ARI President Tal Tsfany in the short clip below explains ARI reasoning.
There is quite a bit I disagree with that is promoted by ARI but I think they are on solid ground in taking the funds.
I discussed the taking of bailout funds with a slightly different justification back in April: Should Libertarians Cash Their Bailout Checks? but the ARI justification is also fine.
We are fighting a guerilla war and we should turn our enemy's supply lines into our own.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. The only sad thing is that most people, even business owners, were literally too dumb to even know what the PPP is, or to realize that they're eligible for it. It was astounding to watch.
DeleteSome crafty libertarian law firm could make a sweet buck by setting itself up as a match-maker that tries to line up eligible libertarians with available federal money.
DeleteI'm pretty sure most of the National Endowment for Athens Arts money ends up in the hands of commie artists..... why not capture some of that cheddar? We have artists. How do they file for a grant? I honestly don't know.
I agree that if someone is a net tax payer (as opposed to a net tax consumer), then there is nothing wrong in receiving money from the relevant government up to the amount already paid in as taxes. However, is that really the case for the ARI? They are a 501(c)(3) organization, so are exempt from federal taxes.
ReplyDeleteSure, the individuals who work there might be net tax payers, but they would be improperly conflating their own financial situations with that of the ARI if they used their own taxpaying status to justify the ARI receiving these monies.
It is a difficult issue. But applying for PPP "loans" is making a deal with the devil. ARI's president makes a clever argument but they have to participate in a lie in order to get their stolen property returned. PPP is essentially a government grant to pay employees for not working. A grant that must be funded by taxes or FED inflation which steals from millions of individuals. An action that enables the government to continue to lie and steal. It makes government and might makes right stronger not weaker. Liberty and a rational life are means not ends and achieving them cannot include actions which degrade them.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your purity, but as Steve Miller once said: "Hoo-hoo-hoo, go on, take the money and run".
DeleteWalter Block sang background vocals on that one.
It has nothing to do with purity. It has to do with reality. Either you respect the sanctity of the individual or you do not. Playing by the government's illegitimate rules in an attempt to defend ourselves is self-defeating.
DeleteLike Captain Capitalism says, did the Free Shit Army not stupidly vote for this? Hey, take the money.
ReplyDeleteIf you're explaining you're losing.
ReplyDelete