Libertarian Times

On Morning Joe today there was more dull conversation regarding the failure of politicians to fix the nation's problems. Impotence is a big theme lately among the political class, with some pundits blaming both presidential candidates for not developing Big Plans, some blaming Obama for wasting time and effort on a watered-down healthcare plan that will likely be overturned by the SCOTUS, and some blaming Republicans for blocking Obama's grand plans.

Some say that Obama must take the bull by the horns, so to speak, and go all Truman/FDR/Johnson on the Republicans and ram-rod his agenda through congress. Be great, dammit. Scarborough, a model of "small" government conservatism, has said that Presidents must act big and lead, just get things done. However, Obama's entire strategy is to blame Bush for the bad economy and the present GOP leaders for obstruction of his recovery efforts. According to Obama's team, Obama tried to build a partnership with Republicans so that Big Things could be done, but the Republicans refused to cooperate, and now the House is holding up everything. Obama is doing a few things on his own, constitutionally or not, and this is supposed to signal that he is strong afterall. The pundits wish, though, that Obama would do more, just take out a Big Stick, and Biden says he has one, and whack those stupid, evil Republicans and put America's ass in gear. These pundits have read to many history books praising statist heroes.

In reality, government interventions have finally destroyed the engine of economic growth, a private sector that has to this date fought well against government intervention and succeeded in spite of government intervention -- now, though, the pure size and scope of government's control over the economy has killed investment and growth. What we're seeing now, in the Information Age, is the mask removed from a failed statist system, and players are revealed for what they are -- impotent power mongers who can no longer prop themselves up through the productive efforts of the private sector. The DC structure is collapsing and the pols don't know what to do. The Morning Joe crew is using an old playbook, not understanding why the DC team doesn't just follow the path of their old heroes like Johnson and FDR. They can't. The game is over. They can give power back to the private sector, get out of the way and watch the economy grow, or they can try to hold on to central power and rule over decline as American ingenuity and productivity shift to other regions of the world, if there are any that welcome innovation and growth -- if not, then the entire globe is in for long downward spiral and chaos.

The current mess we'll see with healthcare this week is indicative of the harm caused by years of government interventions. Now, after government has convoluted healthcare delivery and insurance coverage, the court will likely strike down the key to Obamacare, leaving healthcare in chaos. Good work, government -- now, we'll have government demanding that providers act un-economically, then punish them for failing economically. Of course, then, government will have to come in and save healthcare by taking over completely -- of course. Maybe the court will act with reason and throwout Obamacare in its entirety, and we can get to free market solutions that haven't been tried in decades.