Do you know why our once great republic is 17 trillion dollars in debt? It is simple really; you demanded it. I am not speaking of the person sitting across from you in the local café, the sale barn, or your neighbor down the road, I am talking about YOU. Let me explain.

If you garner nothing else from this column, please understand the primary tenet underlying Marxism is the re-distribution of wealth from each according to their deeds to each according to their needs. This principle of government theft is no longer taught as evil in schools mostly because education feeds on wealth re-distribution. On the contrary, the enlightened promote the erroneous assumption there is something compassionate about taking property from the industrious and giving it to the lazy, of course less a small handling fee to cover the cost of administration. Thus, socialism, communism, or liberalism are all trumpeted as the preferred ideologies over capitalism. If you have never taken the time to think this assumption through to the end, you have been fooled as has the National Federation of Independent Businessmen (NFIB), the Montana Chamber of Commerce and most recently, the Montana Contractors Association (MCA). If I haven’t offended every reader yet, this will. Farmers were not included in the above list because many openly embraced Marxism decades ago, so listing them now would be redundant. There, that should do it. If you are brave enough to keep reading, I will prove my point.

Every special interest group scores the voting record of legislators upon completion of a session. After Montana’s 2009 and 2011 sessions, I noticed a frightening pattern developing where elected officials re-distributing money from the state treasury to the business community via tax credits were praised as champions of business by the Chamber of Commerce and NFIB. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, nearly every “champion” ranked in the bottom of the Taxpayer Advisory Bulletin as scored by the Montana Conservative Alliance; a group advancing the principles of limited government. In the 2011 and 2013 sessions, the Montana Contractors Association insisted we legislators borrow 100 million dollars so they could hire people and build stuff. We defeated this re-distribution of wealth to the contractors both times, but just barely. Apparently the contractors have joined the ranks ignoring the fact neither Montana, nor the federal government has a job, so they can only give you what they have first stolen from someone else. Legislators eager to spend money, robbing Peter to pay Paul, always receive Paul’s glowing endorsement and likewise accolades from the MCA. Do you follow?

Government is not your sugar daddy; it is a cancer, albeit a necessary cancer whose growth is purposely held in check by the Constitution. Today’s ruling class ignores the constitution’s restrictive language and tosses new goodies to pet voting blocs until wealth re-distribution has saturated the American soul. Most citizens, the Chamber, NFIB and MCA want free stuff paid for by someone else, so we are 17 trillion in arrears, thus answering my opening question and leading to my closing one. Restoring America to limited government and free-market capitalism by dismantling this Marxist monstrosity will require self-discipline and sacrifice, so will you be part of the solution or part of the problem? Are you a patriot or a comrade?