Part One, American Government and U.S. Constitution

Lesson 9 of 27:	Name: _______________________

Part II: The Founders' Basic Principles –	28 great Ideas that Changed the World

7th Principle : Equal Rights, Not Equal Things

Reading Assignment: The 5000 Year Leap: 7th Principle (pages 115-121)

Lesson objectives: As a result of this lesson. the student should be able to discuss the following questions/topics:

l. What powers can be legitimately assigned to government? (pages 115-16)

People Can Delegate Only Authority They Have

a-Have the right to protect life and property.

il- Police Dept Created il- Fire Dept Created (authority we have delegated to others)

2. What are the natural results of a government's assuming the authority to take from the "haves" and give to the "have nots "? (116-17)

Usurpation - Govt expanding what they were intended to do.

il- forced car donation not from 'we the people'

il- fenced swimming pools by force not from 'we the people'

Il- forced licensor of 'plumbers' vs.

3. Protecting equal rights for all provides for what great economic freedoms? (117-18)

Equal right means:

* No penalty for getting rich - property not being treated equal for the rich and the poor.

* No one locked into poverty

* No one to prevent failure: Right to Fail (e.g. Crop subsidies)

* Everyone can become wealthy!

4. America excelled all other nations in at least four ways because it protected equal rights instead of trying to provide equal things. Name these four achievements. Give proof that the founders made "leveling" unconstitutional. (119)

America was becoming-

* Most Prosperous	* Best educated	* Freest	* Most generous

Utopian Schemes = Unconstitutional

o Utopia	'U-'= no or negative; '-topia ' = land

-Utopia = no land; never, never land; fantasy land

o Leveling = taking from haves, give to have nots

o Socialism = government ownership of production and distribution

5. Where did Benjamin Franklin gain experience that helped him learn how to effectively care for the poor? What kind of compassion did he consider counterproductive? (119-20)

Counter-Productive Compassion

* Increases Drunkenness	* Breeds dependency	* Blunts desire for work

* Smothers instinct to strive

Part II: The Founders' Basic Principles –	28 great Ideas that Changed the World

7th Principle : Equal Rights, Not Equal Things

Conclusion

6. State the five principles that summarize the founders' views on how to help the truly poor by means of "calculated" compassion. (120-21)

"Calculated" Compassion

*1 Do not help completely; help them help themselves

*2 Give the poor the feeling of "earned achievement"

*3 Allow the poor to climb the "appreciation ladder"

*4 Do not prolong help to the point of habit

*5 Enforce scale of responsibility

-a. self

-b. family

-c. church

-d. community (most welfare would stop here)

-e. county

-f. state (founders: this should be the highest level of welfare)

*6 Never the federal government