The playwright turned hero died on December 18,2011. He was described by CNN as “the shy but iron-willed Czech writer endowed with a playful sense of humor and a powerful [...]
ethics

Slowly and incessantly, recognition regarding the true nature of government is seeping into the consciousness of the public. The internet is certainly an important factor in this change in beliefs, as is the economic devastation that has plagued the nation.
Whether this recognition is coming quickly enough to offset the totalitarian trends is moot. The recognition is beginning after government has taken control of much of the economy and society. As a betting man, I believe the move toward totalitarianism will continue — for awhile. Longer term, probably defined in decades rather than years, the American people will become aroused enough to take back their country and individualism. Freedom is a part of our genetic make-up. When it is apparent to enough people what is happening, Atlas will shrug, or punch back.
The State has a massive propaganda campaign and always had. The ruling elite and their cronies benefit greatly from the current dominance of government. These include elected politicians, lobbyists, the bureaucracy, big business, big labor, welfare recipients and the press among others. All have incentives to support bigger government at the expense of free markets. All have monetary benefits and protective barriers that would not exist in free markets.
Free markets and individualism are threats to these groups. It is not accidental that ventures like Solyndra and other flights of fancy cannot be financed in a marketplace. These ideas were hare-brained schemes to begin with. That is also true of the Chevy Volt and so many other crony capitalist ideas. Someday, I hope, history will record the Edsel as a bigger success than the Volt.
Elitists “know’ they are smarter than the rest of us. Yet people with common sense reject most of their ideas. Massive government is necessary to coerce others to behave according to their wisdom. Force is the only reason we get the wild schemes that become, at best, expensive and, at worst, tragic in terms of the pain imposed on citizens. Few of these schemes would stand a chance in the marketplaces of ideas, free choice or true markets.
Crony capitalism loves big government. Quid pro quos between Congress and business produce near monopoly returns for both sides. Furthermore, restrictive laws are useful to prevent competition. Bailouts enable companies and banks to take risks they otherwise would not engage in.
The State is now rotten to the core. It is the reason why the standard of living has been declining for decades. It is a parasite that has crippled the golden goose and will completely destroy it if not stopped.
Wolf Richter www.testosteronepit.com:
Congress is the ideal American institution: it spends far more than it takes in and borrows the difference. We love that. To heck with the future. It means free money, services, wars, and other goodies. At least some of us get to profit from it. And then we blow it or invest it, and lose it or make money on it. It all adds up to that glorious GDP. It’s the American dream.
Lawmakers are so efficient at it that 36% of every dollar in the budget has to be borrowed…. Oh wait. They don’t do budgets anymore. They’re uncool. They do continuing resolutions. Given this bottomless largesse, mathematically speaking, it’s logical that Congress would have sky-high approval rating. Wait…. Oh no!
Only 11% of the people approve of the Herculean job lawmakers are doing, according to Gallup, which has a knack for peeking at our innermost feelings. It’s the lowest score since Gallup started tracking it in 1974.
How can that be? Didn’t we just learn that it’s a virtuous activity for lawmakers to give out privileged information on pending legislation? Profiting from opportunity is an American principle we cherish. So, a few hedge funds were given tradable information about compromises in the healthcare law just before the announcement on December 8, 2009. According to the Wall Street Journal:
They belong to a select group who pay for early, firsthand Continue reading »
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