| | 9. Referring to answer number one (1) the fourth paragraph (P4): What would happen to
the property?
The uninsured common property would remain right where it is until all its owners
came to an agreement, although its value probably would decrease from lack of use.
Since the purpose of government is to eliminate force from human relationships, anyone
who tried to dispose of property that he or she did not solely own would be stopped from
doing so by the government. After a while, the uninsured partners probably would begin
to compromise and agree to a division of their common property, although probably not
to the complete satisfaction of all. This potential loss of value in a relationship is the
reason contract insurance would be a much sought after commodity.
With contract insurance, people could enter agreements with the peace of mind of
knowing that if they later decide that their relationship is not as beneficial as they
originally thought it would be, they can take the value that they had created and move on.
The highly developed capacity we humans have of specializing in a line of work that
interests us and trading our products for those of others can be unleashed with the
adoption of contract insurance. The first group of people to understand this principle will
be rewarded with longer, healthier lives and the power to travel throughout the universe.
10. 1P3: What would be the price of a contract insurance policy?
One percent of the value being insured. For example--in order to buy a house--if I
sign a contract with a bank to repay one hundred thousand dollars over a thirty year
period, I would pay our government one thousand dollars per year to insure the deal. If I
continue to make the agreed upon payments, I could enjoy my house without interference
from anyone. Multiplying these common transactions by the number of Americans, our
government could earn billions of dollars.
This is the revolutionary idea: "our government could earn"--just like what every
other law abiding citizen has been doing since governments were invented. Instead of
politicians persuading one group to impose a tax on another and then using that money to
buy votes for the next tax, politicians would be elevated to the honorable status of people
who provide a valuable product, and work to satisfy their customers. This new job
description probably would not appeal to those who enter government to gain power over
people--a great byproduct of contract insurance.
If the one percent premium was too low to operate our government, our politicians
could either increase their efficiency or raise the price. If the price was too high, either
the voters could elect politicians who would lower it or people would be free to operate
without contract insurance. With this innovation, we finally could bring government into
the civilized world, where people offer value for value.
11. 1P3: Could anyone else provide contract insurance?
No, a nation can survive only if there is one final judge of contract disputes. Our
Supreme Court provides us with this service, which explains the success of our system.
It takes little effort to imagine the results of two contract insurance providers disagreeing
on the disposition of one piece of property--a degeneration into warfare would be
inevitable. Of course anyone could provide the service of drawing up a contract, but only
our government would have the power to enforce its provisions. If anyone tried to seize
someone else's property--even if it was a provision of a signed contract--our government
should recognize that as robbery and intervene.
Robbery (when one takes by force from another) is the most important issue affecting
the health of an individual and a nation. In your body, the immune system has evolved
specialized cells that float around bumping into other cells with nothing happening until a
foreign cell is detected. Protecting itself, the immune cell quickly surrounds the invader
and breaks it down into harmless molecules. This wonderful process allows your other
cells to continue their life sustaining activities.
In your nation, the government system solves this problem with the police who travel
around until someone starts to use force against someone else. To protect themselves, the
police sometimes have to break down the criminal into harmless molecules, but usually
they put the law breaker in prison. This allows us to continue our life sustaining
activities.
To live, we must use force, from the expansion of our lungs for the air we need to the
ingestion of organisms for their essential nutrients. But the use of force against people is
unwise because of the greater value that people can create if they are free from
aggression. If you act like you own people by trying to control them or by voting for
politicians who tax and regulate them, all you will get is a bunch of angry captives who
spend most of their time thinking of ways to either kill you or move away from you. But
if you create an environment where people are free to produce and trade, you will be
rewarded with a wonderful standard of living for a relatively small amount of effort.
Of course if some people are unwise enough to attack other people, they probably
cannot be persuaded to stop, so the use of force against them is the only way to protect
you. Government is an effective tool to retaliate against those who initiate the use of
physical force against others.
12. 1P3: Who would insure the contracts between citizens and our government?
Our government would continue to settle disputes between it and others. Our
beautiful system, with its three separate parts, could easily incorporate contract insurance.
The Legislature could adopt the program; the Executive would run it; with the Judiciary
overseeing that the program was operated correctly. Of course, with their power to elect,
the majority of voters would continue to have the final say--the strongest feature of our
great system.
If people become dissatisfied with the service provided by one company, we are free
to take our business to another or to do it ourselves, but because our government would
be the only provider of contract insurance, dissatisfaction would be expressed at the
ballot box by electing better politicians. While people would be free to operate without
contract insurance, it would be such a valuable product that most people probably would
continue voting for the best politicians to keep the program running smoothly.
13. Referring to the first advertisement (ad1) the fifth paragraph (P5) [Page 1]: Would
you send our military into another country?
No, unless attacked, and then I probably only would send missiles in retaliation to
reduce the risk of injury to our military personnel. Fortunately, our military is so strong
that no large group has attacked our country in over one half of a century, and it appears
to be as strong as ever. Our elected politicians and those they hire are responsible for the
protection of all the people inside our borders, and I appreciate their efforts.
Because I like to do business with those living in other countries, I send my literature
around the world trying to persuade people to vote for me to become the President of the
United Nations. Of course, I must first get enough people to agree to improve the
Constitution of the U.N. so it will resemble that of the United States. The relationship
between the participating national governments and the U.N. government would be the
same as the relationship between our State governments and our national government.
Those doing business outside their country could purchase contract insurance from the
U.N., thus supporting the efforts to protect their property in other countries.
14. 7P1: Are you an Objectivist?
No, Objectivism is Ms. Rand's philosophy--the ideas that she chose to guide her life.
She focused much of her attention on philosophy, which has another meaning--the study
of what is fundamentally going on. One good method of study is to analyze other
people's explanation of what is going on. Because most of Rand's ideas are true, she
successfully explained most areas of our lives. I have not seen a need to name my
philosophy, but I have learned from many teachers and have created my own ideas to set
the course of my life.
I wrote Rand a letter stating that Atlas Shrugged was the best product on the market
and thanking her for all the time that she had saved me, but I had to take every mental
step that she took in forming her concepts, which then made them my concepts. I wish
that she was alive to read my arguments because I am constantly looking for any errors,
and if they exist, I bet she would find them. Also, I wish that she could benefit from my
ideas like I have benefited from hers. I loved her very much.
15. ad1P5: Would you abolish any government programs?
No, but I would try to persuade Congress to make them all voluntary. Take Social
Security for example: Our government has taken money from millions of citizens for
many years and we have a claim against our government to provide for our retirement.
My argument is that we do not have a claim against our neighbors. Our government is
the wealthiest institution that has ever existed and should make good on its promises--I
just think that we should stop it from robbing people to meet its obligations.
If not forced to continue, some people may stop paying into Social Security and
provide for their retirement in other ways. Our government probably would have to sell
some of its assets, such as its vast land holdings, to meet its obligations. A nice
byproduct of this idea would be a gradual shrinking of our government to a manageable
size, and its eventual exit from services that are better provided by others.
16. 8P11: What is the evidence that Rand's statement, ". . . all his emotions, of course,
are determined by his thinking.. . ." is false?
The evidence (e = from + videre = to see) is that from the day my son was born, I have
seen him experience emotions (e = out + movere = move). When I enter his room, he
looks at me and moves toward me. I conclude that his brain has triggered a memory of
me picking him up and he wants me to do it again. I always oblige, giving him another
memory to store. Although my child is obviously brilliant, he just now is showing signs
of thinking (tongere = to know). For the first year of his life, he was sucking his bottle
with his tongue--not using it to explain something that he had learned.
The word all makes her statement false and indicates that some emotions are not the
result of thinking. The value of this idea is that we are less likely to repress our emotions
if we understand that some of our emotions come from an integration of sensations
performed by our brains, and are not a sign of irrationality. This is important because our
emotional process is the backup for our thinking process. In our technically advanced
society, reason is the only way to prosper, but if we make an error in our thinking, and
the resulting mental anxiety is not acknowledged, then without warning, we can suffer
the physical pain that results from not understanding our environment.
Whether it is the emotions which are formed before or after you begin to think, the
important fact is that your unique means of survival is your ability to think, and to act
based solely on your emotions is dangerous. But equally as dangerous is to act based
solely on your thoughts while not acknowledging your emotions. Happiness is
understanding your environment, which includes understanding your emotions.
17. ad1P5: What is your occupation and education?
I am a charter bus driver, which allows me to study during most of the day while my
customers are visiting places like Disneyland. I have the Degree of Associate in Science
from Chaffey College and am pursuing a Bachelor's in Biology.
18. ad1P5: What is your stand on abortion?
I would not stop anyone from removing anything from her body.
19. ad1P5: What is your stand on gun control?
I would not stop people from owning anything--except other people. Nor would I stop
them from using what they own in any manner they see fit.
20. ad1P5: What is your opinion on social programs?
Our government should defend the property of all Americans within our borders from
anyone who tries to rob us. Our government should be the only provider of contract
insurance, which would resolve contract disputes and pay the cost of defending all of us.
Any other "social programs" should not be provided by our government, but if they are,
our elected officials should have to compete for customers on the open market and not
force anyone to be part of their plans.
21. ad1P5: What is your opinion of President Clinton?
He speaks for about half of the voters. They seem to want our government to tax the
wealthy to pay for programs like health care. I wish his supporters would understand that
if they continue to give our government this power, their "wealth" will be used to pay for
other programs, and our President does not stop at our borders in his quest to set up more
and more programs. Philosophically, I disagree with his support of taxation--a nation
cannot survive if anyone is allowed to rob another.
22. ad1P5: Are you a Libertarian?
Yes, I joined in 1996 by calling 1-800-ELECT-US and was elected secretary of the
San Bernardino County region. "I hereby certify that I do not believe in or advocate the
initiation of force as a means of achieving political or social goals"--that is to say--I will
not start the use of force against other people.
23. 1P3: Is there a contract that our government would refuse to insure?
Yes, if it does not have instructions about dividing the partnership's common property.
When any insured partner places a claim with the government, the partnership is over.
All that should be done is the complete separation and distribution of all property.
Forcing people to stay together is a good way to get someone hurt and allowing them to
fight over their property is dangerous for everyone.
Of course all partners should be free to re-negotiate their deal at anytime and even
change their insurance coverage, but this involves no government intervention because
there is agreement among the participants. Government should step in only when there is
disagreement. Hopefully this will be a rare occurrence and everyone's relationships will
succeed, but to have some peaceful recourse if things go wrong is a valuable service that
a government can provide, which makes the money to protect all citizens from those who
have yet to learn the futility of starting the use of force against others.
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