The debt we owe for being born into a prosperous and free country is to preserve that environment for those yet to come. Freedom must always be protected and preserved, just as any natural resource requires preservation and protection. One generation that selfishly consumes more of a resource than can be replenished denies future generations of that resource. At times, entire generations may prohibit using a resource to allow that resource to replenish so future generations will have it.
Countries the world over create laws against poaching animals to preserve the population for the people, yet there are always those who will do whatever benefits them the most, regardless of the consequences to humanity. These people didn’t help build the populations of the animals they poach, though others have spent decades preserving and protecting them. Others build the population, then poachers step in and take without having contributed, destroying what others have built. They profit, and everyone else pays the price. Poaching is illegal because it is a form of theft, destroying what others have created/protected/built and denying future generations the resources.
Just as some poach animals, others poach freedom. Freedom came at the cost of many lives and continues to cost lives to preserve and protect. Freedom (individual rights being recognized as super-ordinate to governmental powers) results in a free market system whereby even the poorest of people can completely change their lives through inventing, building, and bringing to market products and services that benefit society.
America is the wealthiest country the world has ever seen due to the freedoms many generations have protected. In America, anyone can (or used to) create an invention, bring it to market, and become wealthy. Because of this dynamic, we have the most affluent customer base in the world. When corporations partner with the government to use regulations to hamper or prohibit competition, they force people to buy from them and cash in on the wealth available from the consumers, yet do so at the cost of opportunity for society. Doing so destroys the entrepreneurial environment that made that group who and what they are: middle-class Americans. Regulations create an undue burden on would-be entrepreneurs. The result is that those benefitting from regulations earn more than they would in a free market, while those affected by the rules become poorer and earn less than they can. Regulations bankrupt customers (small business owners and employees) over time, resulting in a two-tier society of haves and have-nots.
The secret to America’s superpower status is the productivity of the middle class. Our freedoms and lack of regulation allow low to middle-income people to build businesses, employ people, and raise their financial position.
Poaching freedom is a form of opportunity theft, depriving the people of the opportunities they rightfully deserve and denying them their pursuit of happiness. These poachers may die wealthy, but they have left the nation deprived of the inventions of would-be entrepreneurs affected by the regulations that benefit large companies. They are “poaching” freedom and leaving future Americans condemned to a serf class.