Littlestuff Weekender-1-8-2010

Have you ever watched a little child get amped and excited while attacking the presents under the Christmas tree only to be deflated after discovering that the one gift he/she really wanted was not there? Remember that scene as you observe the 112^th Congress in action (inaction).

A fourteen trillion dollar debt plus unimaginable unfunded liabilities matches or exceeds our total gross domestic product (GDP). What do you call it when your debt matches or exceeds your total worth? Upside down? Underwater? Broke? Bankrupt? Does more borrowing get you out of the hole, or does it merely buy more time as you dig a deeper hole?

We’ve had just enough snow here at the Little Pat-Ch of Paradise that it is beautiful but not miserable or threatening. There is enough to cover the ground and hide the property’s flaws. Reminds me of something:

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This will be my final depressing thought for today (well, maybe). As a “nullifier” who believes that state governments must reassert control over their own affairs, I am NOT encouraged by the irresponsibility of our state governments…or our local governments and certainly not encouraged by our local school boards who oversee the state-run education monopoly. Too many of them overspend and believe that they must provide services that exceed their mandates. It seems that our historical pattern has been for progressive, unthinking “do-gooders” to run for office while the sensible reasonable types are expected to pay the freight for their good intentions. It seems to me that it’s time for clear thinkers to step up and seek local office in order to wrest control from the touchy-feely advocates who are so eager to instruct the rest of us about how we should live. At the present time while we are aghast at the potential for a federal financial collapse, our states and localities are in eerily similar straits. It seems as if all levels of government are racing toward fiscal Armageddon and subverting our liberties along the way.

On a cheerier note: Only 82 days until April 1^st.

My plan is to plant some “heritage seeds” in my garden this year, but I saw an article this past week that indicated that the original reproductive heritage varieties may become an endangered commodity due to “Big Brother’s” intervention. The race is on.

Congrats to The Ohio State University football team for successfully removing the South Eastern Conference monkey from their back. Also, the Buckeye Men’s Basketball squad still sports an unblemished record.

As I examine what my priorities must be for the near and distant future, three elements are enduring: Faith, family and freedom. Without those three cornerstones in place anything else is mere window dressing.

A few folks have suggested that I run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sherrod Brown (very few people, I might add). Although the statewide campaign for Secretary of State was invigorating and enlightening, it also was exhausting and frustrating. You may recall Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result (paraphrase)….a sobering reality check.

It might be a good idea to amend the Constitution to eliminate the State Department as a mandated function of the executive branch. Foggy Bottom is a vipers’ nest of effete Ivy League elites who appear to be committed to a global hegemony. If we must continue to maintain the State Department, perhaps we should require that our diplomatic corps consist of retired Special Forces officers. Their backgrounds and experience would make them wary of unnecessary warfare and reluctant to cavalierly intervene in other nations’ affairs.

Have a wonderful weekend.

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Self Interest versus Entitlement

Ayn Rand and her philosophical point of view resonate with many in the liberty movement. The simplified explanation of Objectivist thought is that unfettered self-interest is the ideal motivation for each person to achieve her/his greatest potential. The underlying assumption is that if each individual is free to pursue his dreams and goals without government control or intervention, then society will benefit as the creative impulse improves the environment for all. Also, the Objectivists reject the notion of social pressure or political correctness as a determinate for directing the actions of a person who relies on self-interest as a guiding force. The “Mind your own business,” leave me alone,” and “Don’t tread on me” philosophy is the recognition that each individual possesses the ability to chart his/her own course through life.

Personally, I subscribe to the Objectivist-Christian view of our role on earth. I do believe that the pursuit of self-interest and self-fulfillment coupled with a truly charitable impulse is the optimum way to serve God and maximize my individual potential. Many confuse “self-interest” with “selfishness.” An individual or company that engages in a self-interested pursuit does not cheat, does not spread falsehoods about competitors, and in turn, does not expect favorable benefits or unfair advantages (e.g. government subsidies or insider trading). It’s nearly impossible to address all the facets of the self-interest driven life versus the selfishly motivated one, but I’ll attempt to use a sports metaphor. The self-interested person “plays within himself,” while the selfish boor continues to grab and consume beyond his capacity to do so wisely. Selfishness is greed. Self-interest is the prudent maximization of individual potential.

Those who are zealous about personal liberty sometimes encounter others who accuse them of being greedy or selfish because they want to limit the government’s control over their lives, their labor and their property. The critics fail to realize, however, that it is the interventionist entitlement mentality that most represents unrestrained greed and selfishness. The organization or individual who insists that others provide the living or lifestyle for those who do not utilize their energy or talents for their own well-being are truly the parasites of society. Greed is NOT keeping what you’ve earned, but rather keeping what someone else has labored to produce. Selfishness is NOT using your talent and property to achieve its greatest efficiency. Selfishness is the expectation that others have an obligation to provide for you that which you are unwilling to acquire for yourself.

Now we come to entitlements. By definition an entitlement is something you receive merely for being YOU. No earning, no extraordinary effort and no persistence are required for you to be the “entitled” recipient. In today’s political parlance, if someone were to complain about the high cost and wasteful nature of entitlement spending, the commentator is immediately characterized as greedy or selfish….even though the concept of entitlement represents the epitome of greed and selfishness. The progressives and their brain-dead political fellow travelers have succeeded in distorting the meanings and values of vital elements of character. Self-interest has become an undesirable trait, and entitlement carries the trappings of nobility. What is up is down. Correspondingly, in some quarters scamming the system has become an admirable endeavor, and those who play by the rules are labeled “chumps.”  

The elephant in the room in this discussion is the government…at all levels. It is government who creates entitlements, expands them and determines who receives them. It is government who unconstitutionally and contrary to natural law limits personal freedom, confiscates the product of peoples’ labor and seizes or restricts their property. It is government who continually thwarts the efforts of the self-interested citizen by regulating and limiting his activity. It is government and its toady supporters who define up as down. The self-interested producers must train, educate and inform those who will listen about the necessity for self interest. The producers must capture the reins of government, or we shall fail. If we fail, the fragile house of entitlement will collapse, and the entitlement mindset will finally achieve that to which it is entitled.

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Two Left Feet

“Dancing with the Stars” appears to have captured the public’s imagination. Along with other reality shows and “American Idol” the U.S. audience has become transfixed by people attempting to excel outside their areas of expertise, or by talented amateurs seeking moments of glory and lifetimes of fame. Ancient Roman writer Junenal decried the First and Second Century Roman’s obsessions with freebies and entertainment. He claimed the distracted Romans longed for two things: “panem et circenses,”…bread and circuses. Many in our present day society share these attributes with our Roman predecessors, our Middle Ages forefathers, our Elizabethan ancestors and nearly every generation since Adam and Eve. Reading Gibbons gives one the sense that nations, empires and societies are doomed to fail because the vast majority of people are interested in whatever they can receive for little effort or whatever pleasurable distractions are available.

Back in 1963 Marshall Mcluhan achieved some level of fame by observing that “the medium is the message.” His thesis that certain media are “hot,” and others are “cool” was based on the involvement or investment of the audience in a particular message delivery vehicle. For example, television was characterized as a “cool” medium because the viewer had very little direct involvement and was, in essence, a passive participant. Radio, on the other hand, was considered to be a “hot” medium because the listener had to engage his/her imagination to benefit from its entertainment product. McLuhan’s taxonomy may be too restrictive with today’s proliferation of entertainment diversions. Are Gameboys and video games “hot” because the user is totally engaged in the exercise, or are they “cool” because the player appears to be totally disengaged from her/his surroundings (active passivity or passive activity)? The bottom line is that the “circuses” that have distracted citizens for eons are more varied and more accessible today than ever.

Active distractions are not limited to high tech diversions. Slow pitch softball, bowling, darts and square dance clubs all compete for citizens who wish to play their ways to oblivion. The passive opportunities are scrapbooking, genealogy pursuits, television, film and portable music libraries. The “circus” is multi-ringed, but the result is the same. A gluttonous, carnal, pleasure-seeking populace has unlimited opportunities for fulfilling its most primitive appetites. And Rome (Washington D.C.) is burning. At some level one can understand the governing elites’ disdain for the average citizen because so many go through life without ever becoming involved.

John Adams understood that “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.” We can be relatively certain that Adams’ concept of “general knowledge” did not include the finalists for “Idol,” but was directed toward an informed citizenry who would prefer freedom more than distraction. Take heart. Jefferson (Thomas not George) stated that “One man with courage is a majority.” If just a few men and women of passion discard the “bread and circuses,” then there is hope for liberty to prevail. The recent proliferation of Liberty-oriented groups has created a basis for optimism. Even some of the Tea Party organizations despite their partisan blinders offer a glimmer of hope for the cause of freedom. All that is needed is a committed, knowledgeable and persistent remnant that refuses to yield to tyranny. A cluster of passionate patriots who will goad their couch-potato colleagues into action is the nucleus of resistance. It requires some fiery friends of freedom who will not be diverted from their goal of personal liberty.

The bread from the state is nutritionally insufficient. It feeds the body to some degree, but starves the mind and soul. The circuses are temporary and illusionary. “Reality” shows are not real…and neither is professional wrestling. Major crimes are not committed, investigated, and solved in 60 minutes. Let’s pray that the liberty remnant and those who have become aware of our need for freedom can nourish the hope. Otherwise, we may be condemned to singing off key and dancing with two left feet in order to enjoy a moment of freedom as we shuffle and stumble toward disaster.

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Corollaries and Conspiracies

Corollaries can be dangerous. When a series of occurrences appear to impact another grouping of events, one may say that there appears to be a correlation. (If it involves royalty, it could be a correlation coronation). Many apparent correlations seem to occur on an almost daily basis. Some are considered coincidental, and others are examined to determine if there is indeed a relationship between the events…perhaps an indication of a causal relationship. Not all correlations, however, possess an element of causality.  For example, for every year of my more than six decades of life on this earth, the planet’s human population has increased. Now, while I am directly (50%) responsible for two of those additional people, and indirectly responsible for three more, no one with any degree of certitude can proclaim that my aging has caused the global population to increase. Nevertheless, there is a correlation between my advancing years and the growth of population on the planet.

Presently, we seem to be riding a sled towards tyranny because the wheels appear to have fallen off our nation. We seem to be inundated by assaults on our liberty and our sensibilities. One gets the sense of a constant drumbeat of efforts to limit our options and constrain our opportunities. It is rather easy, therefore, to imagine conspiracies driving every negative event. The conspiratorial atmosphere is fueled by our recognizing the relationships that seem to coalesce to undermine our freedom. Are all the conspiracies real, or are they mere figments of our frustrated minds? They are both, I suspect. Many of the forces that appear to be aligned against our freedom are not necessarily conspiratorial, but they may be inadvertently colluding. In other words, one thinks and acts like his/her peers. Ivy League elites often share the same hopes and goals. They may also have similar views of those of us who are not a part of their insulated world. So, in effect they are colluding but simply for the “good of the people.” It’s not as if they truly wish to thwart the wills of their fellow citizens, but rather their sincere belief that our choices and preferences are not what is best for everyone. Their attitudes smack of arrogant elitism…sincerely misguided and ultimately tyrannical.

Two critical elements in crime solving are motive and opportunity. When we attempt to pursue a correlation’s nexus to a conspiracy, we may become frustrated because not all dots are connected. Our liberties become more limited and our protestations go unheard…or unacknowledged. We can clearly observe the corollaries that are present as our freedom of movement and response become circumscribed. We have a sense that if only we could identify the source and vanquish it, our liberty would be wholly restored. But, we cannot identify a clear-cut motive except for power.

Unfortunately, the source of our discontent is not people (though they represent the vehicle). It is not a vast complicated conspiracy. The situation that we find today is a result of foggy thinking and misplaced values. In the theological sense, it’s called “original sin.” In the philosophical and political worlds it’s known as “utopianism. “ In your world and mine it’s known as meddling…or ignorant…or evil. It is an attitude and a belief system that is and always has been the antithesis of individual freedom. It is not a new phenomenon. It has always been a challenge to people who love liberty. Our true enemy is a mindset and an attitude. A final analysis of correlations would prove that as the elites are viewed as smarter and more compassionate, so must individual freedom become rarer. The cause is an attitude that has been present for humankind’s entire history.

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Third Front Tear

Some people are winners, and some are not. The winners are not always winners. Sometimes they lose, and sometimes those who lose become winners. The winning-losing dichotomy is fluid, dynamic. One of the great entrepreneurial stories is the twice-failed Walt Disney’s ultimate success while building an entertainment empire. So, not all winners always win, and not all those who lose are perpetual losers. Each of us has moments of victory as well as times when we fail.

So what justifies government choosing winners and losers by means of grants, loans, subsidies and tax policy? Clearly the free market is equipped to determine which enterprises are worthy of surviving, and which ones are not. There are a number of reasons that a business might not be successful. Perhaps the timing of the product or service is off---too soon before public awareness and acceptance or too late after the demand had ceased. Individual entrepreneurs may have brilliant ideas or terrific business plans, but be lousy managers or operators. The business concept might be innovative and in-demand, but the product, service or distribution model may be flawed. Finally, everything associated with the enterprise could be at maximum proficiency, but the overall domestic or global economy could undermine the value and thus, abort the startup. As we can see, there are numerous variables that can impact a business’s success or failure at any given time.

When government intervenes in the marketplace, it distorts the usual pattern of who succeeds and who does not. Incompetent managers with government grants or subsidies may be able to survive whereas fully competent ones may not because of the advantage their competitors enjoy due to taxpayers largesse. In this instance the government props up the weak and hamstrings the capable. Some folks become alarmed about the governmental process for determining whom to underwrite and whom to ignore. Their angst is misplaced. The concern should not be about the criteria or the process, but about the constitutionality and the wisdom of such practices.

Many people view the government’s intervention as an economic issue. It is only in the micro-economic sense as it affects individuals and businesses. When government manipulates the natural market, it is more related to social policy and political goals than to economics. Ohio’s efforts in this regard may prove illustrative. Ohio provides tax breaks and underwriting for solar panel manufacturers for three reasons: One, political leaders want to establish Ohio as a “cutting edge” leader in the solar energy industry; and two, Ohio’s political powers view solar panel manufacturing as a source of jobs to replace the massive number of manufacturing positions that have been lost in recent years; and three, the political elites of the Buckeye state (and their environmentalist supporters) have determined that “green” is good and should be encouraged. Maybe so, but not with my tax dollars. Many of those people who have lost their jobs in manufacturing might have been able to keep them if government hadn’t overregulated and overtaxed their former industries. Add to that mix a senseless trade policy and it’s no wonder that jobs were vaporized.

Government’s short-sighted, do-good meddling in the market helps a few businesses, a few companies or a commercial sector for a short time while abusing other sectors, companies and enterprises. For example, one of the subsidized solar panel manufacturers (Toledo) has just opened a plant in China. Even the grants, subsidies and tax breaks weren’t healthy enough to sustain and limit the operation of the business to a stateside presence. I want my tax money back. Government cannot start businesses, operate businesses or recognize the elements that divide successful ones from the unsuccessful. Government does have an uncanny knack for radically screwing up the natural marketplace whenever it intervenes. Some gifts are better left untouched.

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