Hi Kids,

I haven't done any entries on this website or it's accompanying blog or the Facebook site or the You Tube channel in about 10 days. Such are the requirements of work. And I've felt the beginnings of a change in the format here at Bludgeon & Skewer as well. So far we've been reacting and posting into other blogs/websites in response to some of the things we've seen written and then publishing our responses here for our limited readership. Mr. Bludgeon is of the opinion that we need to stake out our own rogue Libertarian turf on some of the issues of the day and I am slowly coming into agreement.

One of the issues we have discussed at length is the concept of National Treasure.

Question: What pops into your mind when you hear the phrase "National Treasure"?

    a. That movie with whats his name
    b. That gold and stuff in Fort Knox
    c. Those museums up in Washington DC.

When I think in terms of National Treasure a map of the USA pops into my head and I see the gold belts of Northern California, the rolling wheat fields of the Midwest, the massive pine plantations of the southern states and the oil fields of Texas and coal mines of West Virginia. Then I start thinking of other treasures here in the USA, clean water, lots of space and the simple concept of liberty. I contemplate the incredible wealth the very land produces yearly here in America and marvel at how fast our nation has grown and how far we have yet to travel. And the disposition of our shared National Treasure will determine in large part how we progress.

We live in a nation of some 330 million souls, each with their unique desires and needs, and to my way of thinking, each with their own claim to their share of the nation's treasure. That sounds kinda socialist at first, but to my way of thinking it is Libertarian to it's core. 

A lot has been made of late about the needs of some Americans to be met by the rest of the citizens in the form of subsidized health care. Only God knows how many word, articles, screeds and rants have been published by the members of the Republican/Democrat duopoly during the last month for and against the idea of expanding governments role in our daily lives. And it is based at it's core on the concept that there are "poor" people who need assistance to meet the basic requirements of life in our country. I can't help but note that even the "poor" here in the USA are equipped with the latest cell phones, have access to the information super highway and generally don't seem to be dropping dead from hunger in the public streets as I understand happens in the Republic of North Korea.

So one faction of our Democrat bothers feel the need to put the rest of us in harness to help these "poor" Americans while their opposites over in the republican camp loudly proclaim dire warnings about attempting to do so. Where does the Libertarian stand on this issue? How does the simple concept of smaller government, lower taxes and more liberty help to resolve this seeming imbalance?

One way of looking at this problem is to consider the concept of our shared National Treasure. Our nation generates around 13 to 14 trillion dollars of gross domestic product every year. We have 330 or so million Americans. How many times does 330 million go in 13 or 14 Trillion dollars?

$13,000,000,000,000. 13 trillion dollars.

330 million Americans

Whats the individuals cut? Try about 40K a year. For everybody. Every man, woman and child from birth to death. A family of 4 would get $160,000 a year just for drawing breath. Do you think they could handle their health care needs out of their own pockets? Think they could start a business? Go to college if they so desired? Live the American dream to it's fullest and increase the size and scope of the National Treasure while doing so?

Stuff to think about.

More to come.