Government controls nearly every aspect of our lives.

We live under a thinly-veiled socialist/fascist economic system — from Social Security and welfare to regulation of the railroads. We must never forget that the word “Nazi” is the German contraction for “National Socialism.” We must never forget that the totalitarian state, whether left (communism) or the right (fascism), always ends in mass death — with the wealthy, the educated and the moral being the first killed.

As for envy: making money is good; getting rich is good; being able to keep the wealth one has produced is good. Living off the taxes of your neighbor is evil. Having children you can’t afford to house and feed is evil, signing a mortgage contract you can’t fulfill is evil.

The wealth of your neighbor was not stolen from you, or anybody else. It was created by those who produced it.

The only moral and practical solution? Separate government from the marketplace, the press, the altar, the lectern, the operating room, the counting house, etc.

The mechanism? A strictly limited Constitution enshrining reason, egoism, and individualism (the real meaning of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness), and granting the government its only legitimate powers: the military, a court system, and police powers to protect life and property.

Occupy Wall Street demonstrators and their supports should be treated as terrorists: mocked, shunned, despised and arrested.

Ray Shelton

Glendale