RUSH: I got an e-mail during the break, and our first call somewhat related to this. But I got an e-mail. “Rush, are you against the government building roads? How else do you think it’s going to happen?”

There are certain things to me that are self-evident that are common sense that maybe are not to others. So let me spell it out. I’m not against the government building roads. That is a legitimate government function. But I am very much against the government claiming that their building the road is the reason somebody on the road is successful. I’m deeply resentful — I don’t care where you find it in life — of people trying to claim credit for the achievements of others.

That really rubs me raw.

But as far as legitimate government functions — building schools, building roads and bridges — those are perfectly acceptable and fine government functions. But see, I don’t hear Chuck Schumer talking ever about individualism, freedom, liberty, free enterprise, the Constitution. When Chuck Schumer starts on his Big Government-defense rant, it’s at the expense of everything else. Government must be primary and it must be large, at the expense of individualism, liberty, free enterprise, and especially the Constitution.

Now, redistributing wealth, that is not a legitimate government function. Nationalizing industries and taking them over, that’s for people like Hugo Chavez, but not us. Destroying industries, targeting industries for destruction, picking and choosing winners and losers in the private sector like Obama has been doing since his first day, that isn’t legitimate. Stealing? Stealing over 50% of a person’s income?

That’s not a legitimate government function. You add the top federal marginal rate to the top state marginal rate, and then you throw in property taxes — and then you add FICA, Social Security and Medicare taxes — and there are a lot of Americans who are having the government confiscate over half of what they earn. That’s not a legitimate government function, and if that’s what government must do in order to be big and good, then you can leave me out.

It’s not necessary, and I would call your attention to Scott Walker in Wisconsin, again, who, in a matter of two years, took a huge budget deficit and turned it into a nearly $1 billion surplus and instituted a tax cut. That is the proper use of government. Do you think that it’s a legitimate function of government to run up a national debt of $17 trillion? And then let’s add in the unfunded and underfunded obligations such as pensions and Soc. Security, any number of other things, and we’re talking about $90 trillion that we’ve spent that we haven’t produced.

Is that a legitimate government function?

So you want to stack all that up against building roads and bridges, and that’s how you want to defend Big Government is they build roads and build bridges? I’ll concede that. Fine. Build all the roads you want. Build all the bridges you want. Legitimate. But none of the other stuff is. You libs, let me ask you a question. Do you use toilet paper or do you use leaves? Government doesn’t make toilet paper.

The private sector makes the toilet paper. Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark. Government doesn’t run ’em. Do you use toilet paper, Chuck-U? Mr. President, do you use toilet paper? The government doesn’t make it. Senator Schumer, do you like to eat? I happen to know he does. I’ve been to dinner with Chuck-U. Chuck-U can pack it in, by the way. He’s one of these guys that doesn’t gain weight. He just can pack it in — and, you know what?

The private sector produces the food.

The government doesn’t feed anybody, not until they take the food that’s already been produced and give it away. You leftists, do you like your clothes? The private sector makes clothes. Government doesn’t make your clothes. Government makes roads and bridges? Big whoop. How about the car you drive? Outside of General Motors, the government doesn’t make the car you drive. How about the plane you ride in?

Ah, if you riding an Airbus, fine. You get what you pay for. It’s made by the British and the French, a triumvirate of governments over there. But if you ride in an American-made plane, the government’s not building it. Right? How about the gasoline? Oh, no, the government doesn’t do that because you people hate it! Even the electricity that’s powering your precious EVs with comes from coal.

Government hates coal.

Government hates gasoline.

Government hates oil.

It doesn’t make any of it, doesn’t produce any of it, doesn’t distribute any of it, doesn’t sell any of it. It doesn’t make it possible for you to have it, period. The private sector does.