January 14, 2009
by Larken Rose

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As our "leaders" have been teaching us recently, the way to save the world is to throw money around.  If huge corporations or banks are failing, flinging zillions of dollars at them is the solution.  Well heck, since we know how to fix everything, why hold back?

I hereby propose a $300,000,000,000,000 bailout.  Let's not waste time bickering over what's necessary and what's fair.  Lots of people are having financial troubles, but with a wave of Congress' magic wand, we can have utopia on earth.  I propose that every man, woman and child in the country get a check for $1,000,000 from Uncle Sam.  Think of the debts that would be wiped out, the savings and investments it would lead to, and how much it would boost spending, thus causing an economic boom!

If there was a national referendum for such a plan, what do you suppose the vote would be?  I'm guessing it would be about 80% in favor and 20% against.  And of the minority that would instinctively know that such a "solution" couldn't possibly work, how many could actually explain WHY it wouldn't work?  Would it even be as many as one in a hundred?

Socialism is for imbeciles.  The level of economic stupidity necessary for socialism to sound good is astounding.  Of the "concerned" and "caring" collectivists around (which is most of the country), how many could even begin to answer simple questions such as "What is wealth?" or "What is money?"  To confuse currency with wealth, as most Americans do, is a sure sign of profound cluelessness.  (I wonder how many supporters of the various "bailouts" also think that if you pull on the speedometer needle, it will make the car go faster.)

I don't necessarily think people who are stupid "deserve" to suffer because of it, but in the real world, they often do.  Then along comes "government," which, by way of elections and legislation, allows the few thinking, responsible people to share in the suffering caused by the moronic masses.  Every "solution" which the majority falls for is patently idiotic. 

The masses cheer when the tyrants promise to interfere with people actually accomplishing things, redistribute the assets and take away all incentives for being productive, and otherwise hamper any efforts to create actual wealth (i.e., stuff which people want).  Then they push piles of paper around, as if that will make us all rich.  And the public is so ignorant, even of the most basic economic principles, that even the most idiotic suggestions sound good to them. 

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For example:

1. As mentioned above, if not having enough dollars is the problem, why not have the government give each person a million bucks?  Would that fix everything?
    
   
2. If increasing spending fixes an economy, how about if we all stand in a long line, and everyone hand $20 to the person next to them?  How about $1,000?  Would that fix everything?  (Or, if gifts aren't good enough, everyone could buy his neighbor's shoes for $1,000.  Wouldn't all that "spending" save the day?)
    
   
3. If it helps the economy to redistribute wealth, how about if the government takes away all existing wealth and divides it up equally, 300,000,000 ways?  Would that fix everything?
    
   
4. If the problem is lack of jobs, how about if the government gives a job to anyone who wants one, paying them $50 an hour to carry empty boxes around in circles?  Would that fix everything?
    
   
5. If a lack of credit is the problem, how about if the government gives everyone a new, federal credit card with a $1,000,000 line of credit?  Would that fix everything?
    
   
6. If "corporate greed" is the problem, how about if government outlaws making profits, forcing companies to sell things at prices that would just make them break even?  Would that fix everything?

One of the neat things about freedom is that it naturally discards stupid ideas.  If your ideas don't work, most people won't volunteer to pay for them.  If you have a good idea, on the other hand, people will be eager to invest in your idea, or pay you for your idea. 

Government, on the other hand, consists of people who are too clueless to be successful in the free market, and whose success (in politics) is measured by how well they can lie, who then come up with really bad ideas and forcibly impose them on the rest of us (and send us the bill).  Oh, how I would love to live in a society in which economic irresponsibility and stupidity only harmed those with the stupid ideas making the stupid choices.  Thanks to government, however, the results of stupidity can be equally shared by all.

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Larken Rose's interest in politics goes back to his youth. He was always passionately interested in the freedom of his fellow man, moving intellectually from conservatism through libertarianism to anarchism. How to be a Successful Tyrant is his first published work on the dynamics of tyranny, written between his conviction in federal court and his surrender to prison, where he is busy writing his next book.

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