Who are the Real Fascists, Part II

There is a more subtle fascism at play from the Left which I neglected to touch on in my previous post, but which is probably more dangerous since it is on the surface not something one would associate with fascism.

That subtle device is known as tax.

You might laugh, and that's fair. Taxes are how our government is funded by the people. You may pay a sales tax when you buy something, that goes to your state (or city in some cases) and those taxes pay for road maintenance, sanitation, and so on. We currently pay the federal government out of our paychecks, to cover the expenses of keeping the country safe (which given our porous border is debatable) and an ever-widening array of social services.

So why is it subtle fascism?

A tax can support valid and ligitimate services, this much is true. But the trend lately seems to be that taxes are being used to steer behavior and control people, in a sense making them slaves to the state. Some states have heavy taxes on alcohol and/or tobacco products. These are often called "sin" taxes, and these things tend to probably curb consumption on some people's parts, or cause others to quit altogether. This is an indirect behavior modification. Now, there's talk in San Francisco about taxing caffeine and soft drinks. Why? According to mayor Gavin Newsom,

obesity accounts for tens of millions of dollars in city health care costs. He cites a recent San Francisco Health Department survey that found nearly a quarter of the city's 5th, 7th and 9th graders were overweight and that high sugar drinks make up a tenth of a kid's daily calorie count.

Why should the rest of us have to pay for bad decision-making by our kids? Another valid issue: if these drinks are so terrible, WHY are there vending machines in pretty much every school? It's all about the money.

Look at the increasingly insane environmentalists. Proposals of a global "carbon tax" and in some circles, taxing babies. What are these but more forms of control? Who'll have kids if they get penalized for it? Carbon taxes will really only punish the more prosperous nations - Third World developing nations won't have to pay these taxes, nor will they likely be held to the same stringent standards the US and Europe will be held.

One last form of control to touch on comes in the devilish form of "free trade". Supposedly, free trade will save us all, allowing us to run to Wal-Mart and buy all the junk our materialistic hearts desire for cheap. But what's often neglected is the fact that to get these goods so cheap, precious jobs are leaving the US because the publicly owned companies we're buying them from care only about the bottom line, not the impact on the people who are supposed to buy the junk they're getting made in China at a cut rate with expected cut-rate results. Free trade is pushed heavily by liberals, and sadly, many conservatives as well. Conservative establishment seems to be beholden to unrestrained capitalism, while liberals love the idea of a unified North America, as they love the EU, and eventually, a unified world government.

Go ahead, snicker at that thought, but who a mere 50 years ago would have thought there would ever be a unified Europe? It's the only logical conclusion: a unified Europe is a powerful economic force. Bush thinks that's the only way we can compete against the EU and China - a North American Union. In Africa, there have been talks ongoing for years to achieve a similar body for African nations. Why would it be so hard to believe that eventually, such unions wouldn't consolidate?

Consolidated power is a grave danger, even under the guise of improving the quality of life. That's pretty much how Hitler sunk his teeth into Germany: they were in a dire situation and he promised them a better life. He consolidated all power, took over all industry, socialized the state (yes, Hitler WAS socialist) and within 12 years destroyed Germany 100 times worse than World War I ever did.

Love him or hate him, Pat Buchanan sums it up best (emphasis added):

As too few patriots appreciate, free trade - with its lure of a cornucopia of consumer goos at the cheapest possible price - is the Pied Piper to world government. For any continental common market must call into existence institutions with the power to enforce its rules. These evolve into regimes. So history teaches.

- F.D. for 2 joe Schmoes