Lunchtime Must-Read: Young Rand Paul (1984): Stealing to Help the Needy

Young Rand Paul (1984): Stealing to Help the Needy: “To the editors…

…After reading Mr. Wilzrkarth’s editorial (Feb. 2) condemning President Reagan’s plan for a “New Federalism,” every national person should contemplate the essence of the system that has created such a controversy.

The main thrust of the article lies in the assertion that neither state governments nor private charity can absorb the immensity of the welfare system.

We have been taught as Christian people
that it is wrong to steal. But underlying the whole welfare concept is the principle of theft. Money in the form of taxes is confiscated from the producers in society and redistributed to those who can’t or won’t produce. The immoral act of stealing, thus, has become moral in the eyes of society.

Immediately, I sense the horror stricken faces of those persons finishing the previous paragraph. Why, he would let the needy starve! My reply would be: How many realistic people believe there are 22 million Americans who need food stamps to survive? How many open-minded people believe 11 million Americans actually need sustenance? Let us assume a highly unlikely percentage, such as half, truly need some support. If individuals were not burdened by taxes incurred by this wealth transfer system, the truly needy would surely be supported.

Randall H. Paul
Biology, ’85