How many ways can a country shoot
its economy in the foot and still expect to provide adequate services and
essential functions of government to its citizens? And how can we tell when the
last straw has been loaded--or injected into the same foot?
Like the proverbial frog in hot
water, America has grown used to the idea that money for the latest cause, or
need, is there; it's simply a matter of dividing the spoils, taking money
otherwise being spent foolishly and reapplying it to more worthwhile uses. But
suppose, just suppose, that while the country has been fixated on taking,
dividing, and funding new causes, the producers of the money haven't kept
up--we're outrunning our supply line--worse, some of our new endeavors are
actually encumbering the producers to the point where less money (wealth) is
being generated rather than the increased amount we're counting on.
Consider some of the additional
burdens placed on our producers since the end of WW2: Environmental cleanup and
regulation, safety--OSHA and product liability, diversity and other social
responsibilities such as liability for sexual harassment, consumer protection
from bad food, drugs, automobiles, and financial exploitation. All of these, and
more, add to the cost of doing business. In addition to the cost of doing what's
necessary to implement the new laws and regulations, there is the cost of
personnel whose function is to study (attend seminars etc.) so as to understand
and stay up to date on regulations, see that they are implemented, and to
interface with the respective government bureaucrats and enforcers. This
includes filling out and filing numerous reports, It's all worth it of course,
since these additional costs of doing business create a better quality of life
for the rest of us. But what control mechanisms do we have? What keeps the
process from becoming a bureaucratic steam roller, a self-justifying, holy
cause-- one in which most businesses (particularly small to medium size) can't
keep up?
Ten years ago, I felt reasonably
satisfied with the rate of progress in improving all of the above, and more, (I
was unaware of the reduced regulations in the financial industry, and the power
of Fanny and Freddy--our government going backwards and the danger to come).
Overall, I felt the quality of life for all of us was good and improving.
Federal regulations then totaled 1 million pages. Today, the regulations total
3.2 million pages. I make that to be a stack of paper (printed two sides)
approx. 500 feet high and I have a distinct feeling that we are going
backwards--can't even keep our parks operating properly. Our infrastructure
isn't being maintained, much less updated and expanded to accommodate a growing
population and increasing world trade.
All over the world, politicians are
working frantically, using every carrot and stick, to get their economies up off
the floor, to get them to provide more wealth--the wealth they need to pay their
debts and continue their proliferate ways. Our pols are doing the same, deluding
themselves and the people into thinking that they can do this.
THERE IS ONLY ONE SOURCE OF
INCREASED WEALTH. IT COMES FROM PRIVATE INVESTMENTS!
Yes, yes, yes the government can
help, typically with infrastructure. Some of you will remember my essay THE ERIE
CANAL. If not, I can send you a copy. And improved K-12 education wouldn't
hurt.
Our pols in DC have spent years
fighting like jackals over our limited funds while concentrating more seriously
on raising funds from special interests for their campaigns and plush
retirements. Isn't it time to pay serious attention to where wealth comes from,
and how the government can stop impeding its creation?
Joe Bakewell
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