A recent newpaper photo shows a woman in ecstacy over a new piece of legislation that has passed in Congress. From the look of the woman’s face, she is in a state of rapture that Big Government will now be forcing people to act in a way that she wants. Somehow, her future prosperity depends on the actions of other people – and on Big Government to enforce her wishes.

Earlier articles here at T&S described how much of our lives we have allowed to be controlled by Big Government. It simply should not matter too much just who we have as President or in Congress — as long as they only are allowed to do what is in the Constitution. Problems arise however, when Big Government begins to control that which they are constitutionally prohibited from controlling – even if some claim that it is a “good idea”. That is where we lie today.

But the point today is just how much people demand from other people in order to achieve success and prosperity. I prefer and demand independence over dependence. Here are some common themes that we hear these days:

“I think rich people should be forced to give me money because I do not have a job.”
“We have to elect politicians who will force other people to pay for what I think is important.”
“Rich people are greedy. How come they don’t give me some of their money? It’s not fair!”
“I think there should be a new tax on things that rich people do so that my life will be easier.”
“We can’t cut taxes, I need the money!”
“Let Big Government pay for it.”
“At some point, people have made enough money – I think I should have some of it.”
“If they make all of the money, there will be none left for me!”

I refuse to let my future lie in somebody else’s hands. I do not wish to whine about life being unfair – it takes me away from working toward my prosperity. Dreamers dream but doers do. Life is unfair, but we make our own luck.

A popular song by the band Barenaked Ladies is “If I had a Million Dollars”. The singer describes all of the things that he would buy for his loved one. It seems that a lot of people like the song because of its sentimental daydream-like yearning to have money to buy whatever you want while at the same time, the listener relates to the cynical unfairness of the system where he may likely never have such wealth. The song was even used in a commercial for the New York Lottery where “All you need is a dollar and a dream.” Winning the lottery would be great but I do not rely on that as part of my plans of achieving financial success. This song is for people who have given up; people who expect to remain as they are unless somebody else intervenes on their behalf.

A strange twist on the song would be to rewrite the lyrics and change it from a wistful song of fleeting hope and perpetual want into an anthem of  motivation and independence. Instead of “If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a house”, how about, “When I earn a million dollars, I will buy you a house”. Instead of “If I had a million dollars, I’d be rich”, more accurately it would be, “If I made a million dollars, I’d be taxed in order to pay the people who did not earn a million dollars because it is not fair, I’d be called evil and greedy, and  the President would seek to seize control of my company and regulate my pay to a level that he thinks is enough for me.” But of course, that line doesn’t sound as catchy.

Personally, I do not wish to wait around for laws to be passed that force others to make my life easier. I wish to pursue my own prosperity through my own hard work and ingenuity without being forced to share it with those who are merely hoping for another law that would force me to share more and more. Success is so satisfying if you made it on your own. Failure is motivation to try, try again. Success or failure will be totally up to me.