According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s website, Labor Day (the first Monday in September, the first of which was held on September 5, 1882) is “a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

Those great contributions by U.S. workers to this country’s standard of living, however, have not occurred in a vacuum.  They are a product of this country’s market liberalism – a blend of labor, capital, entrepreneurship and a healthy respect for the free-market process, with limited intrusion by government.   

We believe that one of the best ways to honor the American worker and those principles which have made this country great is for those who populate our various governments to respect those workers and their contributions – by acting in a limited, responsible and frugal way with the taxes that government exacts.  So on this Labor Day 2008, we recall two quotes from Thomas Jefferson:

• “A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned – this is the sum of good government.” 
• “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”