Lead by George W. Bush’s heavy hand, Republicans have abandoned principle in some small corner of a dark closet. The last straw came when they proposed and passed a law that raised the minimum wage while sneaking in a reduction in the death tax.

In Spain, more than 20% of the economy operates underground. Young people can’t find jobs. People with jobs do not dare to leave them for fear of spending years looking for the next one. For the clever ones, unemployment subsidies act as extra income. Business associations, unions and the government call meetings, but never come to any agreements. And what is the Prime Minister’s solution?

The goal of freedom and social welfare necessarily leads to eliminating state intervention. We must not fight just to copy some other country. Our effort needs to focus on getting the state off our backs, stopping it from intervening in everything and having each of us take responsibility for our own actions.

What role does the State play in economic welfare? None. It shouldn’t invent “diets” of any kind. It should trash all the socialist laws that penalize work. It should remove business and union privileges. It should eliminate taxes on consumption, investment and saving.