Michael Gerson Believes Libertarians Are In League With The State

By Chris Rossini

Here goes Michael Gerson on legalized drugs & gambling:

Libertarians seek to lift governmental restraints on consensual acts. State governments seek sources of revenue without the political inconvenience of requesting broad tax increases. Both find common ground in encouraging and exploiting the weaknesses and addictions of citizens.

Libertarians seek the removal of aggressive governmental force. Each individual is responsible for his/her own actions. Nowhere does that entail "encouraging & exploiting the weaknesses and addictions of citizens." I want government to leave you alone, and me alone, so that we may peacefully live as we please. Period.

Government, on the other hand, is all about encouraging & exploiting weakness. It does this primarily through the spread of fear. You are constantly supposed to be afraid. And not just afraid of one thing. Government covers a wide-spectrum. You're supposed to fear the rich, your boss, every businessman, and especially the foreign government du jour...That's an endless carousel.

You're also supposed to fear the government itself, while at the same time paying it to "protect" you. Imagine that! You have no choice in paying it either. You are the weak one against the guns of the mighty state.

Tell me again who the exploiter is....

Gerson goes on with his ridiculous equivalence:

If you are a progressive who wants universal health coverage, government expands. If you are a libertarian who wants people to be able to waste their money at casinos, or smoke and ingest whatever they damn well please, government expands as well.

Is this guy serious?

Progressives who want universal health coverage want government expansion! Libertarians who want government to not aggress against people engaged in peaceful actions do not want government expansion.

The fact that government looks to take advantage (i.e., exploit) freedoms that should have always existed by taxing them is because government is a parasite. It takes whatever it can get away with. Libertarians want drugs and gambling to be legal with no taxation attached.

What a novel idea, and way too much for Gerson to wrap his head around.

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Chris Rossini is author of Set Money Free: What Every American Needs To Know About The Federal Reserve. Follow @chrisrossini on Twitter.