Consistent. Principled. Action.

1) Milton Friedman died today at age 94. He rose above all but a few other architects of the modern foundation for limited government. His ideas found their fullest expression in Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. An old TV interview that is called "the best case for limited government ever made" is at this link.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6813529239937418232&q=milton+friedman

It is almost 30 minutes long, but it should qualify as a college level course just to listen to it. I recommend that you do.

2) Although far from as eloquent as Milton Freidman, my remarks before the Commissioner's Court last evening are copied below. The remarks in the text inside the brackets were prepared, but were not delivered due to time constraints. I look forward to joining the court so that I am not time constrained!

As delivered:
The court declined my request to delay this topic until after Jan 1st, so I rise this evening to champion the ideas that Ronald Reagan laid out so well in his 1964 speech, titled "A Time of Choosing." That historic speech ought to be a textbook for the Republican Party, a party that stands for responsible, limited government. That party seems to have lost its way, as evidenced by the losses in last week's election.

The Reagan speech included references to taxes, freedom, and national sovereignty, but he primarily focused on government spending and entitlements.

President Reagan said, "No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth." I urge you to focus our county on those core county functions that require government funding, that are the county’s perpetual responsibility.

The well-meant extra-governmental spending encompassed in today's proposals are the province of private charity. President Reagan said, "...anytime you and I question the schemes of the do-gooders (Reagan's term), we are denounced as being against their humanitarian goals. They say we are always "against" things, never "for" anything. Well, the trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, but that they know so much that isn't so." Our country is already incredibly generous with our less fortunate citizens. For instance, here in Texas, a single parent with two children making $6.93 an hour earns approximately $14,400 per year. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, that parent is also eligible for almost $20,000 in additional State and Federal entitlements ($19,700), including over $7,000 in Medicaid alone. That means the income is more than doubled by entitlements.

President Reagan tested his own welfare reform proposal with a simple question, "...Will it help people become self-sufficient and lead a full life, or will it keep them down in a state of dependency?" I believe his analysis of his own welfare proposal applies to your discussion today. If your decision on this matter creates a dependency and not a path to self sufficiency then it fails President Reagan's test.

I urge you to find solutions to this and every issue that preserve individual freedom and limit government intrusion. Ronald Reagan warned us that, "It doesn't require expropriation or confiscation of private property to impose socialism upon a people." He meant that excessive taxation and inappropriate spending also lead to socialism.

[Author Frederick Hayek wrote the book, Road to Serfdom, in which he warned of the perils of socialism. In this case, a serf is an indentured laborer legally bound to and obliged to serve a master. I urge you not to move Collin County taxpayers down the road to serfdom to the county government by spending tax dollars inconsistent with core functions. Mr. Hayek wrote, "A society that does not recognize that each individual has values of his own which he is entitled to follow can have no respect for the dignity of man and cannot really know freedom."]

Let our citizens support the non-profit organizations of their choice, not yours.

In closing, I want to leave you with one thought, that ideas, even well intentioned ideas, have costs and consequences. Republicans in our free-spending Congress suffered those consequences with severe losses last week. As Republican Mike Pence wrote his congressional colleagues on November 8, "I believe that we did not just lose our Majority - we lost our way. We are in the wilderness because we walked away from the limited government principles that minted the Republican Congress." While not every national issue translates to county level, run-away spending certainly does. When folks use the old adage that says that government spends like a drunken sailor, it disparages the sailor because at least he is spending his own money. I strongly recommend that you listen to the majority of your constituents, those hard-working taxpayers who will be required to provide the ever larger entitlements suggested by today's proposed actions; the same taxpayers who will also be asked to fund the substantial county infrastructure we need today and well into the future. That infrastructure will serve all citizens, not the few. We have a bright future ahead of us; let's build that future on the foundation of rugged individualism, protection of individual freedoms, and the individual generosity of our people.

Thank you

Sincerely,
Keith

1) I will be unavailable to post the normal Monday blog, so let me wish you a wonderful celebration of Veteran's Day next Monday. As you consider how you will honor our veterans, may I relate just one story of my own. When I returned from the Middle East in 2003 following the invasion of Iraq, my wife, Tracy, drove to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida in order to be there when I arrived home. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to have a loved one welcome me back as I once again set foot on our great land. As you consider your activities on this national holiday, please include a thought, a prayer, or one of the many activities in the area to remember the continuing sacrifice by our veterans for our freedom.

General Douglas MacArthur quoted Plato in his most famous speech at West Point in 1962, "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

And the last stanza of our National Anthem,
"O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation..."

2) I hope to see you next Wednesday evening at the Commissioner's Court that will address the Health Care Task Force Recommendations.

Sincerely,
Keith

Tomorrow is Election Day. I strongly encourage you to cast your vote on Tuesday, November 7, if you did not early vote.

There is no more precious right in our vibrant republic than the right to vote. There is nothing that guarantees the future of our vibrant republic more than exercising your right to vote.

Two quotes for your consideration as you participate in the future direction of our great nation:

"The world is too dangerous to live in - not because of people who do evil, but because of people who sit and let it happen." Albert Einstein

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abe Lincoln

Thank you for caring enough to do your best. By voting!

Sincerely,
Keith