A Hometown lesson on the failures of government

I am asked from time to time if there are moments in my life I can point to that put me on a path to become a Libertarian economist who blames government for everything that ails the planet. While there is a long list - probably dating back to my days in Kindergarten - one instance in particular helped shape my correct view that there is absolutely nothing government does as well as the private sector.

On May 19, 1990 - twenty years ago today - my boyhood home in Hugo, Oklahoma burned to the ground.

It was a beautiful home. It was built at the turn of the 20th century and totally refurbished by my grandfather during the 1940s. The exterior was all made of large stone. The interior was Colorado pine logs with wagon wheel chandaliers, a huge fire place and many other touches that made it a wonderful place to live in.

On the rare occasions when I visit my home town I always take my wife and kids down the end of Bluff Street. The kids especially enjoy running around in the big field that was next to my home. Where the home once was there is now nothing more than grass and a chain link fence that keeps people away from the low-income housing units that now sit in our former pasture.

The house would still be there if not for the failures of Hugo's government that night.

My brother started his new motorcycle near the window of my parents bedroom. When the engine started an explosion took place and flames shot through the open window and caught the curtains on fire. He immediately called the fire department. When they arrived and attempted to hook their hoses into the plug only 30 yards or so from our house, the fireplug did not respond. They rushed down the street to one over 150 yards away. It did not respond either.

Without access to water from the only two plugs in our area, all they - and my brother could do - was watch our home, and all of its contents, burn to the ground even though they got to our home when the fire was still contained to only part of the bedroom.

When an investigation was conducted as to why the plugs did not work it was discovered that the fire department had neglected to conduct routine maintenance (by flushing out the plugs) when it was supposed to. In fact, rather than coming out once every few months as the city required, it had been years since they had driven the five minutes it would have taken from the fire station to our house to simply do their jobs.

My parents considered pursuing litigation against the fire department only to discover from an attorney that cities in Oklahoma are under no legal obligation to protect citizens.

As a Libertarian I realize that my family has to bear responsibility for the cause of the fire. However, I also became well aware of another fact of life: If you count on a not-for-profit government agency that receives all of its funding from the forced taking of our earnings without the accountability that private companies face, then you better make sure that your insurance is up to date and your most important belongings are kept in a fire-proof safe.

Communists in my Classroom

In an earlier blog entry that many of you responded to, I posted some student thoughts on NFL quarterback, Joe Montana - and his $49 million home. It was clear, from the writings of many of my students, that Socialism is alive and well in America.

Out of pure morbid curiosity, I decided to find out in my summer class, if Communism might also be the favored solution to our nation's problems. So, I played a dirty trick on my students. Here is what they were asked to read and comment on:

__________

This month Congress will vote on the 2010 Equity and Economic Security Act. Below are five of the Act's major provisions. Please read over each of them and then write a short essay explaining whether or not these provisions will help bring about greater economic equality and security for the United States.

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.

4. Centralization of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.

5. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.

__________

Of course, as all of you know, these five provisions come directly from The Communist Manifesto written by Messrs. Marx and Engels. There is no such Act (yet). I basically lied to everyone to flush out the Marxists among us.

Brace yourself.

25% of my students were in agreement with parts of, or all of this "Act." Here are some their comments - unedited for grammar or spelling.

"I think this program will bring greater economic quality because each of these points will bring comfort and benefits to the citizens. I think this program will bring a security in economy that will be a benefit to everyone. These program mentioned talk about abolition of things that citizens in the past will like to eliminate, also give a lot of benefits to the public like centralization of communication and transport. I think every single part is a benefit to almost every citizen."

"The only thing the government should possibly implement would be point 5: Centralization of the means of communication and transport in hands of the State."

"I have also been a victim of the corruption of lenders and credit companies, scams, and seen the economic hardships. Therefore, I do feel that this Act will bring about some much needed direction, organization and reconstruction to our much needed economy."

"As we all know the economy was very affected by the property and territory sales. This problem really impacted most of the population, so I think that if Congress get control over this it could absolutely help our economic crisis. Banks were basically one of the central points why economy was so devastated this year. By centralizing the credict in the hands of the state it will possibly regulate and balance the economy."

"I feel that a combination of those changes would result in greater economic equality."

"Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes could, in my opinion, possibly help out the economy. Abolition of all right of inheritance would help out the security our economy.

_________

There you have it my friends....or should I say comrades?

George Costanza & Texting while Driving laws...

In a classic episode of Seinfeld, George and Kramer come out of a store with a bottle of wine to discover that they have been blocked in by a double-parker. Irate, George explains to Kramer how incredibly stupid and selfish double-parkers are and that if he ran for president he would insist on "the death penalty for double-parking."

George Costanza for President!!

Today, on the way to work - just like every other day the past couple of years - I found myself almost killed by another Florida lunatic who was texting while driving. I cannot begin to tell you how much I want these people tried, on the side of the road by roving juries, and executed, on the side of the road, by roving execution squads.

Imagine the jobs we could create for the funeral home industry by eliminating these menaces to society! Imagine how we could reduce global warming by getting their cars off the road! Imagine the impact on used-car prices as the families of these idiots have to sell their cars.

The Florida Senate voted 34-4 yesterday to ban texting while driving. The bill would make texting a "secondary violation" - meaning you would have to first be pulled over for doing something else. The first offense would carry a fine of $30 plus court costs. Second offense would be $60. If a driver crashed into me or some other innocent person, six points would be assessed against their drivers license.

The Florida House is NOT expected to to go along with this measure. According to one idiot politician, "There are a lot of things that people do in their cars that are very distracting, and all of them need to be addressed. And it needs to be addressed from a different perspective."

Grow a backbone for Gods sake! Texting leads to six times more dangerous driving conditions than being drunk!

A $30 fine is not going to stop anything when the probablity of getting stopped is so low.

Therefore, until George is elected President I may just take matters in my own hands and pull over texters, have them roll down their window and then beat them with their own phones. (For you internet-police, I am only, like, you-know, sort of, really kidding...)

You texters-while operating 2,000 lbs. of machinery at 70mph are evil and/or stupid and/or selfish.

Turn off your phone and drive so the rest of us can see our families again...

John Paul Stevens and your Home

A few days ago, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote to President Obama informing him of his decision to retire from the bench this summer.

Owners of private property all over the United States would have benefited greatly if he would have made this announcement in 2005.

It was in that year that he wrote the majority opinion in one of the most dreadful Supreme Court decisions in the history of our republic.

In the Kelo v. New London, CT decision (liberty lovers need not be reminded of what this case was all about...) Mr. Stevens found that "[p]romoting economic development is a traditional and long accepted function of government. As with excercises in urban planning and development, the city is trying to coordinate a variety of commerical, residential and recreational land uses, with the hope that they will form a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Because that plan unquestionably serves a public purpose, the takings challenged here satisfy the 5th amendment."

To Stevens - and the rest of the Constitutional revisionists of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court, our home is nothing more than a "part" of a "whole" and government knows better than we do what to do with that part.

Good riddance, Mr. Stevens. May you enjoy your retirement in your home - that has not been targeted for an eminent domain taking.

Come on, Mr. President...Throw like a man!

In case you missed it, President Obama threw out the first pitch at the home opener for the Washington Nationals this season. What a shame. Most baseball fans have been debating whether or not he should have worn a Chicago White Sox hat while on the mound. Real baseball fans - and real men - are discussing his form in throwing out the first pitch.

YouTube it for yourself....

With apologies to women everywhere, our President throws like a girl.

This is not good.

You need the President of the United States to show the world that he is a real leader. Throwing a lollipop ball with a limp wrist does not inspire confidence.

I would suggest that Mr. Obama go out and do any of the following to prove to our nation that his manhood is not to be questioned:

1. Cut down a tree with a chainsaw that he has to start by himself. Then, take an axe and split a few of the logs.

2. Grill out a steak while wearing an old pair of jeans and a ragged t-shirt and eat it (the steak)while having a real beer (not the light beer he prefers).

3. Don't shave for a week and appear at a press conference in hiking boots.

4. Take part in a tackle football game on the white house lawn and break at least one bone in an opponents' body.

5. Be seen reading a book on how to skin a moose with a Bowie Knife.

6. Be seen hunting moose.

7. Tell the next reporter who asks him a question he does not like that, "If you don't shut up I am going to hit you so hard you will wear out from bouncing."

8. Be seen picking his teeth with a twig.

9. Send an open letter to Osama bin Laden challenging him to a fist fight.

10. Take pitching lessons.

What would you add to my list?

How Republicans can win in 2010 & 2012

In the wake of the socialization of 20% of the nation's economy, Libertarians, Reagan/Goldwater Republicans and Tea Party activists (a blend of the aforementioned) are gearing up for the 2010 midterm elections and the 2012 Presidential race.

What follows is a prescription for victory...

1. Forget about Sarah Palin. If you listened to her during the 2008 campaign and today, she is a free-market lightweight with no serious ideas on the issue of taxes, regulations, spending, health care or anything else for that matter. She will get destroyed if she runs and has to intellectually defend her surface-only views on matters that are important to real-Republicans. Rock star novelty acts who use words like "dang" and "youbetcha" are refreshing but not transformative.

2. Identify and defeat every "Bush Republican" who runs in every primary in America. Ronald Reagan's greatest mistake was picking the liberal George H.W. Bush to be V.P. On April 10, 1980 Bush called Reagan's view that drastic reductions in income taxes would lead to more wealth and more government revenue, "Voodoo Economics". He was never a believer in Reagan's Libertarian makeover of the American economy. His son was even worse. Sure we got small cuts in marginal tax rates in 2003 but we also got the most massive increase in domestic welfare spending since the 1960s; thousands of pages of new regulations; a $1.5 trillion prescription drug benefit program that Obama has now added to; new tariffs; restrictions on talented foreign immigrants, etc. etc. All Bush Republicans must be kicked out of office so people like Howard Houchen (Oklahoma) and Marco Rubio (Florida) can lead us back to the 1980s. The simple fact is that today's Republicans have no right to argue against Obama's Socialist agenda when their party helped create the fertile ground from which Socialism grew this decade.

3. Stop talking about gay marriage; where Obama was born; illegal immigration and other social problems.....for now. Reagan used to say that the best family values stemmed from a full-time job. Reagan was anti-abortion and had impeccable standards with those of us who care about morality in government. However, Republicans, by focusing on issues that occupy the outskirts of an unemployment rate of 10%; skyrocketing spending and the nationalization of health care, autos and banking, are missing the bigger picture. If America is going to become France, or worse, it will not matter if Joe and Bill are allowed to marry or if Julio came over here without permits or if Obama was born in a Taliban stronghold somewhere. So, focus on economics, win the elections, create new free-market policies and then when unemployment is back to 3.9% turn your attention to the side issues that you believe to be important.

On behalf of those of us who were abandoned by the Republican Party beginning on January 20, 1989 we wish you well in restoring some sense of small government this November and in 2012.

Why "Education Reform" will never be successful

In case you missed it, the federal government announced this week the latest and greatest plan to finally, really, really, "we mean it this time", "this is going to work, just you wait and see..." education reform plan.

The central planners who have brought us one of the worst public education models in the developed, or undeveloped, or totally no where near developed world, are serious this time. After decades, give or take a month or two, of unmitigated failure in providing anything more than monumental failure from kindergarten through graduation day, the "experts" have finally realized that what the U.S. needs is a system of uniform standards that will apply to all 50 states. The president wants all kids to be "proficient" in math and English by 2014 and "college ready" by 2020.

To do this, the government will blah, blah, blah and if it does not happen, blah, blah, blah....

You can Google this initiative if you want to, but in 2014, 2024 and on March 11, 2071 at 11:18am we will still have a lousy K-12 system.

Here is why.

1. Teachers in America are largely unqualified to teach. A degree in education is the easiest college degree to obtain and is four years of learning teaching methodology but not four years of becoming an expert in your field. In Finland - a nation that routinely ranks first in the world in multiple subject areas - you have to have a Masters degree in your field of study and six years of on-the-job training before you are allowed to teach. In America you could have a government or science teacher with no direct expertise in government or science, teaching your kid just because they have the four year "teaching degree" and a teaching certificate that legally permits them to stand in front of your kid. Without requiring people to become economists, chemists, biologists, mathematicians, etc. before they walk into the classroom, all this round of education reform will do is create new standards without creating new, qualified professionals to help students reach those standards.

2. There is little to no competition for the most at-risk students. If you are rich, or middle-class you have options when it comes to educating your child. You can send them to private school or join the ranks of 2 million homeschooled children. Private schools have to deliver a good product or parents remove their kids. Demand for that school's seats drops and they go out of business. The government schools - no matter what reforms are pursued - will never improve because of school zoning. If you are poor you have no other choice but to send your kid to the school in your district. This legal monopoly destroys education in the U.S. because there is no pressure for schools to improve. As long as schools know that they will be guaranteed customers by rule of law, why should those schools try to innovate? They don't have to. Name another market where you have shop based on your residence. In the free market you can be mobile with your money and that puts intense pressure on suppliers to deliver a good product or service. What if you could only buy a Toyota because that was the closest dealership to your house? Do you think Toyota would rush to fix brake problems in your district or would the dealer tell you, "What are you going to do about it?

3. Unions and tenure are duel cancers for education reform. If you work in the private sector you do not have tenure - meaning a lifetime contract. If you stink, you are gone. What if we had tenure in professional sports? We would have 61-year old quarterbacks playing for your favorite team, throwing 16 interceptions per game and all you could do about it is nothing. Once a teacher has tenure their incentives to produce goes down. Back that up with a Communistic union that protects teachers who are sexual predators, racist and more from being punished and you have a recipe for horrible K-12 education. The teachers union, with power to punish politicians who push for competition and other meaningful reforms is more dangerous, to more American children than any organization on Earth. Terrorists might destroy a few dozen or a few thousand lives at a time. The teachers union is ruining the lives of 50 million children who are forced to live with bad teachers who don't have to care.

Imagine a new cell phone company opening up that has employees who are not trained on how to make cell phones; have lifetime contracts to make cell phones; are protected from being fired if the make bad cell phones and are guaranteed to have customers because the government tells all of us that we have to shop for this cell phone.

What kind of cell phone do you think you would get?

Why should it be any different for your child's education?