capitalism & freedom or socialism & control

Since moving to Australia I've always thought that in general the people in Australia were smarter than those in the USA and hadn't yet been affected to a large extent by the 'liberal disease'.

American prosperity and success in the past was built on property rights, the rule of law, and individual freedom and responsibility. The same in Australia.

As these have been eroded over time and the the dumbing down of America has increased we ended up with the current situation in America: the rule of law no longer applies, corruption in government, and the election of a dimwit by an uneducated ignorant people that is destroying what is left of America's traditional strengths.

With the election of Mr Rudd it now apparent to me that the 'liberal disease' has infected those in government here as well.

Forget the 40% rate, the 6% threshold, or even the industry that the tax is targeted at.

The basic question with this tax plan is the role of the government in destroying property rights, the rule of law, and individual freedom. It is capitalism vs socialism. Period.

The application of this 'tax' is nothing more than the government taking anothers' property without compensation. It is destroying property rights. The minerals are not in fact 'owned by every Australian'. (Now that sounds exactly like what an old lefty socialist or communist would say - What's "mine" is "mine" and what's yours is 40% "mine").

The application of this law also flouts the 'rule of law' by making the tax retrospective and applying it to mines already in operation.

The application of this law destroys individual freedom by the government basically saying to those affected by the tax to "shut up and accept the tax - we're going to do it no matter what'. Whatever happned to the person's ability to speak ones mind and freedom to express ones opinion?

Forget the numbers and mechanics of the tax: the basic question is one of capitalism and freedom versus one of socialism and over reaching government control.

Will the people of Australia stand up for their rights and freedom or go down the path of socialism and government control? I've always thought that people here were smart. I guess we'll have to wait and see..........