One of the things I appreciate about Colorado — and, more generally, about the American West — is an ingrained appreciation for freedom. But there is a disturbing trend here and across the nation toward misunderstanding what freedom really is and a wider acceptance of dependence rather than the spirit of independence which we should be celebrating this July 4th weekend.
It’s a little strange that our state is these days best known for being the first to legalize recreational marijuana use. Although I’ve never touched the stuff, I support legalization (for adults) because it is a matter of freedom. But if the only untarnished advance for freedom is the ability to get high — something the majority of Coloradans have no interest in anyway — it’s hard to cheer about the direction of liberty in our state and our nation.
Last week, the Colorado Supreme Court overturned Douglas County’s school voucher program, accepting opponents’ arguments that the state’s bigotry-based Blaine Amendment prevents school district payments to parents who then make their own decisions about their children’s education. Opposition to school choice throttles our independence from both government and greedy unions when it comes to some of the most important decisions families ever make.
On Tuesday, President Obama proposed a rule that would require employers to offer time-and-a-half pay for any employee who works more than 40 hours a week and earns less than $50,440 per year. This, much like the left’s push to raise the minimum wage, should be — but usually isn’t — understood as an assault on freedom. Why does the left celebrate freedom for any two adults to create their own marriage contract but not to create their own employment contract? The result of such a rule, were it to come into effect, would be (like so much government regulation) to harm those people it claims to help by forcing employers to cut costs in other ways, including by cutting benefits and work hours and making true independence even harder to achieve.
Across the country, the Affordable Care Act has caused a massive increase in the cost of health insurance while decreasing its quality. The only way that many Americans afford their insurance premiums is through “subsidies,” which are nothing more than taking money from one person and giving it to another. What could be a greater attack on Americans’ independence than a law which makes it all but impossible to protect your family’s health without relying on government to pick your neighbor’s pocket?
Nearly half a million Coloradans are on food stamps, an increase of more than 20 percent from five years earlier. This, despite the number of unemployed people in the state having plunged by half during that same period. How can nearly 10 percent of Colorado’s population tolerate living with such dependence? Perhaps because, as exemplified by changing the name of the federal food stamp program to SNAP (doesn’t that sound like so much more fun?) dependency is being encouraged by supporters of the Nanny State.
There used to be a stigma attached to being a burden on one’s fellow citizens. Losing that stigma might be nice for those people buying food with other people’s money, but we’ve gone too far toward turning a “safety net” into a hammock. It may sound heartless, but incentives matter a lot. A rich country may make poverty tolerable, but it should not make it comfortable. In pursuit of independence for more Americans, we should (except for those who are otherwise truly unable to support themselves) encourage, not eliminate, a slight sense of shame for those whose daily lives involve spending what they never earned.
As we watch Old Glory flying this weekend, let’s celebrate the liberty we do have while redoubling our commitment to reducing the dependence of our fellow citizens and recovering the tremendous amount of freedom we’ve already lost.
Ross Kaminsky is host of “The Ross Kaminsky Show” on Saturday mornings on 850 KOA and writes a monthly column for The Post.
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