The Duty of Free Speech

I saw in the news today that one person bit off another's finger during a debate on the nationalization of healthcare.  That's disappointing.  However, I am a big fan of lively and spirited debate.  I always enjoy participating in a passionate discussion on an issue with someone who holds a opinion very different than my own.  It's even more enjoyable when that other person has expended some effort in becoming educated on the issue.  This happened to me last night when I called my brother, Jared, to wish him a happy birthday.

These kinds of discussions help me to sharpen and refine my own thinking.  I remember when protests against the war in Iraq were characterized as "un-American speech" (as if there were such a thing).  Now, I see protests against the nationalization of health care characterized as "attacks against our president."  Nonsense.  Read what smart people on both sides have to say (there are smart people on both sides), and then open your mouth.  I think the right to Free Speech is more like a duty of Free Speech.

Warriors

I have a great respect for warriors, probably because they make up a great deal of my family history. My father was a warrior in the Air Force for twenty-six years, and he still is a great warrior. My older brother was also in the Air Force. Both of my grandfathers fought in WWII. Many of my great-grandfathers were in involved in WWI. I remember, as a young man, my mother told me that I would likely be involved in some great conflict, just like my fathers before me.

So far, I have not had to go to war. Of course, I fight traffic, and ignorance, my waist-line and personal battles with the natural man inside me. But, I've never been called upon to shed blood in defense of family, liberty or country. Most of my generation has also avoided such conflict. We send a few brave men and women out to fight on our behalf, but the great many of us stay at home and learn of the war's progress through edited television blurbs.


What if war does come? Will we be caught unprepared because of so many years of ease and perceived peace? Or, would we rise with courage and strength as a united people to meet the challenge, like those great generations before us?

Great

Fear-mongering has become a very popular tactic in modern political discourse.  You don't have to listen very long before you hear one party being accused of having a secret agenda to enslave the other.  Or, you hear that a rich class is using all of its power and influence to keep another group poor and helpless.  They're taking away your rights!  They're taking away your property!  Vote for me, vote for me.

In the Science of Being Great, Wallace D. Wattles said that "you can never become a great man or woman until you have overcome anxiety, worry, and fear. It is impossible for an anxious person, a worried one, or a fearful one to perceive truth; all things are distorted and thrown out of their proper relations by such mental states, and those who are in them cannot read the thoughts of God."

Now, more that ever, the world needs great men and women.  Now is the time to rise up above the din, and above the dust.  Now is the time to be great, and, in a great way, to show others the path to greatness.

The Great Divides

I have some pretty strongly held opinions about things.  If you look at my blog posts from several months ago, you will have a pretty good idea of which way I slant in terms of political and economic debate.  I have read a lot about politics and economics.  And, I have engaged in a lot of debate, and spent a lot of time thinking about those topics.  I say that to reasure you that my opinions are not thoughtlessly or casually held.

But, isn't it interesting that other people, people who appear to be of normal intelligence and average ability, much like myself, can hold opinions or belief systems totally different than mine.  And in many cases, not just totally different, but completely the opposite of mine.  For instance, I just finnished listening to President Obama's book, "The Audacity of Hope."  I enjoyed the stories he told about his life, they helped me understand him better.  However, I found myself disagreeing with every political and economic argument he made.  I just think he is plain wrong.  But, he, and many others, think that he is right on.

I don't think that we have dealt with this issue very well as a country over the last many years.  There are too many people living here to expect that we will all see things the same way.  There is no need make somebody your enemy, just because they have different political, economic, or even religous idea than you have. 

Think

Back in 1968, Aretha Franklin released her hit single, "Think", and it became a chart topping success.  I first saw and heard it performed during the movie "The Blues Brothers."  It's been a long time since I saw the movie, but it came back to my mind today as I thought about thinking.

This is the Information Age.  We are up to our necks in information.  The internet is like a firehose, gushing an inexhaustable supply of information into our minds faster than we can process it.  But, what are we doing with all that information?  What is the purpose in all our getting?  Is it really just a case of us “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” ? – 2 Timothy 3:7

I do a lot of learning, reading, and listening, it's my job.  But it's much more difficult to take on the work of thinking, not just letting the information wash over you, but evaluating the information, and then rejecting it, or making it your own. Taking a few minutes a day to think deeply may be one of the best things we can do during our day.  Think about your role as a husband and father, or wife and mother.  Think about your religious and political views.  Think about your life, and begin to live deliberately.  Thinking is perhaps the hardest work that people can do, but it may also be the most rewarding.  Think!

Good, Better, Best

In October, 2007, Elder Dallin H. Oaks gave a talk in LDS General Conference entitled Good, Better, Best. It's been a while since I read it, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately. There is so much to do. I am so busy all the time, and I'm sure most folks are. There are so many good activities to be a part of, and so much good and interesting information to be consumed. How am I supposed to have time for it all. The short answer is, I'm not. In his talk, Oaks says that more information is created in one minute on the internet, than one person could consume in a lifetime. There just isn't time for it all.

If so, "better" and "good" are not good enough. My time here on earth is finite, and comparably short. And, this world has so many of the best things to offer. An honest evaluation tells me that there is probably not even enough time for all of the best things. If that is the case, why should I be spending my time on anything but the best things?

I suppose that the most difficult work, then, is to quickly and correctly identify the best things, and then to spend my time engaging in only those activities.

Information Fast

Back in April, I read "The Four Hour Work Week", an interesting book that really changed the way I see the world. On the author's recommendation, I decided to go on an information fast. I stopped listening to talk radio. I stopped reading Drudge. I even stopped looking at the FEE and CATO websites. I must say that eliminating these things brought me a great deal of peace, and I hope, a little clarity. The world hasn't stopped turning. Some fascist government hasn't taken over the United States. I still have U.S. Dollars in my pocket.

So, I stopped writing, because I stopped reading. But, because of the encouragement of friends and family, I have decided to start writing again. And, I am starting to let a little more media back into my life. However, my posts will likely be quite a bit different than they were. I may still write about economics and politics sometimes , but that won't be the main focus of the blog. Again, on the advice of those close to me, I plan to spend more time actually writing my thoughts and ideas, and less time linking to the ideas of others. I hope to provide a little perspective, peace and clarity. Let me know how I'm doing.

Great Myths of the Great Depressionn

Lawrence W. Reed discusses the latest edition of his primer, "Great Myths of the Great Depression." Recorded at the annual Austrian Scholars Conference, Ludwig von Mises Institute, 12 March 2009.

Again Mr. President, that is not true

During the electionn, the President Elect made the following statement: "Few challenges facing America and the world are more urgent than combating climate change. The science is beyond dispute, and the facts are clear." On Monday, the CATO Institute ran a full page in in the New York Times that contained the following statement, and signed by many top climate change scientists: (To see the full page add, click here.)

With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.

"We, the undersigned scientists, maintain that the case for alarm regarding climate change is grossly overstated. Surface temperature changes over the past century have been episodic and modest and there has been no net global warming for over a decade now. After controlling for population growth and property values, there has been no increase in damages from severe weather-related events. The computer models forecasting rapid temperature change abjectly fail to explain recent climate behavior. Mr. President, your characterization of the scientific facts regarding climate change and the degree of certainty informing the scientific debate is simply incorrect."

Quote of the Week

"Never doubt that a small group of concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

Milton Friedman takes on Donahue

Enjoy this short two and a half minute video of Milton Friedman on the Donahue show explaining the virtues of Greed.

Rand, Paterson, and Lane

"This Women's History Month, on the sixty-third anniversary of their monumental triple achievement, the Cato Institute pays homage to three women without whom it would not exist."  In an artilcle entitled Three Women Who Launched a Movement, CATO discusses Isabel Paterson's The God of the Machine, Rose Lane's The Discovery of Freedom, and Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and (later) Atlas Shrugged, all published in 1943.

In a time of great political and economic turmoil, when most people assumed that socialism was the wave of the future, and almost unavoidable, these three women presented the ideas of individualism, capitalism, and the virtue of free markets is such an understandable and persuasive way, that they effected a great intellectual change in American society.  This article got me thinking, we could sure use another Ayn Rand right about now.

Quote of the Week

“You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating the very phrases which our founding fathers used in their struggle for independence”

Charles Austin Beard

Less Than Nothing

New article on FEE discussing the pressing question, what should the Governement do to stimulate the economy.  Sheldon Richman thinks that absolutely nothing is too much, the better answer is Less Than Nothing.

The Fallacy of the Short Run

Another great article on FEE entitled Not So Fast!: The Fallacy of the Short Run, by William Anderson. In this article, the author discusses, in greater detail, the problems with economic shortsightedness. In the article, he also quotes from Lawrence Reed’s 7 Fallacies of Economics.

"Some actions seem beneficial in the short run but produce disaster in the long run: drinking excessively, driving fast, spending blindly, and printing money, to name a few. To quote the venerable Henry Hazlitt again, “The bad economist sees only what immediately strikes the eye; the good economist also looks beyond. The bad economist sees only the direct consequences of a proposed course; the good economist looks also at the longer and indirect consequences.”

"Politicians seeking to win the next election frequently support policies which generate short- run benefits at the expense of future costs. It is a shame that they sometimes carry the endorsement of economists who should know better.

"The good economist does not suffer from tunnel vision or shortsightedness. The time span he considers is long and elastic, not short and fixed."

We've been vandalized!

Henry Hazlitt begins his book, Economics in One Lesson, with a simple illustrative story. The story involves an act of vandalism. Some street punk has thrown a brick through the window of a local baker. Townsfolk gather round, as townsfolk often will, and they start talking, as they often do. At first, the folks are angry with the unknown vandal, and feel bad for the baker. However, as they keep talking, they decide that the act of vandalism is actually a benefit to the community. The baker must now pay the glazier to replace the glass, the cost will be a few hundred dollars. Then, the glazier will have more money, and he will spend that in the community, maybe even hire a new employee with the increased business. That money, in turn will be spent somewhere else, and so on, and so on throughout the community. Wonderful!

But, what about the baker? Maybe he had planned to buy a new suit with that $200.00. But, now he must pay for a new window, and buy a new suit. Or, maybe he will not be able to buy the suit at all. If so, then the tailor will not be paid. Either way, the baker is damaged because he has lost the ability to spend his money as he will, because of the vandal's actions. And, truly, the community is no better off in the long run if the glazier gets paid rather than the tailor.

The shortsightedness of the townsfolk's response to the vandalism is the root problem of all bad economic theory. From a family's poor economic choices to a big government trillion dollar inflate and stimulate plan, the problem is the inability to see beyond the "short run."  The long term effects of these decisions, and the potential unintended consequences, are never considered. And I think more importantly, the long term effects of economic meddling cannot be anticipated. So, when we are told that an act of vandalism, or an act of unprecedented borrowing, will provide a quick fix to the economy, we should stop and think. What about the long term?

Cliches of Socialism

You've heard it before, "the more complex the society, the more government control we need." Many years ago, Leonard E. Read published a one page rebuttle to this often heard socialist cliche.

I recommend that you read it, and begin to train your mind in the ways of liberty and freedom. We hear so many socialist influences throughout any given day, we must combat those ideas with study and practice. Lies and deception are easy to overcome. However, if you hear too much of it, you may become numb to their influences. You must be vigilant in constantly studying liberty, and being prepared to rebut the foolishness we hear all around us.

In this short, one page article, Mr. Read quickly explains away a common, and widley accepted falacy. Read the article, and then find some unsuspecting socialist who's day you might ruin with such simple truth.

Quotes of the Week

"Having federal officials, whether judges, bureaucrats, or congressmen, impose a new definition of marriage on the people is an act of social engineering profoundly hostile to liberty.

"Capitalism should not be condemned, since we haven't had capitalism.

"A system of capitalism presumes sound money, not fiat money manipulated by a central bank. Capitalism cherishes voluntary contracts and interest rates that are determined by savings, not credit creation by a central bank.

"I am just absolutely convinced that the best formula for giving us peace and preserving the American way of life is freedom, limited government, and minding our own business overseas.

"In time it will become clear to everyone that support for the policies of pre-emptive war and interventionist nation-building will have much greater significance than the removal of Saddam Hussein itself.

"Legitimate use of violence can only be that which is required in self-defense.

"Our country's founders cherished liberty, not democracy.

"Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms.

"The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing bankruptcy and economic turmoil to our people.

"The most important element of a free society, where individual rights are held in the highest esteem, is the rejection of the initiation of violence.

Ron Paul

A Trillion Wrongs

There is a new article on the FEE website written by Lawrence W. Reed, entitled A Trillion Wrongs Don’t Make a Right. It is a scathing review of politicians and business men alike. A short but sweet article that helps put in perspective what is truly happening in our country. However, my favorite part is his quote of a portion of Resolution No. 2 of the 85th General Assembly of the State of Indiana, passed by that state’s House and Senate in January 1947. It reads as follows:

"Indiana needs no guardian and intends to have none. We Hoosiers—like the people of our sister states—were fooled for quite a spell with the magician’s trick that a dollar taxed out of our pockets and sent to Washington will be bigger when it comes back to us. We have taken a good look at said dollar. We find that it lost weight in its journey to Washington and back. The political brokerage of the bureaucrats has been deducted. We have decided that there is no such thing as ‘federal’ aid. We know that there is no wealth to tax that is not already within the boundaries of the 48 states.

"So we propose henceforward to tax ourselves and take care of ourselves. We are fed up with subsidies, doles and paternalism. We are no one’s stepchild. We have grown up. We serve notice that we will resist Washington, D.C. adopting us."

From the news reports, it sounds like we have a few governors that may still possess such resolve.

Keep your eye on Bobby Jindal

An article on the Drudge Report today indicating that "Louisiana May Not Take Stimulus Money." Bobby Jindal is the governor of Louisiana, and "has suggested his state may not be interested in all of the roughly $4 billion allotted to it in the economic stimulus package to be signed by President Obama." Jindal said "We'll have to review each program, each new dollar to make sure that we understand what are the conditions, what are the strings and see whether it's beneficial for Louisiana to use those dollars..."

Jindal has shown signs of true conservatism, and is being called the conservative's Barak Obama. He is keeping a low profile, but is being talked about as a Republican presidential candidate for 2012.

Apocalypse Now

You know, I guess folks think that if we hear foolishness enough times and from enough sources, spoken with a clear and confident forked tongue, it will be impossible for us to resist it. I mean, I just saw a Time magazine cover with a headline declaring that we need more government to save the United States! Really? Maybe if they say that enough times, then it will become true.

Another of my favorites is global warming. What a boondoggle! Honestly, with global warming, the more times I hear it preached, the angrier I get. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but seriously folks. I mean, the perveyors of this drivel must know that it's a crock of Pelosi. How could they not? Anyway, I just read an article by George Will providing a little perspective of global warming by the way of recent history. It's entitled Apocalypse Now? Highly Unlikely.

Quote of the Week

"Perhaps the fact that we have seen millions voting themselves into complete dependence on a tyrant has made our generation understand that to choose one's government is not necessarily to secure freedom."

"We must face the fact that the preservation of individual freedom is incompatible with a full satisfaction of our views of distributive justice."

"If we wish to preserve a free society, it is essential that we recognize that the desirability of a particular object is not sufficient justification for the use of coercion.”

Friedrich August von Hayek

Happy Birthday Mr. President

In honor of the late Ronald Reagan's birthday , February 6, I have posted the following quotations:

Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.

How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.

I have left orders to be awakened at any time in case of national emergency, even if I'm in a cabinet meeting.

Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man.

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Quote of the Week

My older brother Aaron published the following quote as a comment to one of last week's blog posts. Brilliant!

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S Lewis

How Big is Too Big?

There may be a certain community size where a pure governmental system can exist. Maybe 100 people could live together in a perfect socialist society, or a perfectly democratic society. But when the community gets large, they necessarily live under a mix of several governmental types. I believe that America is still predominantly a representational democracy living under a free market system. There is a good bit of socialism going on, some egalitarianism, and a bit of libertarianism and anarchy thrown in for good measure.

Accepting that the government needs to be a certain size to govern this people, it is important to ask how big it needs to be. And, how big is too big. CATO has an article on their website today discussing a study about the optimum size of government. The study shows that the optimum size of government is about 25% of GDP. The bad news is that the U.S. Government today is about 36% of GDP, and getting larger by the day. To read the article, click here.

Mr. President, that is not true.

Recently, the President made the following statement:  "There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help to jumpstart the economy."  Today, the CATO Institute ran a full page in in the New York Times that contained the following statement, and signed by many top economists including Nobel laureates and other prominent scholars:  (To see the full page add, click here.)

"With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.

Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we all support a big increase in the burden of government, we do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan's "lost decade" in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today. To improve the economy, policy makers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth."

Quote of the Week

"In the midst of all the exactions of government, capital has been silently and gradually accumulated by the private frugality and good conduct of individuals, by their universal, continual, and uninterrupted effort to better their own condition. It is this effort, protected by law and allowed by liberty to exert itself in the manner that is most advantageous, which has maintained the progress of England towards opulence and improvement in almost all former times...

It is the highest impertinence and presumption, therefore, in kings and ministers, to pretend to watch over the economy of private people, and to restrain their expense... They are themselves always, and without any exception, the greatest spendthrifts in the society. Let them look well after their own expense, and they may safely trust private people with theirs. If their own extravagance does not ruin the state, that of their subjects never will."

Adam Smith
The Wealth of Nations, Book II, Chapter III

Legalized Plunder

Imagine ten people living on a desert island.  Nine of the them are very poor, living in squalor.  The other is very wealthy.  Through hard work and industry, the tenth person has built ten fine homes, surrounded by productive farmland.  Most would agree that the nine have no legal right to forceably take the property of the tenth person.  That would be theft.

However, what if the nine other persons decided to form a government.  They band together, and elect themselves to various offices.  Despite best efforts, the tenth person is not elected to any office.  After forming this government, the nine decide to pass a law, imposing a 90% "tax" on the property of those in the top 10% income bracket.  The new law is voted on, and passes by a strong majority, 9 to 1.  After the vote, the nine each move into, and take possession, of one of the homes and surrounding farmland of the tenth person.  Is this "legal?"  What say ye?

Quote of the Week

"To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited for it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job."


— Douglas Adams (The Restaurant at the End of the Universe)

Obama Stimulus Bears a Closer Look

There is a new article by Will Wilkinson today at the CATO Institute site with a short review of and recommendation for Obama's proposed stimulus plan.  The article is entitled "Obama Stimulus Bears a Closer Look."  A tax cut to individuals and businesses would be an immediate stimulus to the economy.  The author proposes a Social Security Payroll Tax cut.  This would be easy to do, and would give tax breaks to both individuals and businesses.  Also, when the crisis is averted, the tax could be easily reinstated.

The part of Obama's plan that involves building infrastructure is a different story.  This would not act as an immediate stimulus, and would allow for plenty of corruption.  I am never comfortable when the government thinks it can do a better job spending my money than I can.

Unassailable Tyranny of a Minority

New article by George Will entitled "Of Judges, By Judges, For Judges." The article discusses the problems generated for individuals, families and society when judges are creating law instead of enforcing law.

Newspaper Bailout Would Undermine Political Freedom

Check out the article published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute discussing  the potential effects of a proposed government bailout of the newspaper industry.

World's Freest Economy

The numbers are out this year, ranking the world's economies from the most free to the least.  I think most of us would generally expect the United States to stand securely at the top of that list.  Turns out that the Heritage Foundation has ranked Hong Kong as the world's freest economy, for the fifteenth year in a row!  Take a minute to review the article.  You may or may not be suprised to see that the United States slipped to sixth place this year, because of "increased government spending and tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic product."  Must say that I am not a little disapointed.

Quote of the Week

"Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods."

-- H. L. Mencken 

(1880-1956) American Journalist, Editor, Essayist, Linguist, Lexicographer, and Critic