Rep. David Bullard
There is an old saying that goes, “mice die in mouse traps because they don’t stop to think why the cheese is free”. To put it in Oklahoma terms, thousands of deer die every year because they don’t stop to think why the corn is free, as we all know there are no free lunches. Let me be clear, a government mandated increase on minimum wage is absolutely a tax on the poor and middle class and anyone who tells you otherwise is either ignorant of economics or intentionally misleading you. We are seeing warning signs and alarms being raised as to why this is a bad idea and why it is a socialist attack on the free market. We heard some of the same warnings about “medical marijuana” and “Medicaid for all” also known as “Medicaid expansion”. All of which have caused serious harm to Oklahoma and has dearly cost all of us who pay taxes to fund government.
Those who support socialism will tell you it’s compassionate and will help the poor, but in reality it’s a system in which the government controls and regulates resources such as labor and wages therefore choking out the free market which helped make us the wealthiest and freest country in the world. Socialism promises prosperity yet throughout history has produced poverty. We’ve seen these policies implemented in other states such as New York and California, the same states that are amongst the most expensive to live and the states who are seeing their residents move to freer states like Oklahoma. Socialism is a perfect example of the old phrase “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” and we have a myriad of examples throughout history that prove this.
One of the worst parts of this bad idea and a fallacy we see from the left is their belief that a person who starts a business is the enemy. They want people (particularly the youth) to believe that businesses are evil and are only out to exploit and treat people badly and that a business should be a charity. That flies in the face of our nation’s creation and more especially our countries phenomenal success. All of us have the right to open a business and with our God given talents succeed or fail according to our own abilities. The government should not be the arbiter of who wins and who loses, socialists march in the ridiculously named “no kings” rallies yet fall all over themselves to place us all under another form of a king, socialism whereby the selected few determine each individual’s worth and standing.
The argument that SQ832 will “give” people a living wage is a huge red flag on its own. In our country we don’t “give” people wages, we earn our wages and we control our own destiny, not some selected governmental bureaucrat who can never understand the goals we as individuals hold within ourselves. Or our desire to provide for our families and give our children a more prosperous and peaceful life. One of the biggest fallacies of socialism (and perhaps the main reason it always fails) is it doesn’t take into account individuals. Rugged individualism is paramount to our freedom and the growth and success this beloved country has witnessed over the past 250 years. The core problem with socialism and other forms of collectivism such as communism, Marxism and fascism is their denial of the inarguable truth that humans are individuals and we have it built in us by God that we desire to achieve and provide for our families and loved ones. That the individual is more powerful than the lot because that is the design of our creator. Friends, I ask that you join me and other like-minded individuals who are lucky enough to call ourselves Oklahomans and Americans to vote NO on the abomination known as SQ832.