Tea Party vs. Big Government Big Business Progressives

After the latest Senate vote failed to pass the Financial "Reform" bill, one of the Democrat senators stated that big money had won out over the little guy. She and other Democrats were for the "little guy." Nothing could be further from the truth. The progressive plans of those who currently wield povernment power, that is BHO and the Democrat Party, are and always have been very close to big business of all kinds. They need one another. Politicians need the donations, which they can obtain by promises, trickery, bribes, extortion, and black mail. Industries need government to give them favorable treatment over their competitors. Big spenders in government are also some of their best customers.

The so called Progressives are the masters of the big government big business game. Progressives need a lot of power to implement their schemes because they have the biggest schemes, so they need big money support. Usually they will dump their supporters after they serve their purpose. For example, communists use the big unions to obtain power. After communists gain power, workers essentially become slaves.

Now there are dozens of progressive plans gaining support in Congress or waiting on the sidelines. Big Government is pushing bills to support Big Pharma: regulate their natural supplement competitors. Big Agriculture: remove limits and stigma attached to genetic modified food. Big Labor: dozens of ideas, such as the Card Check bill. Big Media: Propaganda directed against competitors ("Net Neutrality"), and maybe eventual bailouts for failing liberal news outlets. Big Medicine: Government Health Care. Big Energy: Cap-and-Trade. Big Finance: "Reform" proposals (which will destroy competition and make the big remaining companies virtual government partners.) Big Education: Bailouts and grants for state education (with plenty of strings attached) to support high teacher unionized salaries and benefits.

The business government bandito business goes on with Democrats and Republicans both. However, the Demos, being bigger spenders, have the most to offer. This is exactly what the Tea Party is about, ending the government business spoil system that is bankrupting the country. Luckily we still have a semi-free press for the most part which is exposing their schemes as quick as they pop up. For example, from what little I know about the recent book, "The Manchurian President," many of the progressive, communist, money, power connections are explored vis-a-vis the Obama phenomenon.

One of Washington State's congressional members seems to be a poster child for a lot of these progressive schemes. Jay Inslee's web site:

http://jayinslee.com/index.php?page=display&id=83

Revolution's Progress

Many items in the news lately regarding issues important to Americans.

1) President Barack Obama: Naive-in-Chief, stunning clulessness, and insults to America-- London Times
Today another BHO speech to UN: Nuclear disarmament and lecturing. (I didn't actually hear the speech but I am sure it contained lecturing.) Some nuclear enforcement ideas are good if directed at the problem areas but goal of world without nuclear weapons is deceivingly idiotic, like gun control.
In the 1930's there was a multilateral international agreement to ban war. WWII followed soon after.
Gordon Brown, PM was good, Sarcosie, French President, was great. Great Britain says they will scrap one of their four nuclear armed subs. Who cares, but a bad symbolic statement.

BHO foreign policy abandons Poland, Checz Republic, Israel, UK, and Honduras
Supports Iran, N. Korea, Venezuela, and Russia

2) Glen Beck v. Republican party. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, says Glenn. Yes, the R's we supported were a disappointment in the recent past. They not only reached across the isle, but they ran over and sat on the Demo's laps and gave em a big kiss on the cheek. But there are degrees of insanity. Creating a third party or similar movements have always been very disastrous in the past. The left has a circus of clowns. We need one too and there is room in the Republican tent for Glen.

3) Ongoing press difficulties. Freedom v. the G.C.P. (Government Controlled Press). Why are the primary news media having financial trouble? The market for drivel is saturated and only outlets for truth are in low supply.

4) Pending hazardous legislation: Health care (for yet another free market solution, see: http://mises.org/3699 Is Emergency Care a Failed Market: by Eric M. Staib; 9/24/09), Wall Street regulation/take over (back burner now but just wait; RINO please say no to this), Global Warming still the worst of the worst. The unwitting and otherwise compliance of the press and environmental groups is the only way this monstrous idea could survive. We really need some light on this to expose it for what it is. Speaking of exposing, what about ACORN and allied groups: an interlocking spider web of corruption, crime, and communism. As such, congress should cut back their government funding to only a few hundred million: honor among thieves.

Supernormal Profits

In a lecture, one of my economics professors said that there are only two ways to make more that a "normal" profit over any length of time. Either 1) by providing something no one else can, by possession of a secret formula, for example; or 2) by providing something no one else is allowed to, by possession of a government patent, for example.

No entrepreneur wants to just make a "normal" profit. He or she goes into business to make a killing. Innovation and hard work is the starting point but once you start succeeding, the competition will start to imitate your plan. They might have better financing or more energy. This is where the government connection makes sense. The more power government has, the more it can help. Government can limit entry into your industry, allow you to (or prevent you from) buying up the competition, tax away foreign competitors, mandate the use of your product, there is a never-ending list of possibilities.

Favors, perks, and pay-offs to government officials often helps to smooth the way to higher profits. This is called "corruption." It is usually frowned upon. (For instance, George W. Bush is often accused of giving companies lucrative contracts for government work in Iraq, in return for some pay-off. If his administration did give out contracts without competitive bidding, it may have been because Halaburton was the only company that wanted the job.) Unquestionably, corruption leads to economic inefficiencies. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT I WOULD CALL FREE MARKETS (see the Basiat quote in an earlier post). Preventive regulation hardly ever works, becomes corrupted itself, and stifles innovation more than it stops corruption. The best preventive is to refrain from giving the government much power to sell. Our founders created governmental checks and balances to limit the influence of this special interest corruption.

Ramming through legislation with arm twisting and political back room favors are exactly where the danger lies. This too used to be frowned upon. The current administration seems to be doing exactly what they accused the previous administration of doing but could never prove. Actually, the Republicans are usually kept in line by the press anyway. Democrats, because they favor bigger government, have always been more usefully to special business interests. Democrats also seem to have immunity from popular press criticism, until lately.

Health Care Law - Another Crisis, Immediate Action Needed

Regarding health care and pending legislation, there is so much to say and so little time. The current Democrat proposed legislation is over 1,000 pages and references other legislation by page and line number so it is not easy to read. I estimate it would take a person working 10 hours a day about a month to understand the basics of the bill.

Two provisions seem to be included that require insurers to take all applicants and to cover existing conditions. Therefore, I plan to ask my employer to cancel my coverage. I will apply if I get sick. I have a $2,000 deductible anyway and my ulcer medication is now available over the counter. I also go the the local Chinese herbal practitioner. (Mao was laughted at for "The Barefoot Doctor." It sounds like a good idea now.) This would save my $200 a month premium. With the onerous mandates to private insurers included in the bill, my premium would probable double or more. What I am curious about is: Could our elected representatives really be so stupid?

Speaking of stupidity, our usually far left local news paper, The Seattle Times, today asks the same question about the Democrat Party for proposing the current foreign trade bill. The bill would amount to high tariffs based upon various politically incorrect behavior of trading partners. Maybe the liberals are coming around. It took them eight years to wake up with FDR. The current administration is moving much faster that FDR. I hope the stupidity will be stopped. One fear I have is that BHO has promised the Democrats cushy jobs if they are not reelected because they supported him. He has plenty of money for pay-offs: The Stimulus fund, it's golden.

Economic Freedom

“Special interests…can think of the most ingenious reasons why they should be the objects of special solicitude. Their spokesmen present a plan in their favor; and it seems at first so absurd that disinterested writers do not trouble to expose it.” So begins Chapter 13 of Henry Hazlitt’s 1946 book, Economics in One Lesson. He was speaking of the folly of the New Deal agricultural price fixing scheme which FDR wanted and got. This chapter is an informative example of how government meddling causes all kinds of problems that need to be fixed by further meddling. Each step along the way impoverished the farmers and consumers who it was suppose to help and took away personal choice and liberty.
When will they ever learn? Apparently the current administration learned a lot about how demagogues (those who gain control by playing on public fears) can maneuver into positions of power and profit. The chief instrumentality is a gullible and/or duplicitous press. Our times have become very interesting for those who are interested in economics theories. For years “free market fringe economists" have been explaining how a demagogue or a party apparatus can take control. They explained how propaganda is the main tool. Promises of great prosperity at the cost of a little freedom only lead to less prosperity followed by more loss of freedom. I thought they were talking about South American dictatorships or European fascists. It is interesting to see it now play out with only the thinnest of disguise.
Henry Hazlitt’s book gives several examples and works out the logical consequences of government intervention in the economy. It was meant to be and is an introduction to how economics works. This is simple stuff that many politicians don’t want you to know. This has really never been widely debated because one side in the debate controls the forum of any debate. Mr. Hazlitt’s books are for sale at the regular on-line outlets and at some bookstores. The Ludwig von Mises Institute specializes in that sort of book.
(Professor von Mises, The Last Knight of Freedom, escaped from Austria just before the Nazi take-over and taught and wrote in this country. His work systematizes the school of thought known as the Austrian School. He shows over and over in his work that only economic freedom can make us politically free and prosperous.)