark
fourdeucer on December 10, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Nonsense.
The Founding Fathers obviously intended for the central government (that they wrote the Constitution to limit) to become an all-consuming, all-intrusive, all-encompassing, all-controlling leviathan that inserted itself forcefully into every corner of each private citizen’s life by force. Always. Forever.
Read your history again, Ed. It’s quite obvious that that’s what they intended.
Good Lt on December 10, 2009 at 11:09 AM
A dangerous line has been crossed in the relationship of U.S. citizens to their government. It will be interesting to watch and see whether Americans will accept federal serfdom without serious resistance, or a cataclysm will erupt. I guess the real question is, have Americans lost the essential hatred of tyranny that once defined the national character?
Cicero43 on December 10, 2009 at 11:09 AM
Yup. As I wrote here a few days ago, make 2010 and 2012 about freedom and slavery. Elevate notions of fiscal conservatism upon that underlying principle of freedom, and smash the centralized, nationalized, command and control behemoth in the mouth. Let people know that freedom of the people requires their economic freedom; and economic freedom is only achieved when citizens can amass wealth, which in both principle and practice is theirs. Make the redistribution of wealth the gateway of slavery, because it removes one’s economic freedom and thus their existential freedom. Therefore the redistributive regimes, in whatever form they come, are un-American. Put the breaks on the current redistributive drives, and then plan on destructing the already existing Hydra of redistributive programs.
Weight of Glory on December 10, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Remember that it was a Republican who ended slavery. His name was Abraham Lincoln. You may have heard of him.
KillerKane on December 10, 2009 at 11:13 AM
It’s like public school when you were eight years old. Slave for nine months, and freedom (sort of) for three months.
RBMN on December 10, 2009 at 11:13 AM
Weight of Glory on December 10, 2009 at 11:12 AM
Saw a good but sad bumper sticker the other day:
1776 Independence
2009 Dependence
Firefly_76 on December 10, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Swing low, sweet chariot.
Kafir on December 10, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Hey Mister, which way to Harper’s Ferry?
Doorgunner on December 10, 2009 at 11:14 AM
My old (1967) Webster’s Collegiate definition of slave;”Some who has lost control of himself and is dominated by someone or something.”
Slavery;”The forced extraction of the fruits of labor from one person or class to another.”
HHhhhmmmm….taxes, regulations, Tax Freedom Day, the even more onerous Cost of Government Day…hhhhhmmmmm….maybe this Ramirez guy is on to something…
Amendment X on December 10, 2009 at 11:14 AM
2010 can not come fast enough.
jukin on December 10, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Too many people in America today would rather beg for a scrap from Uncle Sam’s table than do the hard work required to sustain themselves. We need to get to work reminding Americans that this is the land of opportunity, that they can make a better life for themselves and their children- and that government cannot do it for them.
hawksruleva on December 10, 2009 at 11:15 AM
“Your names Toby,…..”
portlandon on December 10, 2009 at 11:16 AM
“Ramirez”, eh? Sounds white. Damn racists with their funny pages.
Abby Adams on December 10, 2009 at 11:17 AM
Oh, yah, Lincoln. Wasn’t he the one who supplied the Bible that the first black President used to swear his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution? How’s that oath working out these days?
Amendment X on December 10, 2009 at 11:18 AM
People this goes back to the “Federally mandated” 55mph speed limit thing. Absolutely nothing different here, you either go by what we say, or we cut off your funds.
Johnnyreb on December 10, 2009 at 11:19 AM
I think you mean the average ‘tax payer’. The number of people who pay absolutely nothing in federal taxes is fast approaching 50%.
Sporty1946 on December 10, 2009 at 11:19 AM
Hagula.
OmahaConservative on December 10, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Citizens (and non citizens) sell their freedom for the illusion of ‘free’ health care, while those who control the machinery of government enslave those who will provide that ‘free’ health care.
What do the words ‘medicare cuts’ mean to you?
Skandia Recluse on December 10, 2009 at 11:20 AM
Can mine be Kunta?
Sporty1946 on December 10, 2009 at 11:22 AM
And many states are trying to stop that-by making the school year year-round.
I still believe children need to be with their parents.
This is only a response to parents needing free govt daycare.
Badger40 on December 10, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Over The Top is a bad place for a political blowhard to be caught.
They soon realize that one man’s opinion is judged against the backround of his life.
These hyperbolistas ask for media proctological exams of their dealings, and they are welcome to them.
Once the MSM stops being the guardian of these delusional utopians and gets back to trying to preserve some shred of reality and a sense for the survival of the nation – and the West- in their reporting.
profitsbeard on December 10, 2009 at 11:22 AM
I think you’re reading European History. ED, I presume, is just enunciating what the Founding Fathers really wrote.
My suggestion to you, READ AMERICAN HISTORY.
TheAlamos on December 10, 2009 at 11:22 AM
And what about Lincoln’s endorsement of colonization of freed slaves?
Badger40 on December 10, 2009 at 11:26 AM
My suggestion to you would be to detect sarcasm. :)
TheUnrepentantGeek on December 10, 2009 at 11:26 AM
From what I know of the Good lt., I’m thinking he was dripping with sarcasm.
Badger40 on December 10, 2009 at 11:27 AM
I would disagree with that.
Anyone who buys anything is paying a federal or state tax of some kind.
Now I’ll admit-with our ranch income & what I make teaching, we end up with negative income some years & haven’t had to pay income taxes in a long time.
But I still pay land taxes & I buy gas & diesel & everything else I buy is taxed by the govt some how.
So everyone is taxed, whether they’re paying the income tax or not.
Badger40 on December 10, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Good post and cartoon, but don’t forget the enslaved doctor population who can’t set their own prices for services and have had their services reclassfied as a civil right for everyone. That is akin to the population at large having a property right in medical care. Which should sound familiar to any Civil War buff. We’re going to need a Fugitive Doctor Act to keep them from moving to the few remaining free countries.
Beagle on December 10, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Wanna buy the actual jacket Sarah Palin’s wearing on the cover of Going Rogue?
https://www.lauraingraham.com/auction?productID=22794
It’s pricey though. Good luck.
Abby Adams on December 10, 2009 at 11:31 AM
If you made enough in income to be taxed on it, you’d lose a third of it out of the chute.
That’s WAY too much of a penalty on productive, positive behavior. Especially considering that the primary beneficiaries of the tax don’t have to pay a third of what they make to the government.
Taxes on commodities are paid by everyone. Income taxes aren’t.
Good Lt on December 10, 2009 at 11:35 AM
I don’t include /s anymore because I figure people are smart enough to figure it out.
But with our trolls and resident O-bots, I can see how even obvious snark like my comment could be construed as serious these days.
You are forgiven this once.
Good Lt on December 10, 2009 at 11:38 AM
What about Lincoln signing the Confiscation Acts, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation AND passing the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery forever and for all time? He may have experimented with colonization and gradual emancipation, but the proof says otherwise. Aided by the slaves themselves and the Union Army in the Civil War, President Lincoln ended slavery in the United States. Surely he deserves his status as the greatest leader the country has ever produced.
KillerKane on December 10, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Not all the time. I know a bunch of people who get an EIC tax “refund” even though they didn’t pay any federal/state taxes. In essence the consumption taxes they pay are given back to them at the end of the year.
Johnnyreb on December 10, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
Pilgrim on December 10, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Agreed, but the reality is that most of the taxes people pay are hidden. The income tax is unavoidably one of the only ones that is out there front and center. I have often heard proponents of the fair tax/flat tax say that if people had to actually sit down and write the check for taxes, they would be appalled.
The liberals use income and wealth to divide us through envy. The truth is that we are all being nickled and dimed to death by taxes.
Jvette on December 10, 2009 at 11:53 AM
These Dems are kind of spending like a bunch of drunken teenagers. The inmates have taken over the asylum….
DL13 on December 10, 2009 at 11:58 AM
This is absolutely EXCELLENT!! They shoulda had Pelosi dressed up like a hag version of Scarlett O’Hara or something.
Firefly_76 on December 10, 2009 at 11:08 AM
More like Al Capp’s, Sadie Hawkins….only not so hot.
TugboatPhil on December 10, 2009 at 11:58 AM
At that price, I’d only buy it if the lovely Sarah comes with it.
UltimateBob on December 10, 2009 at 12:02 PM
I like Gary Varvel’s take too.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on December 10, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Why did my room temperature just go down several degrees? *Shudders…
lovingmyUSA on December 10, 2009 at 12:30 PM
ObamaCare will go a long way towards greasing the skids of our slow road to serfdom.
russcote on December 10, 2009 at 12:40 PM
Wasn’t either Lincoln nor his Bible’s fault that the Clinton Monument is going to look strangely like a cigar…
unclesmrgol on December 10, 2009 at 12:46 PM
The quote at the top of your citation is strangely prescient; I’m sure Lincoln, knowing well the Southern mind, had many of the same thoughts himself with respect to the probable travails of the freedmen.
As for the colonization effort, Liberia didn’t turn out so well in the end, but that wasn’t due to lack of effort by those provisioning the colonizers — it was more due to the superiority complex associated with the colonizers with respect to the existing inhabitants of the areas they were colonizing.
unclesmrgol on December 10, 2009 at 12:54 PM
And who will be John Brown?
davidk on December 10, 2009 at 12:55 PM
By some strange coincidence, it’s (roughly) well within one day’s march across the Potomac of the Nation’s Capital……hmmmmmmmm. Is the Armory National Historical Marker still there?
dmh0667 on December 10, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Badger40 on December 10, 2009 at 11:29 AM
Don’t forget payroll taxes. If the healthcare bill passes, I expect those to jump pretty remarkably to try to cover the costs.
Lots of us look at that from time to time, but don’t really think about it each time our paycheck is mailed/deposited.
cs89 on December 10, 2009 at 1:05 PM
They should do a in-you-face deal and auction off the joggin togs she was wearing on the Newsweak cover. And donate the money to a pro-life org.
davidk on December 10, 2009 at 1:15 PM
Those opposing this healthcare monstrosity remind me of the Pennsylvania German religious leaders who opposed the importation of African slaves in the late 17th century. Just a bunch of naysayers holding up progress.
WarEagle01 on December 10, 2009 at 1:18 PM
Taxpayers aren’t the cotton pickers; we’re the cotton.
The socialists are tax farmers, and we are the crop.
james23 on December 10, 2009 at 1:20 PM
And don’t forget to add in the costs of incarceration for those of who won’t go along with their Ponzi scheme.
davidk on December 10, 2009 at 1:22 PM
And they hung John Brown for treason, aiding and abetting slaves.
Now it will just be an injection–for the good of the country, of course.
davidk on December 10, 2009 at 1:26 PM
I am sorry, I meant income taxes. I know everyone pays consumption taxes mandated by the feds but the number who pay ZERO income taxes or receive credits is at 50%. Those are the facts. Consumption taxes, such as gas taxes or telephone fees, are miniscule in comparison to income taxes.
Sporty1946 on December 10, 2009 at 1:27 PM
EIC is nothing but welfare. When you get a ‘refund’ & you never paid anything into it in the 1st place, I would think of that more as welfare.
I guess if I had the time, it would be interesting to compare those figures.
But I am betting highly that it’s not as miniscule as hyou would think.
I wonder if it’s not more.
Sales tax. City sales tax. Land tax. Phone tax. Cable TV tax. Gas tax. Taxes on the manufactured goods you buy that are levied all along down the chain of production, finally ending up in the purchase price (which is taxed again through sales tax).
I think when you account for ALL of the taxes & ‘fees’ that state, city, & fed govts demand, the amount would be quite high indeed.
Badger40 on December 10, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Exactly. The Federal Government takes your wealth via taxation, then dangles that same wealth in front of your State Government and insists they dance to whatever tune the Feds choose in order to receive “Federal” highway funds.
Red State State of Mind on December 10, 2009 at 8:31 PM
Nope. Nancy Pelosi beat you to it.
Red State State of Mind on December 10, 2009 at 8:50 PM
What about the hidden tax of inflation?
With the fed printing paper left and right… that’s something else I’m mighty worried about right about now.
Chaz706 on December 10, 2009 at 8:53 PM