Does the government actually help people?

It’s amazing how perspective determines what we believe. For instance, renters tend to believe their landlords could/should charge less, and that the government could/should step in to help. Landlords understand the box that the government forces them into, thereby controlling rent. Many times, renters cheer when some politician claims that they’ll help the situation by taxing landlords. The problem is that, any landlord understands that renting a property out is a risk. The only reason they are willing to take such a risk is because there’s the promise of at least some level of profit or ongoing income. So, there’s a certain number they need to meet in order for it to actually make sense to own an investment property. And when the government decides to raise taxes on landlords, they will ALWAYS raise the rent in order to compensate.

If they charge too much, they can get penalized, so this helps keep the cost down. The funny thing is, they also get penalized if they charge too LITTLE, which makes them ride a fine line in order to stay within those bounds.

So, the government has tried to simply make things as absolutely complicated as possible so as to force people and companies to do what they want. I’m sure they mostly do it in order to help people. But they fail to accept the reality that people are resourceful, and when you shove them into a box, they will do whatever is necessary to make a profit, and in many cases, just to survive.

And then they get criticized for studying the tax code and adjusting in order to minimize their tax burden.

We’ve watched many people and companies simply choose to fold over the past few months, because they couldn’t make it. Things are never as simple as they seem. But I have yet to see a good reason for government to step in and do much of anything. Even when they appear to be helping, at best they’re making things break even, all while consuming exorbitant resources.

Wherever you have a truly free market, with at least one moral person in the mix, the scales will always bend toward justice and equality.

Whether the government tries to “fix things,” you only end up with shady people making deals that will stifle the free market and create conditions that lead the people to cry out for help. To the government. The very same government that broke things in the first place.

So, one major question this November is, do we want more government? Or less? And a tag-on question is, do we want more freedom? Or less?

We decide.