The Whited Sepulchre gives us a list entitled The top 12 things that Libertarians wish that everyone knew.
(In his humble opinion)
1) The only Fair Trade is Free Trade. All other arrangements are designed to protect political supporters. And no, slavery isn’t “Free Trade”. Slaves aren’t free to make a choice.
2) You can’t legislate morality. There will always be a market for alcohol, tobacco, drugs, whores, gambling, and other things that the state doesn’t like. Prohibitions create a black market, and make the activity more dangerous. This creates jobs for bureaucrats, which is probably the only rationale for the prohibition.
3) War is a racket. Check out this rant from Medal Of Honor winner General Smedley Butler.
4) If you want to discourage something, tax it. Or even threaten to tax it. Now, take a look at our economy.
5) If it weren’t for our arbitrary political boundaries, we wouldn’t have the words “exports”, “imports”, “globalization”, or “offshoring”.
6) You can oppose government healthcare, education and safety standards and still support healthcare, education and safety standards. I’m almost violently opposed to the public school system, but I like the idea of education. Amazing, isn’t it?
7) The “Invisible Hand”, the way that markets work in a spontaneous unplanned way because of people trying to make a profit, is far more effective than any “planned economy”. See: Cuba.
8) There really isn’t that much difference in Barack Obama and George Bush.
9) Gary Johnson, who spent twice as much time as governor as Mitt Romney, left his state with a budget surplus. He vetoed more bills than all other governors combined. He once told me that if he had been dictator of New Mexico, he could’ve cut government jobs and spending by 40%, and nobody would’ve noticed. This would’ve left the taxpayers with more money to spend in the manner of their own choosing. Gary Johnson is considered radical, and ”outside the mainstream”.
10) One day Cash For Clunkers will be linked with Mao’s Cultural Revolution in lists of the most insanely destructive policies ever pursued by a government. I might have to write the list myself, but it’s gonna happen.
11) ObamaCare adds no doctors, only IRS agents and bureaucrats. Therefore, it is going to be a disaster.
12) No private industry is as scary as any government agency. Unless, of course, the private industry has the support of a government agency.
I tend to agree with most of these; what do you guys think? Any other ideas that need to be added to the list?
“He once told me that if he had been dictator of New Mexico, he could’ve cut government jobs and spending by 40%, and nobody would’ve noticed.”
Well, not exactly. The bureaucrats, politicians and those who receive government checks would certainly have noticed. And, since those make up about 50% of the general population, I don’t think he could have done this in a corner unremarked.
Which is probably one good reason he didn’t try it.
Posted by MamaLiberty | July 26, 2012, 7:57 amI think your list is plenty, all on its lonesome. I particularly like the poster at the beginning. “…and leave you alone.” ROFL!
Posted by Rev. Paul | July 26, 2012, 8:27 amThanks, Rev. ! That poster was a gift from the Internet (Bing) re: libertarians.
Posted by guffaw1952 | July 26, 2012, 8:30 amJust a quick reminder — it’s “Medal of Honor recipient”, not Medal of Honor winner. One “wins” a race, or a contest, but not the Medal of Honor.
Posted by F106A | July 26, 2012, 7:45 pmUnderstood. It wasn’t a ‘contest’. I copied the text verbatim,
Thanks for reminding us all.
gfa
Posted by guffaw | July 26, 2012, 8:47 pm