The End of Common Sense

There are certain basic principles that have universal application.   In my opinion, these principles represent basic common sense and can and should be applied to the extent applicable when raising children, managing an educational institution, teaching students in a classroom, coaching a sports team, managing a business or group of employees, creating or maintaining relationships with friends or family members, or making decisions on how to live a responsible and independent life.  Unfortunately, there is at least one place where these principles are ignored more often than they are followed.   Our elected government officials do not apply these principles when they are adopting and implementing the laws and regulations that affect virtually every aspect of our lives.

It is difficult for me to see how anyone could disagree with the basic common sense principles to which I am referring, but it is obvious that many people do.  Because we elect our government officials and have the power to remove them from office, and because our government officials do not follow these principles, I have to assume that most voters do not agree with them.  Some of the principles to which I am referring are as follows:

(1)   Every adult, unless disabled, has an obligation to provide for his or her own livelihood and for the livelihood of his or her children.  Children are the responsibility of their parents—not of their parent’s neighbors or anyone else.    People are less likely to assume personal responsibility for themselves and their families when they are encouraged to become dependent on other people or on the government. 

(2)   People do not have the right to be rewarded simply for doing what they are expected to do, such as attending school, showing up for work, or paying their bills.  Someone who fails to do what he or she is expected to do should suffer the consequences of the failure.

(3)   Life is not fair.   All people have the right to equal opportunities, but some people will always have an advantage and other people will always have a disadvantage because of the families or the circumstances into which they are born.   Moreover, an equal opportunity does not guarantee an equal outcome.  No one has the right to a favorable outcome for everything he or she does.    

(4)   Individuals should be rewarded rather than penalized for their success, which may result from hard work, the willingness to take risks, a gifted mind, luck, other factors, or a combination of factors.   Individuals who are unsuccessful for whatever reason do not have the right to benefit from the success of others.

(5)    Bad decisions have consequences.  People do not have the right to be protected from the consequences of their bad decisions.  Someone who makes a bad decision, however, deserves forgiveness and a second chance but does not have the right to transfer the adverse consequences of his or her decision to others.     

(6)    Everyone should live within his or her means.   No one should purchase goods or services unless he or she can afford to pay for them.  No one should borrow from the future.   A person who is in debt cannot expect to get out of debt by incurring more debt.

(7)    Everyone should always save for a rainy day and remember that a penny saved is a penny earned.

(8)    Nothing in life is free.  There will be unlimited demand for any good or service provided for free, but someone has to pay for it.  If an individual obtains goods or services without working for them or paying for them, then he or she is benefitting from someone else’s labor.      

 (9)   All people should give voluntarily and generously to help those in need, and they can experience great joy and satisfaction by doing so.   The joy and satisfaction of giving, however, will be replaced by resentment when property is involuntarily taken from someone who has earned it and transferred to someone who did not earn it.    

(10)   Fear of shame creates an incentive for moral and ethical behavior.  When immoral or unethical behavior is tolerated and accepted by society, there will be no shame and the result will be increased immoral or unethical behavior.

It is obvious, of course, that many people are and always will be unable or unwilling to live their lives in accordance with the principles I have identified.  It seems to me, however, that our government policies should be designed to provide incentives for people who follow these principles and disincentives for those who do not.  Instead, many of our government policies do just the opposite.  They encourage the behavior that should be discouraged and discourage the behavior that should be encouraged.