Looking for Order in a Chaotic World

An Educated Electorate

One of the main reasons our country is going down the flusher is because the general electorate is so profoundly ignorant of basic principles of government and economics.  It isn't that hard to get a basic understanding of what makes the (political) world go round.  If you were only to read a few books these are the ones I would recommend.

The US Constitution
I am continually amazed at how few people have read this.  It's only a few pages for crying out loud.  Every American over the age of 16 should read this periodically.

Economics in One Lesson
or
Basic Economics

The Law

Law 101

Leaving the Nest and it's Effect on the Economy

CNN Money recently ran an article about young adults living with their parents. The gist of the article was that because of the job shortage many young adults are still living with their parents or have moved back in. Their thoughtful conclusion is that because these young folks aren't out buying homes or renting apartments there is less demand for housing (so far so good, I would say) but the author then comes to the conclusion that "as a result, the economy as a whole suffers when young adults fail to venture out on their own". Here I beg to differ. This type of thinking illustrates the lack of understanding most people have about economics. While it is true that housing demand decreases, this does not in and of itself adversely affect the economy because every dollar that was not spent on housing is spent elsewhere. If a young person can't afford housing then the economy would not be helped by them attempting to pay for it. Doing so would force them to either cut back on other expenses ("hurting" the economy) or incur debt (also not helpful to an economy). Economics requires that you look at the whole picture not just one cause and one effect. I know, it seems nit-pick-y but it's an important principle.

Price Signals for College Majors

One of the critical elements of a free economy is the concept of price. The cost of something reflects how abundant and available it is. Theoretically the more expensive it is the more difficult it is to produce or the more limited it is. This is the economy's way of asking how bad you really need something. Price communicates value and should send a signal to society when they can buy more of it and when they should seek alternatives. One facet of our economy seems to be resistant to these price signal though: higher education. For decades the economy has been sending price signals that our society needs more engineers and scientists. However, we continue to see a decline in math based majors coming out of college. Although there are many reasons that the unemployment in this country is so high, perhaps one of the reasons is that we are not listening to the price signals that the economy is sending. I think it's saying that we don't need so many English majors, law students, and political scientists. If you pick one of these degrees don't be surprised when it's tough to get a job. The economy told you not to do it.

The Sad State of Journalism

A few items in the news have reminded me of the sad state of journalism integrity lately. First, the hiring of Elizabeth Smart by CBS News to provide commentary on missing persons cases for Good Morning America. Instead of striving for an objective perspective and factual reporting of the news, CBS seems oblivious to the clear potential for biased reporting and much more interested in the entertainment value Ms Smart will provide.

CBS was also recently outed for altering coverage of the fireworks in Boston. After their little "creative journalism" was discovered, they played it off as though people just expect that news should be considered entertainment. "Oh you took our journalism seriously as though we were supposed to be objectively reporting on actual events? How naive of you".

Journalism has degenerated into just another "reality program" that is fixated on viewership and will stoop to biased views, alteration of facts, and a general disregard for fairness, objectivity, and truth.

Defending Freedom

Tomorrow I will celebrate Independence Day. Like so many other holidays that bear little semblance to their original premise, I think that the 4th of July has become hollow and trivial compared to it's origins. I sadly believe that too many Americans have little understanding of the principles behind the independence and liberty that we celebrate.
Politics can be a complex and thorny topic and sometimes it seems that the more people talk about it the less they agree. Perhaps this is because people don't argue about politics to come to agreement but I think a more likely reason is that people aren't discussing the right questions. Too often the debate and arguments about political subjects revolves around intentions, as though some people want peace, prosperity, and safety and others don't. It turns out everyone wants these things and sincerely believes that their ideas are the best way to achieve them. Unfortunately most people don't realize the ingredients that lead to this happy state of being.

We all sing the praises of freedom and pay honor to the founders of our country and way of life. We seem on the surface to value freedom and yet freedom is eroding. Why is this? Sadly it is not because of some foreign enemy who has declared war on our freedom. The enemy is our own misguided intentions that lack understanding of principles. The enemy is our own ignorance.

I believe that freedom is essential to happiness and that mankind deserves and has an inalienable right to individual liberty. Freedom is always a two edged sword bringing both great prosperity and happiness and terrible destruction and suffering. We cannot eliminate one without the other and herein lies the paradox and the difficulty of politics. We try a million different ways to uncouple those twin effects of liberty. We want to enjoy the all the good that freedom offers without the negative effects.

I believe the proper role of government is to protect our individual liberty and rights not to give us everything in life we might need or want. It can't give us those things no matter how much we legislate and mandate it because ultimately government is nothing more than us. We cannot accomplish through laws what we cannot bring ourselves to do individually.

I believe that an immoral society cannot be free. It's not vogue to call anything a sin these days. Political correctness says you can't call anything wrong and so we have to discuss every type of behavior, sexual conduct, and indulgence as equally valid lifestyle choices. We think that perversion, violence, and dishonesty can happen in a vacuum and only effect those who indulge in these things and perhaps a few others in close proximity. Maybe you don't like the word sin but that's what it's called. There are some things that are simply wrong and cannot be allowed without adversely affecting the fabric of our society. Freedom won't do us any good without an overwhelming majority of people who live with honesty and have respect for the property of others, who are willing to hard work and possess genuine compassion for others and a willingness to help those in need without thought of reward. We cannot ignore God or imagine one that smiles on us no matter what we do, and still prosper.

I believe that the rule of law is essential to freedom. This country is a republic not a democracy. There's a big difference between the two and it's one we better understand soon or all of our liberties will be gone before we know it. In a republic your individual rights are protected by the rule of law. The miracle of this country is that our constitution is the supreme law of the land and protects all people whether the whims of the majority agree with them or not. In a democracy you are only safe as long as you are part of the majority. Whether you believe it or not, in some aspect of your life you are a minority and if that part of your life is valuable to you the only hope you have of safety is under the protection of law and adherence to justice. If you think that everything in our society should be put up for vote you'll come to regret that point of view when society votes on whether the elements of your life are worth protecting.

Defending freedom isn't something that our military does in foreign countries. It is something that each person in this country must do as long as they want to preserve freedom. Liberty will cease to exist unless it is fought for and defended against an enemy that cannot be seen. This enemy is ourselves if we live in ignorance of the principles of freedom and lack the integrity, courage, and fortitude to love truth and live by it.

Iraq and Egypt

One of the last arguments used to justify the US invasion of Iraq and the consequent US occupation (after the argument for WMD was found to be fabricated and the flimsy argument that it was a national security concern also proved untrue) was that it was the right thing to do on moral grounds. Saddam Hussein was a thug and a dictator that didn't allow his people freedom so the altruistic US had to do something, right? At the time I wondered why he would get this attention considering that there was a world full of tyrannical dictators guilty of the same behavior. The reason, of course, is that it didn't have anything to do with taking a moral stance. It was entirely based on political motives and most likely had a lot to do with the nice little oil reserves sitting under the sand. The media had to create a warm fuzzy story to appease the American populous and to justify war though and we ate it up.
Contrast this story with the current events in Egypt, where we have a leader who employs torture and tyranny just as capably as Saddam was doing.
According to US embassy cables that were released by Wikileaks (like it or not, they're out in the open now), we learn that the US was aware of police brutality. Those cables describe it as "routine and pervasive" under the Mubarak regime. According to these State department records "Torture and police brutality in Egypt are endemic and widespread. The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders." Lest the world get too clear a view of this mess, the Egyptian government has tried to implement a near blackout of the internet and media.
Why then is the US taking such a different stance? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that the U.S. government would to continue to work with the Mubarak regime and and that his regime was "demonstrating restraint" and Joe Biden had defended Mubarak as a personal friend.
It's time to quit meddling in the political affairs of other nations and propping up leaders solely based on their willingness to accept our foreign aid and do our bidding.

State of the Union

Here's what I heard in the state of the union address...

INNOVATION

• Increased federal funding of biomedical research, information technology, and especially clean energy technology.
• Eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies.
• Mandate that by 2035, 80% of America's electricity will come from clean energy sources.

EDUCATION

• Increased federal control, monitoring, and regulation of education through "Race to the Top".
• Lower unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and use the savings to implement tuition tax credits worth $10,000 for four years of college.
• Work to provide amnesty for illegal aliens who get degrees.

INFRASTRUCTURE

• Double federal funding of infrastructure projects including high-speed rail.
• Work to simplify the system. Get rid of the loopholes. Level the playing field. And use the savings to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years – without adding to our deficit.

HEALTH CARE

• Work with congress to improve and modify health care legislation but won't compromise on clause for pre-existing condition.

FISCAL POLICY

• Freeze annual domestic spending for the next five years.
• Develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America.

FOREIGN POLICY

• Keep fighting wars
  

A lot of that is all well and good. It sounds fine on the surface but the problem is that it ignores fundamental principles of freedom and economics. Despite the best of intentions, the federal government has proven that it cannot improve economic productivity and job creation by manipulating prices and attempting to direct technology innovation that isn't demanded by free markets. It cannot improve education through centralized planning and control. It cannot provide a more efficient, fair, and affordable system of health care by simply mandating additional coverage to those who cannot afford it.
The vision that President Obama painted is one that we all share. It is the path to get there that remains in question. I propose a path of freedom, individual responsibility, decreased federal control of every facet of our lives and an adherence to the principles in the constitution.

Bribing your children

This is why bribing your children doesn't work in the long run...



A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, “You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I’ll give you each a dollar if you’ll promise to come around every day and do your thing.” The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trashcans.

After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face. “This recession’s really putting a big dent in my income,” he told them. “From now on, I’ll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans.” The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they accepted his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus. A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street. “Look,” he said, “I haven’t received my Social Security check yet, so I’m not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?” “A freakin’ quarter?” the drum leader exclaimed. “If you think we’re going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you’re nuts! No way, dude. We quit!” And the old man enjoyed peace and serenity for the rest of his days.