LETTERS: AS ADULTS, NO NEED FOR BIG BROTHER

To the editor:

When we were young, it was nice to have a big brother to protect you and help direct you in facing the outside world. As children a big brother was beneficial. As adults a big brother can be painful. But many of those who consider themselves adults still cling to the idea of a big brother to help them face the outside world. The big brother used by many is government to help them face the challenges of the market.

As children, we didn't expect our big brother to take something belonging to others and give it to us. Our big brother would probably reject such a demand anyway and give us a lesson in old-fashioned morality. But many of those in business, such as farming with support prices, set-asides and subsidies, and other businesses using subsidies and grants are using the big brother of government to supply them with the earnings of others. They often use the excuse that they couldn't make a living without the subsidies, but what about the lives of those paying in the taxes to provide the money for those subsidies? Don't those who earn that money have more of a right to enjoy it? Fully two-thirds of the money taken from the earners to pay for the costs of subsidies and other programs are used up by administration of these programs. The money benefits mostly the administrators. Is it time to say no to these programs and try another route? If the business is unprofitable, why not try something else to make a living? Big brothers were nice to have around when we were children, but as adults it is time for us to use our own means to achieve our goals. It is time to stop using government to take from others what we want. It is time for some old-fashioned morality. Wouldn't the absence of a big brother taking from others what belongs to them make us better adults? We are no longer children.

JAMES NALL

Marble Hill