Growls

Thanks to Steve Gilbert at the Sweetness & Light blog for putting together a wonderful collection of seven quotes on what the nation’s Founding Fathers had to say about income redistribution, including these three:

“The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If ‘Thou shalt not covet’ and ‘Thou shalt not steal’ were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free.”

— John Adams, A Defense of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America, 1787

“To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare to others, who, or whose fathers, have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, the guarantee to everyone the free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it.”

— Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph Milligan, April 6, 1816

“[T]he government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.”

— James Madison

As Steve Gilbert quips, “But maybe they were wrong and Mr. Obama is right. After all, he is a Constitutional scholar.”

But what if Sen. Obama  is wrong? Are you willing to risk overturning 232 years of American history in favor of Sen. Obama’s vision for the country?

HT to The Astute Bloggers.