What do you expect them to do?

Good Read

What is wrong with us? Why do we react to every problem, every crisis with the same plaintive cry: Government ought to do something! President Obama was elected under the banner of “Yes, We can!” Well, it must be clear by now that “We” (the government) can't, which is why John Stossel proposes a new rallying cry: “No They Can't!” His new book No They Can't explores our perverse nature to hand off problems to a government despite the fact that it has never once proven that collective action can solve our nation's problems.

Like many of us who are reborn small “L” libertarians, John abandoned liberal and conservative, right- and left-wing, ideologies as well as Republican and Democrat politics, when he was “mugged by reality.” Unfortunately, the vast majority of people have their pockets “picked” by government without ever suspecting the true culprits. Whenever their favorite leaders fail them, they are distracted by propaganda assuring them that “it's the other guys fault.” No, actually it's our own fault for putting our faith in people who pretend to by wiser but, in truth, do not have sufficient knowledge to make all of our choices for us. Furthermore, if they make mistakes (which invariably they do) they are not held accountable for them. Again, it's the other guys fault, it's the other party's fault, it's the other ideology's fault.

I highly recommend that you spend a few hours with John's book. Preferably, a few days. Give yourself time to absorb what he is saying. Discuss it with friends and family. Okay, maybe not family. No one in a family likes someone who insists on making them uncomfortable talking about politics. Just go annoy a few friends. They expect it.

Don't expect No They Can't to answer all your questions. Be careful reading it. John doesn't get everything right. Indeed, I was somewhat disappointed in the video of the interview with John on Uncommon Knowledge, that he wasn't prepared to respond to Alan Greenspan's error.

“I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of... banks... [was] such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders... That the loan officers of those institutions knew more about the risks than... even our best regulators. A critical pillar... to free markets did break down... that shocked me... I still do not fully understand why it happened.”

– Alan Greenspan testifying before Congress, 2008

What doesn't Greenspan understand? Clearly, that “critical pillar” collapsed because it was undermined by government incursion into the housing market. The government promised to shield the banks from loss by subsidizing risky investments for political gain. What brought the economy to its knees was the fact that the government made good on its promise by covering the losses with borrowed money - trillions of borrowed cash. Inasmuch as that money was not based on real value, consumer confidence – and business confidence, too – fell and the economy ground to a halt. Even the most unaware consumer intuits that government spending is a poor substitute for real wealth generation.

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I suppose this is where the author and I disagree. The theme that binds his book together is that intuition is leading Americans astray. That intuition inspires them to respond to every problem and crisis by saying “The government ought to do something!” I believe they have been programmed to say this even though their intuition tells them it is wrong.

Take a look for yourself. Read No They Can't and tell me who you agree with, the author or me. Despite this one point, I believe that John is “spot on” in the rest of his book.