Freer than most

Reading the letter from Mike Carlson, "Uncle Sam Scam," I was again amazed at how little some people appreciate America.

The gripe du jour is the national debt. Mr. Carlson states that last year he was able to put some money into his 401k. How much would his 401k be worth if the government hadn't spent the last year and a half propping up the financial system with cash and baling wire? He states that he has two jobs. Does he drive to them on government built roads? In a car that meets government safety standards? Fueled by unleaded gasoline, required by government, to protect people like his daughter from childhood brain damage?

His daughter is in college. Good for her. Is the Carlson family paying up front, or is she getting one of those government guaranteed student loans? Is he sending her to a college that depends on a flow of government grants and subsidies? Almost all colleges do. Or is she going to one of those (government) land grant colleges?

Does his family ever fly anywhere for vacation? From government built airports that have government security in planes that are guided by government air traffic control?

Did Mr. Carlson send his letter via the government Post Office or over the Internet that was developed by the government?

Mr. Carlson compares his family with the federal government: "The difference is we've learned to live within our means and don't take other people's hard earned cash to give away."

If Mr. Carlson looks at it honestly, he'll find that he gets much more from government than he pays in. Government is a means for a nation to accomplish shared goals and provide necessary services.

Mr. Carlson complains that "the land of the free" in the National Anthem "rings sort of hollow." Oh, really.

This very newspaper recently carried a letter that bemoaned the fact that Joe Biden was vice president, because that means that we're stuck with President Barack Obama until 2012. Earlier, another letter writer vowed to use his gun to "defend (himself) against the socialism" of the president, Speaker of the House and Senate majority leader. In most countries, these letter writers, and the editors, would now be in the hands of the Secret Police. But this is the U.S., where you can say pretty much anything you want. Or go to any college you want or drive anywhere you want. America isn't perfect, but we're freer than people in most countries.

Does Mr. Carlson recall the election of 2000? We had a choice: Vice President Al Gore, who favored putting the Social Security surplus in a "lockbox" and using the general revenue surplus to pay off the national debt. Or Texas Gov. George Bush, who wanted to use up the surplus in tax cuts. If Mr. Carlson voted for Bush (and I suspect he did), he got what he voted for: massive national debt.

Come on, did anybody really believe you can finance a government with pixie dust?

Dallas Dunlap

Brooksville