Ron Paul’s efforts at having HR.1207 voted on as a standalone bill never really had a chance. Instead, it will arrive to the House floor attached to Barney Frank’s little boy, his comprehensive financial regulatory reform bill. The draft legislation grants new powers to the Federal Reserve and creates more regulatory controls over the market. If the free market is god, this bill is the devil. However, the bill will now have something good attached to it now that HR.1207 was added to it as an amendment.

Ron Paul makes a name for himself by always considering the Constitution while weighing his votes. Should Paul supporters expect him to don his Dr. No mask when his 30+ year fight against the central bank finally comes to a vote on the House floor? Will Paul vote against auditing the Fed because it is attached to an obviously unconstitutional bill? The libertarian purists among us may expect him to do so, but I expect him to vote for the evil to get the good. In fact, I would expect most if not all Paul supporters will give him a pass on this one. Tell us what you think in the comments section to this article.

He has already indicated what he will do in his press release covering yesterday’s committee vote:

“While HR 3996, if passed, will grant sweeping new powers to the Federal Reserve, at least with this amendment attached, it won’t be acting in secret anymore. This is a major victory for Federal Reserve transparency and government accountability. I am very grateful to Congressman Bachus and all the other Members who were so supportive and helpful in this effort,” stated Congressman Paul.

An argument could be made (and Paul seems to be implying it by his quote) that the financial regulatory reform bill is going to pass anyway and with Paul’s audit included in it, the bill’s attack on the free market will be softened. If they gut Paul’s amendment (like Mel Watt and Barney Frank tried to do in committee) as it moves closer to a floor vote it wouldn’t be shocking to see Dr. Paul morph into Dr. No once again.

So it is certainly bittersweet, but at least it’s not all bitter and no sweet.

——————————————-

UPDATE: It looks like Paul will still push for a separate vote on HR.1207 as a standalone bill. I don’t think those in power will let it happen, but I never thought his bill would get as far as it has already, so we’ll see.

This was submitted to us by author, Clyde James Aragon. He writes:

THE HEALTH REFORM PLAN TOWN HALL MEETING – THE NON-MUSICAL is a ten-minute comedy play about the health care ‘reform’ bill and is a humorous way of looking at a very scary situation. Curious, but informed citizens, meet at a town hall meeting to ask questions of their representatives on Health Care Reform.

This play is being distributed free of charge and the author, Clyde James Aragon, only asks that should it be performed, no admission be charged and that the author be given credit as having written it.

The author is an Albuquerque, New Mexico humor writer and can be reached at bookhumor@yahoo.com

You may also download the PDF here for printing out and potentially performing it at your next Tea Party event.

————————————————————-
THE HEALTH REFORM PLAN TOWN HALL MEETING
- THE NON-MUSICAL -

a one-act play by © Clyde James Aragon

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN
REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER
CITIZEN #1
CITIZEN #2
CITIZEN #3
CITIZEN #4

COMEDY: 10 pages. 6 characters to be played by: 3 men; 3 woman.

SYNOPSIS: Curious, but informed citizens, meet at a town hall meeting to ask questions of their representatives on Health Care Reform. This is a ten-minute comedy play about the health care ‘reform’ bill and is a humorous way of looking at a very scary situation.

PROPS: 6 folding chairs

* * * This play is being distributed free of charge and the author, Clyde James Aragon, only asks that should it be performed, no admission be charged and that the author be given credit as having written it. * * *

**************

THE HEALTH REFORM PLAN TOWN HALL MEETING
- THE NON-MUSICAL -

a one-act play by Clyde James Aragon

(on a bare stage, two politicians, seated in folding chairs, face four citizens intent on asking the politicians questions on their health reform plan)

CITIZEN #4 (addressing the audience and then sitting down): The other day there was a town hall meeting in Montana over the new health reform bill which was presented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and passed by the House of Representatives. The public was invited and allowed to ask questions of the two members of the House of Representatives, Representative Bullhorn and Flowmaster, who showed up. Many things were said and, after adjourning quietly after three hours of questioning, these excerpts were extracted from the minutes of that meeting:

CITIZEN #1 (raising hand and then speaking): Representative Bullhorn, the new House health care plan is almost 2,000-pages long. How do you expect anyone to read it, let alone understand it?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: We, meaning your government, are teaming up with the Marvel Comics people to develop a comic book character called Health Reform Man who will explain, in simple laymen terms, what our health reform proposal is all about.

CITIZEN #2: Will Cleopatra, Queen of the Vampire Underworld, feature in this?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Yes, and after explaining what our plan is about, she, Health Reform Man, and the A.C.O.R.N. Posse will go out and fight the various nemeses of our plan such as Greedy Insurance Monster, Private Fee-For-Service Doctor Thing, Alarmist Talk Show Host Ogre, and, of course, everyone in the Republican Party with the exception of moderate Republicans who want to hitch their star to a winner.

CITIZEN #1: Won’t a comic book be considered propaganda?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: No. What people are saying against this plan is propaganda. Our comic book is info-entertainment. And it will be distributed free of cost through the mail, at welfare offices, and in hospital waiting rooms everywhere. Right, Representative Bullhorn?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: We want everyone in America to have health care and the only way to accomplish that goal is for government to provide it.

CITIZEN #1: This is just socialized medicine.

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: What else would you expect? We’re social creatures. We socialize. We’re sociable. We go to ice cream socials, we join the PTA, we volunteer to wash cars on the weekend. Could we give to the social people of this country anything less than a plan which doesn’t take into account their inbred social nature? I daresay not.

CITIZEN #1: But you’re taking away choice.

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: No we’re not. There’s so much choice in our plan you can’t help but want it. Especially if you’re sociable. However, if you’re anti-social you’ll be able to pay a small annual fee and opt out, leaving yourself to find your own health care in backroom alleys, parking lots, through self-help books, and on the Internet.

CITIZEN #3: Why should we pay any fee?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Actually, this isn’t really a fee. It is a yearly reminder that a better way of life is available through your government.

CITIZEN #4: Won’t illegal aliens be covered?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: No. Absolutely not.

CITIZEN #1: But all you’d need would be a few court rulings and they’d be in.

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: That’ll never happen.

CITIZEN #2: What about space aliens. Would they be covered?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: Of course space aliens won’t be covered. That would break the system.

CITIZEN #2: Since we’re on the subject, will this health plan cover space-related diseases.
REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Like what?

CITIZEN #2: Euphoria, for example.

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: SRDs won’t be covered.
(Representative Flowmaster whispers into Bullhorn’s ear)
Uh, wait. An amendment has been introduced covering space-related diseases but only as brought to earth by NASA space missions.
(Representative Flowmaster again whispers into Bullhorn’s ear)
Uh, an amendment to the amendment has been introduced which covers all space-related diseases.

CITIZEN #1: Your plan calls for end-of-life counseling. Is euthanasia covered by this plan?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Absolutely not.

CITIZEN #4: Isn’t abortion a form of euthanasia? That’s going to be covered.

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: Abortion is the removal of a troublesome human-like blob of protoplasm that, for all intents and purposes, is not human. Except in Hawaii where it’s considered a type of chicken nugget.

CITIZEN #2: I love chicken nuggets. Will free chicken nuggets come with this plan?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: Yes, along with the special sauce of your choice.

CITIZEN #1: Poll after poll says Americans don’t want this plan. Yet you seem intent on forcing this down our throat – the public be damned. Isn’t the Democrat Party returning us to the days of Taxation without Representation?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: The Democrat Party always represents the people, some more than others.

CITIZEN #3: Didn’t Taxation without Representation lead to the American Revolution?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Americans, at that time, were protesting the lack of government involvement in their lives. We shall fulfill that nascent yearning.

CITIZEN #2: In the song “Heartache Tonight” by The Eagles, they sing: “There’s gonna be a heartache tonight/A heartache tonight, I know/There’s gonna be a heartache tonight/A heartache tonight, I know”. Does this refer to a real heartache or an existential heartache and would break-ups be covered by this plan?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: We believe The Eagles referred to an ontological heartache which, most definitely, would be covered. The pain of breaking up can’t be ignored as it was in the previous administration which, as we all know, wanted to kill everyone and eat their dripping internal organs.

CITIZEN #4: You say the plan would only cost 900 billion dollars. How do you know that for sure?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Because we’re your representatives. We would never lie to you. The only ones who would lie are Republicans and conservatives who lie about everything.

CITIZEN #1: You’re saying this plan will cost about 900 billion dollars. Isn’t that just an introductory price?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: No, it really, truly, cross my heart is what it will cost.

CITIZEN #3: Still, how do you expect to pay for this?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: We’re proposing, among other things, a millionaire tax. I think the greedy, filthy rich should have to pay back the money they’ve stolen from this country.

CITIZEN #1; All you talk about is taxing the rich. You believe they’re just going to willingly go along with your plan and turn their money over to you?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Yes.

CITIZEN #1: So you’re assuming the rich are stupid, then?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Oh, believe me, the rich are very stupid.

CITIZEN #3: Aren’t you a millionaire yourself?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Honestly, I’ve been working so hard ever since I came to Washington I haven’t had a chance to look at my bank statement. Nevertheless, if I’m a millionaire, and I’m not saying I am, but if I might possibly be a millionaire, I’ll be subject to this new tax after taking into account congressional expenses, refunds, postage, envelopes, and all the time I donate to worthy causes.

CITIZEN #4: What worthy causes?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Puppies. I lead the House caucus on puppy welfare. Damn it, no one’s going to mistreat puppies in this country if I have anything to say about it.

CITIZEN #2: That’s wonderful. I have a puppy. Her name is Sheila.

CITIZEN #3: What are the other ways you propose to pay for this?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: We’re going to introduce a tax on all medical devices such as monitors, x-ray machines, pacemakers, things like that.

CITIZEN #2: Do Band-Aid brand bandages constitute a medical device?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: If applied properly.

CITIZEN #4: What else?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: Lipstick.

CITIZEN #3: Lipstick?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: It adds moisturizing substances which keep your lips from drying up. Thus, it is a moisture dispenser.

CITIZEN #2: Would a Slurpee machine also be considered a moisture dispenser?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: Don’t be silly. Slurpee machines are ‘calorie’ dispensers. They would be subject to a fine, not a tax.

CITIZEN #1: I’ve heard you’re going to cut payments to doctors.

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Damn right. It’s high time our nation’s greedy physicians start paying us back for their lavish lifestyles. Big cars, big houses, big meals. Let ‘em eat bologne like the rest of us.

CITIZEN #2: You’ve eaten bologne?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Once. And I loved it.

CITIZEN #3: Won’t that just chase off doctors?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Look, my friend, these greedy doctors have to be taught a lesson. We’re going to really stick it to them for gouging us for so long.

CITIZEN #3: You don’t expect to have surgery anytime soon, I take it.

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Hell no. I’m fit as a fiddle.

CITIZEN #4: Would you politicians be subject to this new health plan?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: Unfortunately, no. We tried to find a way to add ourselves to this marvelous health care plan but it only would have increased the cost and we put our foot down at having to increase it even one dime more.

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: To that end, we also have some very exciting cost-cutting proposals. And we know everyone in this room wants the government to save money.

CITIZEN #1: I’ll bite. What kind of cost-cutting proposals?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: These are brilliant. I even came up with a few. For example, instead of hip or knee replacement we’ll offer crutches; instead of physical exams and X-rays, we’ll offer a soothing walk through any airport security screening machine as a substitute; and we’ve known for quite some time that most brain surgeries can be avoided with aspirin.

CITIZEN #3: What’s next, replacing heart transplants with obituaries?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Ooh, that’s good. I’ll submit that one the minute I get back to Washington. You’ve got the spirit.

CITIZEN #4: If the government wants to take over the medical system of this country, why not every other business in America?

CITIZEN #1: Yeah. I’m sure you’ll give us the customer care of the Post Office, the repair record of the Park Service, and the efficiency of Amtrak. Oh, and I’m sure you’ll continue to take our money like the IRS.

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: Believe me, we’re working on it.

CITIZEN #3: Your plan demands that employers provide health insurance or else. Wouldn’t companies just stop hiring new workers and giving raises?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: Nonsense. Of course companies will hire new workers. If not, we’ll mandate they increase employment every year. That alone will end unemployment forever in this country.

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: And as for you not getting a raise, well, what poppycock. You’re worth a raise. I’m worth a raise. In fact, I get a raise every year.

CITIZEN #1: Many people have said this plan is too expensive, takes away from our freedoms, and allows the government the opportunity to take over a sixth of the economy. They say the same goals can be accomplished in other, less expensive and less intrusive, ways. Why aren’t these avenues being pursued?

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN: We can’t be chasing after rainbows all our lives. Obviously these ‘other people’ you speak of live in an insulated fantasy world.

CITIZEN #3: But isn’t chasing this crazy expensive plan a lot like watching the captain of the Titanic trying to keep the ice machine going as his ship slips into the cold water?

REPRESENTATIVE FLOWMASTER: We’ve seen the numbers, the data, the costs. We know what we’re talking about. (getting up) Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to get back to Washington.

REPRESENTATIVE BULLHORN (also getting up): We have an important vote on puppy health care coming up early tomorrow morning. We can’t miss that.

- end of play -

His appearance was so positive that they end up telling him that he should come on the show as a special guest (as they have from time to time) for the full 2 hours of the show. Paul makes a joke in response. Check it out below.

If you don’t know what Freedom Watch is then please check out http://freedomwatchonfox.com/. It’s an online only show hosted by the Judge catering to freedom-loving people everywhere.

Check out the excellent discussions from the show today below.

Well, that’s what they want you to think. I want to know why the debate is now all about whether or not there should be a public option and little else? This shows us how Obama and his fellow looters are now firmly in the lead on this debate. The argument is no longer about whether we should have the government more involved in health care, but whether the government should provide health care.

The question is no longer “why are we doing this?” Instead, the question is “how do we do it?”

If Pelosi has her way, this is how:

The new House proposal is similar to one drafted by Democrats months ago. It requires Americans to buy health insurance by 2013 or pay a fine, creates a government-run program similar to Medicare to compete with private insurers and lets 15 million additional people enroll in Medicaid by easing eligibility requirements.

But in an effort to make the bill more appealing to moderates in her party, Pelosi altered some of the fine print. The proposed government-run “public option,” for instance, would negotiate for how much to pay doctors and hospitals rather than relying on government-set rates, as Medicare does.

Echoing concerns raised by his Republican colleagues, Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan said the bill’s heft, at 1,990 pages, indicated how it would expand the government’s role in health care: “Families will face higher taxes,” he said.

Replacing the above word “higher” with “astronomical” would be more honest. One need not read past page 4 (3d) to find the most offensive words to free market liberty loving Americans:

“initiates shared responsibility among workers, employers, and the Government; so that all Americans have coverage of essential health benefits.”

The word “initiates” should be replaced with the more honest word, “forces”. This phrase is a pure unadulterated call for socialism. When you force someone to share, it’s no longer sharing. It is theft, well-intended theft, but theft nonetheless.

Why do we get put in jail if we steal money to give to the poor yet it is perfectly fine for the government to do it without repercussions? I suppose the answer is: they own the jails.

Why do we get put in jail if we murder someone yet it is perfectly fine for government troops to kill people?

Are government humans more special than civilian humans? They seem to be able to operate outside the scope of morality.

The bill would establish a new federal government department inappropriately called the “Health Choices Administration” with the “Health Choices Commissioner” at the head. I can’t wait for their ad slogan to come out: “The Health Choices Administration: Be Nice, we can choose whether you live or die!”

Under this bill the Health Choices Commissioner has the power to regulate a new “market” they call the “Health Services Exchange”. This is the so-called new “free market” where the government public option health care is to compete with private health insurers. Yet somehow this is supposed to allow private insurers to compete on a level playing field? Please.

This bill becoming law would signal the end of private health insurance. It is only a matter of time before the public option will be the only option.

The government owns the jails now. The government tells you what you can put in your body. With socialized medicine the government is just continuing its assault on individual liberty. There is no “I”, only “We”.

Check it out below.

First, I want to reassure everyone this talk will not be a campaign speech; its based on an economics article that I wrote in January 2009, before the stimulus plan was passed and before my candidacy – although I am from Nazareth, which by the way, was the original settlement the Moravians founded when they arrived from their failed colony in South Carolina – at the time I was living in Shanghai.

Regardless, these days when one looks at the economy, you must clearly also factor in the interventions by government. So much so, it is a wonder that the field has not yet been renamed “governomics.”

One quick note before beginning is for the purposes of this talk I will be speaking at times AS IF the dollar were a stable currency. Although I recently checked my Lehigh University transcript and saw I passed with an “A” for freshman econ, up until 2 years ago, I believed that dollars were somehow linked to gold. This is not true. The truth is that the excessive money-printing by the Federal Reserve has caused the dollar to lose over 96% of its purchasing power since 1933 when FDR took confiscated everyone’s gold, which at that time was used as currency. Up until 1964, all the dimes, quarters, and halves were 90% silver by mass. Today that 10-cent dime can be exchanged for about $1.25 at a jewelers or coin shop. With the gold price at all-time highs of $1050/oz. recently, I want to point out that is NOT the case that gold is gaining in purchasing power, it is simply that the devaluation of the dollar is making itself known in the marketplace.

Now this is not to say that silver and gold are perfectly stable currencies – they are much superior than the dollar, but the very notion of stable purchasing power is an impossible dream. My point is that as I talk about X billions of dollars, you must remember that the dollar is based on a foundation made of quicksand and as more dollars from the FED flood the system, the purchasing power will continue to drop.

I will make three key points as to why the stimulus plan will fail and then will suggest a simpler plan that will not end in failure and should actually improve the economic situation. The first reason why the central economic planners will fail is because they are too focused on full employment rather than full production. The second reason is that the American economy, or any economy, is far too complex for any central planning group. The third reason is that proposal of more stimulus spending is exactly what got us into this mess in the first place. I even submit to you that the central planners have no idea how to even produce a pencil; in fact none of us do. Let me explain.

__________________________________________________________________

The Rallying Cry is “Full Production!” not “Full Employment!”

Last year I traveled to the mountainous and rain-forested Xishuangbanna region on the Chinese-Burma border. In one motley collection of huts far, far away from the nearest (dirt) road, the villagers I met lived in a subsistence economy, as close to a tribe of hunters and gatherers you can probably find on this planet. While they are literally dirt poor (but still managed to live happier lives than many city-folk, in my estimation), one fact I noticed is that they have zero unemployment. That’s right! Zero! Everyone has a job and is fully engaged, mainly in providing a food supply.

In fact, even in modern economies, I argue that full employment is exceptionally easy. All you have to do is use inferior capital equipment, build in plenty of inefficient bureaucracy or other forms of busy work. I will revert to China, where I have lived for over three years, once more. Half of the population still farms their own private plots of land, but if they were capable of trying American-style, highly mechanized farming over much larger plots of land, much higher yields would be realized from far less effort. There would also be, temporarily, much higher unemployment. In fact in China, part of the reason these people still live serf-like lives is because their central planners cannot figure out quite what to do with them all.

As Austrian economist Henry Hazlitt, who was also a columnist for the NY Times for many years, points out in his chapter “The Fetish of Full Employment” in Economics in One Lesson:

“The economic goal of any nation, as of any individual, is to get the greatest results with the least effort. The whole economic progress of mankind has consisted in getting more production with the same labor. It is for this reason that men began putting burdens on the backs of mules instead of on their own; that they went on to invent the wheel and the wagon, the railroad and the motor truck… “Translated into national terms, this first principle means that our real objective is to maximize production. In doing this, full employment — that is, the absence of involuntary idleness becomes a necessary by-product. But production is the end, employment merely the means. We cannot continuously have the fullest production without full employment. But we can very easily have full employment without full production… “The real question is not whether there will he 50,000,000 or 60,000,000 jobs in America in 1950, but how much shall we produce, and what, in consequence, will be our standard of living?“

On that note, let’s now look at the stimulus plan. In his January 10 speech on the economy, President Obama notably focuses on just what Hazlitt warns to avoid, “creating jobs,” not optimization of our economic production. In fact, the sole mention of production is reserved for alternative energies, which are great, but the trouble there lies in that the central planners, not a free market, will decide which technologies to pursue or not pursue. President Obama sums up the talk with:

Therefore our central economic planners must take “immediate and dramatic action.” Now, notice that by “reviving the economy,” he really means to create jobs. In the Romer/Bernstein paper Obama references, they claim 3.3 to 4.0 million jobs will be created by Q4 2010, or two full years later.

Here are the results for PA as of October 14, 2009.  As can be seen in the PDF, out of the $2 Billion allocated to Pennsylvania, only $2.42 million has been allotted to the Lehigh Valley, and $0 is reported spent.

Nationwide, Recovery.Gov shows us that, right now, in Q4 2009, 30,383 jobs were “created/saved.”  Only 495.2 jobs were “created/saved” in Pennsylvania.  [I do not know what criteria they used for "saved."]  We only have another 3.27 million more jobs to go in the next year to reach the central planner figures.

Also, notice that while the Pennsylvania area is very sparsely populated with the green project dots, see the area that is most ’stimulated’ with dots?  It should be of no surprise that this area is around Washington, DC!!

Now, I could spend another talk demonstrating that voodoo BLS employment statistics and n GDP math are complete hot air, but let us just take note of part of Romer’s report (page 9/14) where these central planners have lovingly estimated the job growth in each sector from the funds they plan to distribute to the nearest thousand. How do these Keynesian economists know what our economy should look like in two years?  That Industry A should be favored over Industry B?  I assure you, they do not have a clue.  As I will shortly demonstrate, they do not even know how to make a pencil.

In the nation’s planned economy, what is the #1 priority? Per change.gov (here) the bold title is “IMMEDIATE ACTION TO CREATE GOOD JOBS IN AMERICA.”  This is followed by #2, relief for struggling families, with which I sympathize, although some of this aid will be made necessary by the unavoidable ineptitude of the central planners.

Next on the list is #3, “direct, immediate assistance for homeowners, not a bailout for irresponsible mortgage lenders.” Now, these homeowners did make a conscious decision to sign a mortgage, and will benefit at the cost of taxpayers who do not own a home (a classic divide-and-conquer strategy), although this might be less objectionable than giving money to banks and auto companies. Also, the central planners will need to decide which mortgage lenders are “responsible” and “irresponsible” or “partly responsible.” However, so far, not a word about Full Production!

This is reserved for #4, “a rapid, aggressive response to our financial crisis, using all the tools we have.” In other words, “we are going to try like crazy to spend our way out of this.” In the subsection entitled “Manufacturing and Green Jobs,” we finally see that the government simply plans to create a hodgepodge of different funds, staffed by bureaucrats, who will dispense funding at their whims to successful applicants. A bonanza for Big Government, and corporate corruption, but a disaster for the free market and the full production it could provide. Three of the five bullets are devoted to clean technology and environmental jobs which will “create 5 million new green jobs.”  3, 4, 5, 6 million jobs, whatever!  All these central planners need is cash and they can churn out good, well-paying jobs better than any private company ever could!  It is that easy!  Right?

Well, just for curiosity, let’s take a look at the price tag of $787 billion, which to be fair is really $1.1 Trillion once you factor in the interest on the debt. Now, strangely, in their January 2009 report, Romers and Bernstein forgot to provide a price tag, probably since they could not estimate the amount of pork Congress needed to pass it! Romer/Bernstein prophesize 3.675 million jobs in 2 years, plus or minus a cool half million. That works out to $214,150 per job created. Now of course, the intent is to use some of these funds to buy capital, namely manufacturing equipment and raw material supplies, but if we do a little math, we could just cut a $80,000 check to about 10 million unemployed, who with a frugal lifestyle could survive on for over a couple years, which is roughly when our all-knowing central planners Romer/Bernstein (p 5/14) foretell this depression will end.

However, make no mistake. By focusing this Keynesian stimulus plan on creating jobs, in all reality most of the $787 billion will be wasted on paying for the government officials to disburse the bailout (hey more non-producing jobs!), corporate corruption, and incredible inefficiencies. In reality, I wrote in January 2009, the plan will likely create and sustain higher levels of unemployment than right now, just like FDR’s New Deal did. Well, let’s look and compare where we are with the Great Depression in October 2009.

In the years preceding WWII, unemployment hovered in the 15-25% area.  After 1942 due to the increased “employment” via conscription and the production of war material, the figures are useless.

Now let’s look at today.  The government per BLS.gov use the figure of 9.8%, 9.9% in the papers today (the U-3 rate) like it is some kind of going out of business sale, but in fact a better representation of the unemployment rate is the U-6 figure, which is around 16%.  However, even this number is falsified by practices such as dropping out discouraged workers after they have unsuccessfully been unemployed for X months.

Therefore the estimates from ShadowStats.com are probably more accurate, which is at a whopping, but more realistic, 21% unemployment. Likely a better representation of the unemployment rate lies between the BLS U-6 and ShadowStats number.

___________________________________________________________________

The Complexity of Economies: Obama’s Planners Don’t Even Know How to Make a Pencil

Few essays since Hazlitt’s work have more beautifully expressed the intricacies of economies than Leonard Read’s short essay “I, Pencil” which I encourage you to read. In this essay, Read takes a simple object, a pencil, and tracks its production from start to end and you may be surprised to find that thousands upon thousands or people are involved in the entire commercial process. Here is an excerpt:

“My family tree begins with what in fact is a tree, a cedar of straight grain that grows in Northern California and Oregon. Now contemplate all the saws and trucks and rope and the countless other gear used in harvesting and carting the cedar logs to the railroad siding. Think of all the persons and the numberless skills that went into their fabrication: the mining of ore, the making of steel and its refinement into saws, axes, motors; the growing of hemp and bringing it through all the stages to heavy and strong rope; the logging camps with their beds and mess halls, the cookery and the raising of all the foods. Why, untold thousands of persons had a hand in every cup of coffee the loggers drink! “The logs are shipped to a mill in California. Can you imagine the individuals who make flat cars and rails and railroad engines and who construct and install the communication systems? “The cedar logs are cut into small, pencil length slats less than one-fourth of an inch in thickness. These are kiln dried and then tinted for the same reason women put rouge on their faces. People prefer that I look pretty, not a pallid white. The slats are waxed and kiln dried again. How many skills went into the making of the tint and the kilns, into supplying the heat, the light and power, the belts, motors, and all the other things a mill requires?… Yes, and included are the men who poured the concrete for the dam of a Pacific Gas & Electric Company hydroplant which supplies the mill’s power! Don’t overlook the ancestors present and distant who have a hand in transporting sixty carloads of slats across the nation.”

So on with the all of the other parts, the pencil factory, the distribution to stores, et cetera. The same could be done with modern devices like plasma TVs or computers, or even just a birthday cake or dinner entree. The main point of “I, Pencil” is that yes, planning must be done, but economic planning is best done in the millions of individual, free transactions done for the mutual benefit of both parties, not done by central planners like Paulson, Summers, Geithner, Rubin, Romers, Bernstein, Bair, and Bernanke who really have no idea how to make a pencil, or anything else for that matter.

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The Game of “Spenda”

Now we move on to Spending. What if one studies how we arrived at our current situation? The answer is tied to massive government spending over the Bush years, but even as far back as WWII, resulting in our massive $12 Trillion national debt. The answer is tied to the massive amounts of new dollars created from thin air, then spent, by the Federal Reserve. We have really been engaged in a game of “Spenda,” which this comedian turned into a satirical game based on the tottering tower game of Jenga.

Why all this spending? It is because our government, central bankers, and almost all modern-day economists still subscribe to the benefits of government spending to ease downturns, which follows the teachings of John Maynard Keynes. However, this strategy is unsustainable and is only a stalling tactic for governments to employ; it falls apart when the currency implodes. When the dollar dies, so does our entire economy.

My message is playing “Spenda” this time will likely not work; in fact, even if it does, this only means that the next downturn will be downright disastrous. Those who have studied the Austrian Theory of the Trade Cycle on boom-bust cycles are already aware that all depressions and recessions in America in the last hundred years were all brought on by inflationary (usually war) spending, then resolved by government spending, and each aftermath has pushed the dollar closer and closer to its demise. Of course, the lovely truth about boom-bust cycles is that they would not exist with sound money and a free market.

So, in summary, economic central planning will not work as the focus is on job creation, not maximizing economic output. Furthermore, the plan will not work since the chosen, unelected central planners cannot possibly imitate the billions of mutually beneficial trades that occur naturally in a vibrant free-market economy. This was the great lesson learned from the monumental failure of communist Russia. Lastly, Keynesian deficit and stimulus spending only postpones the inevitable Misesian “crack-up boom” of the currency.

Now for the tougher part of this talk. What WILL work? What could we do differently?

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IDEA #1: Eliminate the 2008 Federal Income Tax.

Let me explain go into some detail, although please see my Income Tax plank on my website for more details on the math. If you check the 2008 White House budget, you will find that total planned government outlays were $2.9 Trillion, and $1.2 Trillion in federal income taxes was collected. (pg26/342). Total receipts were $2.5 Trillion, so the planned deficit was $0.4 Trillion, which was the highest ever.

In this slide, we have the multi-billion dollar annual deficits from WhiteHouse.gov going into the future from the TARP bailout nonsense and the stimulus plan. Also, if we recall that the total size of the bailouts is now close to $8 Trillion, a $1.2 Trillion income tax refund begins to look fairly “cheap.”

After all, the TARP Banker Bailout will cost over $1 Trillion with the interest, and the Stimulus Plan’s estimated total cost is $1.1 Trillion.  Why not declare a tax holiday for at least 1 or 2 years?

2008 Receipts (pg35/342) -
$0.35 Trillion from corporate income taxes
$1.2 Trillion from federal income taxes
$0.9 Trillion in Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, etc.

Total $2.5 Trillion

Now, what if government would do the unprecedented, and instead of spending $787 Billion we do not have, decide to not collect income taxes due?

• Each individual will then naturally make the best decisions for themselves, whether it is to save, pay down debts, or spend on desired goods and services, which would create more jobs.

• There is no administrative cost to pay government to administer the stimulus plan.

• There is no need for the government to spend most roughly $15 billion in IRS spending and tax preparer fees, although rebate checks for the amounts currently withheld would need to be mailed. (source)

• Many of the IRS’s 92,000 employees and many tax preparers can be fired. While this would add to the total amount of unemployed, their jobs are NOT AT ALL economically productive, so our total production will not suffer. In fact, when they return to work, our overall production will be boosted.

IDEA #2: SLASH GOVERNMENT SPENDING

In the President’s January 10 speech, he said:

“We’ll create nearly half a million jobs by investing in clean energy by committing to double the production of alternative energy in the next three years, and by modernizing more than 75% of federal buildings and improving the energy efficiency of two million American homes.”

Well, I am not nearly so arrogant to believe that I could decide how best to produce alternative energy, and I have already explained why it would be best for Obama to not even try. However, when he says we can modernize the heating, cooling, and powering of “75% of federal buildings,” I think instead, how about we CLOSE DOWN 75% of federal buildings. Why, in the depths of a possibly monster depression, would we want to spend money on our ultimately completely unproductive departments of Labor, Agriculture, Homeland Security, Energy, Education, CIA, IRS, etc.? Why not slash all congressional and departmental staff budgets by 50%? Yes, there would need to be a temporary support of these people, but just think of the fantastic increases in our production with a larger, unbridled workforce!

IDEA #3: SLASH MILITARY SPENDING. END THE MILITARY EMPIRE.

Does it not strike anyone else as extremely silly to be fighting wars on foreign soils while the American people struggle to support their families? The United States of America spends over $1 Trillion annually to maintain our overseas military empire with over 700 bases in 150 countries. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are both lost causes, and do not forget that the Iraq War was initiated by Bush under false pretenses. Bring home the 55,000 troops in Germany, the ~40,000 in South Korea, the ~40,000 in Japan! Declare WWII as OVER. Declare the silly War of Terror as OVER.

Some veterans will be need of assistance due to PTSD, war wounds, etc. and must be treated properly, in my opinion no matter how expensive, since this is owed by the American people. All troops based abroad could be returned to bases within the USA. This would result in a consumer spending boost around the bases’ local areas. Any unnecessary soldiers could be returned to the private sector. This reduces the tax burden on the taxpayer to finance an army in the field, and will result in a net increase in economic output when the new citizen finds employment.

IDEA #4: UNDISGUISED AID TO INDIVIDUALS FAMILIES WHO NEED IT.

I wish to be more specific and frank. Our politicians have committed to, and to a large extent, We the People currently desire, and will need, a social safety net. Although I am an enemy of the Welfare State, I am socially liberal and do not see any excuse as to why our fellow Americans should not have food or shelter if this depression becomes quite severe. However, make no mistake; the ultimate goal should be to phase the Welfare State out, which could be done over a longer time-frame with the phase-outs of the bankrupt Social Security plan (with $17 trillion in unfunded liabilities) and Medicare plan (with $85 trillion in unfunded liabilities).

My opinion is that this undisguised aid should be focused only on necessary levels of food and shelter, and, still, quite likely any aid would be far more efficient and cost-effective if carried out by the local communities rather than the leviathan federal government.

In light of the impending baby boomer wave of retirees, the government will need to do this anyways since, unless you are living in a fantasy world, the Madoff-Ponzi scheme that is the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid system is going to collapse in the next decade, or will die with the dollar’s demise. The Social Security promise has already been made, however, and we as Americans should do our best to honor it, although for many this will simply NOT be the comfortable retirement they may have dreamed their government would provide. The best benefit we can give to our younger generation is to give them the option to opt out of this future yoke.

Let there be no mistake. There needs to be a future focus on ENDING the Welfare State situation. We the People can do this with the above, but most critically we need the below.

IDEA #5: ABOLISH THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM AND REFORM THE MONETARY SYSTEM

If we have learned nothing else in the past century and past several months, it is that our central bankers planning our monetary policy have a horrendous track record. There is no better example of central economic planning error upon grievous error than in the track records of former FED Chairman Alan Greenspan and the contemporary Ben Bernanke. Fiat Federal Reserve Notes can be replaced by fiat United States Notes issued from the US Treasury on a 1:1 basis immediately, and our country and our world will be much the better for it.

America has forgotten what money truly is. Actually, this is the true reason for the current financial and economic crises, the wild growth of OTC derivatives would simply not have been possible with Honest Money. The Founding Fathers explicitly stated in Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution, which is still law, that only gold and silver coins may be used as lawful money. The dollar, in fact, is defined as a specific mass of silver, and this definition has never been amended. At the very least, our monetary system must be debated in a national forum.

IDEA #6: REFORM THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM.

Besides bringing transparency to the OTC “dark” derivatives market which I have written about, I would like to refer everyone to the past recommendations of Michael Lewis and David Einhorn in the New York Times also the Dr. James Quinn, a professor at Wharton Business School which will be linked on my website tomorrow as I find it hard to argue with their practical advice.

Source List

This lecture was based on the first link below.

• Towne, Jake. January 2009. “Why Obama’s Stimulus Plan Will Fail… and a Better Alternative.”

• Bastiat, Frederic. 1848. The Law.
• Hazlitt, Henry. 1946. Economics in One Lesson.
• Lewis, Michael and David Einhorn.  Jan 2009.   “The End of the Financial System As We Know It” and ” How to Repair A Broken Financial World.” NY Times articles with solid advice on how to correct the financial system.
• Obama, Barack. 10 January 2009 Speech.
• Quinn, James.  2009. “Unintended Consequences – 2009 & Beyond“
• Read, Leonard E. 1958. I, Pencil. Famous short essay on economic intricacies.
• Romer, Christina and Jared Bernstein.  2009. The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.
• Rothbard, Murray. 1990. What Has the Government Done with Our Money?
• Towne, Jake. 2009. “America’s Military Empire.”
• Towne, Jake. 2008. “Bernanke’s Great Lie – The “Gold Standard”and the Great Depression.”
• Towne, Jake. 2009. “Federal Reserve Plank.”
• Towne, Jake. 2009. “Income Tax Plank.”
• Towne, Jake. 2008. “The Money Matrix – What the Heck Are Derivatives?”
• Towne, Jake. 2009. “The Money Matrix – Bring Light to Dark Derivatives”
• White House Budget. FY2009.  (FY2010 here.)

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Jake Towne is running for U.S. Congress in Pennsylvania’s 15th District in the 2010 election as a citizen unaffiliated with any political parties. Jake also writes at www.LibertyMaven.com andwww.CampaignForLiberty.com. A novel campaign website where you can comment on articles and start discussions is available at TowneForCongress.com.  [Reach the Author Here!]

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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

As always, unlike the NFL, the author grants full permission to allow any accounts of, rebroadcasts, retransmissions, repostings of this article to your blog or anywhere else in order to promote the Restoration of our Republic.

Veritas numquam perit. Veritas odit moras. Veritas vincit. Truth never perishes. Truth hates delay. Truth conquers.

Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito. Do not give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it.

Jake Towne – Lecture at Moravian College on Stimulus Plans (Oct 2009)

“Let it not be said that no one cared, that no one objected once it’s realized that our liberties and our wealth are in jeopardy.” – Dr. Ron Paul

Originally published October 16, 2009 at http://towneforcongress.com/economy/liberty-candidates-2010-the-year-of-hope-1

Ever wonder what happened to that sense of hope and change that most of the voters in the United States were swept up by last fall?

America does need “hope.” America does need “change.”

However, the mainstream Republican and Democratic party machines are both repeating like bad records – “more spending, more taxes, more war, more debt.”

If you flip the record, all you hear is “less liberty, fewer jobs, less prosperity.”

Why doesn’t America consider a sound money and slashing federal spending?

Why doesn’t America consider auditing and cutting back the powers of the ruinous FED?

Why doesn’t America consider destroying the IMMORAL and UNNECESSARY federal income tax?

Why doesn’t America consider a different foreign policy – where there is third choice besides bombing or economic sanctions? Why not replace the blowback our foreign policy has resulted in with a little love and peaceful trade?

Why doesn’t America replace its civil liberties that were stripped during the unconstitutional USA PATRIOT Act, which blasphemes the very concept of individual liberty?

Why doesn’t America consider replacing our “crony corporatism” system with a truly free market?

And, above all, WHY DOESN’T AMERICA MAKE ITS POLITICIANS ACCOUNTABLE TO THEM???

These images are not intended as an anti-Obama ad, but rather as a statement in the power of the individual. The hope for our futures will not come from following any single man!  It is only by thinking for ourselves, and realizing that all hope for change lies inside each of us, and the key to unlock the change rests in each of our minds.

To download the image, please right-click, select “Save Image As…” and save to your desktop and use however you like. We make the suggestion that all Facebook supporters use this image for their profile picture for awhile. Its message is powerful and simple enough to reach many who do not realize that there is something dreadfully wrong with America, and only together can we bring into being a revolution in thought.

Remember, the truth persists and illuminates, even if there is no one to utter it.  Be the change that you wish to see in the world.

The campaign gives its sincere thanks to Erik Gumbrecht for the concept and Ernest Ibarra, Jr. for the graphic design.

Restore the Republic! Re-legalize the Constitution!

Jake Towne, Candidate for US House PA-15  TowneForCongress.com

Dr. Mike Vasovski, Candidate for US House SC-3 VasovskiForCongress.com

Paul Lambert, Candidate for US House AL-6 VoteLambert.org

Jaynee Germond, Candidate for US House OR-4  Germond2010.com

William Kern, Candidate for US House NJ-1, KernForCongress.com

RJ Harris, Candidate for US House OK-4 RJHarris2010.com

Each of the above candidates have the answers to the above questions.

Towne for Congress addresses them with the below links.

• Campaign Principles
• Sound Monetary Policy and the FED
• The Federal Income Tax
• The Wars Abroad
• Corporatism and Bailouts
• Accountability through the novel yet simple Our Open Office plan
• Health Care

Jake Towne for Congress – Hope and Change Ad

by Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital and author of Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit from the Economic Collapse

While all the talk at present is about economic corners turned and markets charging ahead, no one is paying much notice to an American economy deteriorating before our eyes. These myopic commentators seem to be simply moving past the now almost-universally held conclusion that before the crash of 2008, our economy was on an unsustainable course. If these imbalances had been corrected, then perhaps I too would be joining in the euphoria. But evidence abounds that we have not veered at all from that dangerous path.

Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that consumer spending as a percentage of U.S. GDP has risen to 71%, a post-World War II record. This level is notably higher than other wealthy industrialized countries, and vastly higher than the levels sustained by China and other emerging economies. At the same time, our industrial output is contracting, our trade deficit is expanding once again (after contracting earlier in the year), and our savings rate is plummeting (after an early year surge).

The data confirms that government stimuli are worsening the structural imbalances underlying our economy. The recent ‘rebound’ in GDP is not resulting from increased economic output, but merely from the fact that we are borrowing more than ever. That is precisely how we got ourselves into this mess. An economy cannot grow indefinitely by borrowing more than it produces. Not only is such a course untenable, but the added debt ensures a deeper recession when the bills come due.

This soon-to-be-called depression will not end until the pendulum of consumer spending habits swings violently in the other direction. This will be a jarring change, but it is the splash of cold water that we need to return our economy to viability. I believe that consumer spending as a share of GDP will need to temporarily contract to roughly 50% of GDP, before eventually moving toward its historic mean of 65%. Such a move would indicate a restoration of our personal savings, a decline in borrowing and trade deficits, and an increased industrial output. That would be a real recovery.

In the meantime, the higher the spending percentage climbs, the more painful the ultimate decline becomes.

Consumers and governments must spend less so their savings can be made available to businesses for capital investments. Businesses, in turn, will produce more products and employ more people – increasing domestic prosperity. However, rather than allowing a painful cure to return our economy to health, the government prefers to numb the voting public with a toxic saline-drip of deficit spending and cheap money.

The primary factor that enables our government to peddle economic snake oil is the dollar’s unique role as the world’s reserve currency, and our creditors’ willingness to preserve its status. By buying up dollars and loaning them back to us through Treasury debt, productive countries give American politicians carte blanche to play Santa Claus.

Ironically, as foreign governments finance our spending spree, they are simultaneously scolding us for our low savings rate. At the recent G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, all agreed – including President Obama – that resolving the global economic imbalances was a top priority. By definition, this would require Americans to spend less and save more. However, with foreign central banks continuing to buy our debt, the President has shown no political will to encourage this change.

Normally, if politicians run up the government deficit, voters soon suffer the unpleasant consequences of higher inflation and rising interest rates. Yet, if foreign central banks keep supplying the funds, these consequences are indefinitely postponed. As a result, there is no need for American politicians to ever make the tough choices required to solve our problems.

Instead, the burden may fall squarely on the citizens of those governments doing all the lending. The conflict is that within the creditor states, a vocal minority actually benefits from this subsidy (owners of Chinese exporters, for example) while the overwhelming majority fails to make the connection. Thus, foreign politicians have the same incentives as ours to keep playing the game.

The bottom line is that foreign governments can lecture us all they want about the need for prudence but if they keep lending, we’ll keep spending. Any parent knows that if you give your child a curfew yet never impose any penalties when it’s violated, it will not be respected. My gut feeling is that foreign governments are tiring of our conduct and on the verge of finally imposing some discipline. That means the dollar’s days as the world’s reserve currency are numbered, and the days of American austerity are about to begin.

For a more in-depth analysis of our financial problems and the inherent dangers they pose for the U.S. economy and U.S. dollar, read Peter Schiff’s 2008 bestseller “The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets” and his newest release “Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit from the Economic Collapse.” Click here to learn more.

More importantly, don’t let the great deals pass you by. Get an inside view of Peter’s playbook with his new Special Report, “Peter Schiff’s Five Favorite Investment Choices for the Next Five Years.” Click here to dowload the report for free. You can find more free services for global investors, and learn about the Euro Pacific advantage, at www.europac.net.

You should ask Congress to give you the same option for your own transactions. Otherwise, you risk losing everything you’ve worked for.

Send another letter to Congress asking them to repeal the legal tender law that forces you to do business ONLY in Federal Reserve Notes. In your personal comments use the latest news about countries dropping the dollar for oil transactions.

Here’s what I wrote in my letter to Congress . . .

Several countries are making plans to stop using Federal Reserve Notes for oil purchases. I want the same freedom for my personal transactions.

The Fed has nearly doubled the money supply since last Fall. This will cut the future value of my savings in half and send my cost of living through the roof. Add to that . . .

* The $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare
* Your big bailout schemes,
* Your so-called stimulus package,
* Your cap and trade boondoggle,
* Your disastrous healthcare plans, and the result is . . .

I see no hope for the dollar. You guys have ruined our currency, and I WANT OUT.

If foreigners can stop using Federal Reserve Notes, I should have the same freedom. Why should foreigners have more right to control their own economic destiny than I do?

Many in Washington claim they want to protect the Fed’s independence. What about my independence? I just want you to repeal the legal tender law so I can use forms of money other than Federal Reserve Notes (like gold and silver for instance). Doing this would also moderate the Fed’s behavior. If they want me to keep using Federal Reserve Notes then they’ll have to stop their legalized counterfeiting activities.

Please represent me. Break the Federal Reserve’s money monopoly. Give me the same right that foreigners have.

You can send your own letter to Congress using DownsizeDC.org’s Educate the Powerful System.

Jim Babka, President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

Resources:

* A news report on plans to stop using the dollar for oil purchases
* The Federal Reserve’s report on the expanding size of the money supply
* Brother Can You Spare a FRAUD? (Federal Reserve Accounting Unit, the Dollar)

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

& Downsize DC Foundation

This culture is being thrust upon our nation’s young people at an early age. Young children are constantly being reassured that they are doing a “good job” for the most mundane accomplishments. Those who play sports are presented participation trophies. No, we wouldn’t want any of them to actually excel beyond just “showing up”, do we? While playing games it’s always important to make sure each child gets a turn at winning or at least the game ends in a tie where “everyone wins!” We are beginning to see the effects of this mentality.

At some point these children grow up and the realities of life smack them square in their glass jaws. Everyone can never be equal. Life is not fair. Hate will always exist. Yet they were always taught the opposite so they get “active” and try to fulfill the promise of their youth. Their activity naturally progresses toward the one entity they believe has de facto power to fulfill this promise: government.

Yes, everyone wants to take the government drug to be pain free, but everyone remains ignorant of that particular drug’s evil side effects and addictive nature.

Everyone has become “too big to fail”.

I was once asked in a job interview, “Do you think you learn more from your successes or your failures?” I answered “failures, of course.” Failure forces you to reexamine your premises, think outside the box, and try again. In order for failure to “work” it must not be rewarded. Yet this is precisely what our government is doing and has done for quite some time.

In our increasingly more overt politically-correct society, is it perhaps time to reexamine our premises? If someone is born without limbs it doesn’t mean we should go out and round up all of the “limb-full” and amputate their arms and legs in the interests of equality. Sure it’s an extreme metaphor but this is precisely what we are trying to do when we support plans that attempt to make life “more fair” for the underprivileged at the expense of those who worked to make their own lives better. It is class warfare and all classes lose in the end.

The opposite is true too. We should not be funneling taxpayer money to private banks and auto companies. A bad business is a bad business and we’d know it was bad if it were left alone to fail or thrive. Executives and employees will learn from the failure and move on to try again. Once the crying stops, innovation is a by-product of failure.

Rewarding failure makes it a goal rather than a consequence of poor decisions. Failure should not be shunned. It should not be embraced. It should be accepted as a lesson learned. Trying and failing is what makes trying again and succeeding so satisfying.

We need to channel the Founder’s cavalier spirit, end government mollycoddling, and realize if we fall down we can pick ourselves back up again. Sure we may make a mess of things at times but the most important thing is persistence.

FDR famously said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself!” If he had instead said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear of failure”, we might be in a much better place today.