Bastiat's Broken Window Economic Theory At Work

The auto shop where I have my vehicles serviced is having financial difficulties. They have one receptionist and three mechanics (one of which is very junior and mostly just changes oil and such). They've been in this community for going on thirty years now.

They've always been honest, fair, and trustworthy, which is why they get all my business (and there's a lot of it). I was talking to the receptionist (who is the owner's wife) and she mentioned their financial difficulties. The reason?

Cash for Clunkers. Less clunkers on the road means less repairs are having to be made. Seems a lot of people in our community decided to avail themselves of this government welfare program and went to get a new vehicle, which is now under warranty and being serviced by a dealer.

At the end of the day, this is one more example of how government interference in the free market hurts businesses and consumers both. If they can't weather this storm, you'll soon have four people added to the unemployment rolls and I'll be out a good, trustworthy mechanic.

Undone

Alright, November is upon me and in my mind at least, this is the official beginning of winter. I am more behind schedule than usual this year and the following items have not been accomplished:

1. Barn cleaned out
2. Apple trees planted
3. Winter's hay brought in
4. Cow and goat sold/butchered

This is easily 2 weeks worth of work right here but the weather is nasty and I've just been unable to get much done. This week: HAY is on the top of the priority list.

Freedom - Views of the Left and Right

It has become clear to me that the opposing viewpoints of left and right in America are more polarized than ever before. This, I believe, is by design. Some agency, or men, have in their hearts to rule over us, not because it fits their ideology of left or right, but because they simply feel arrogant enough to do so. Ultimately, the left and right must oppose these men if we are all to be free.

Before we can find common ground, we must begin to see things from both points of view. I will try to discuss the topic of freedom, at least as far as I can understand it myself. I will try to treat fairly, or at least as fairly as I can muster, the views of the left, which I do not hold nor pretend to understand.

From the right, or what is sometimes known as conservative thought, freedom is the pursuit of happiness. It is the right to be secure in our homes and lives from government intrusion. Conservatives generally know that there is no security from thieves and brigands that can be provided by the government, but they will instead try to provide such security themselves and wish the freedom to do so. They seek to make bargains between men, not always honest, and keep it bound between only those involved in the bargain. Conservatives would seek the redress of court only to enforce the terms of the bargain, not to enforce the dictation and limitations of those same terms. For conservatives, freedom is mostly a thing of property.

From the left, or what is sometimes known as liberal thought, freedom is the freedom of or from culture. To a liberal, freedom is to be found in the body and the right to be free of all consequences. It's the freedom to be found from religion or the beliefs of other men, or at least free of their judgement. Freedom is the belief that in man and man's ways lies the true destiny of the human race and that with the proper guidance, those recalcitrants not as enlightened as the rest can be brought in line and stop dragging their feet in the march towards progress.

Personally, I believe both of these systems of thought are deeply flawed. The conservative who seeks to preserve property for property's sake, or liberty for the sake of the man, commit as grave of a sin as the liberal who would enslave others for the sake of progress.

The purpose of freedom is so that man may follow the will of God. We were meant to have free will and independent thought in this matter, but we were never meant to guide our own destinies. We are not cut out for it. Left to our own devices, we are no more than animals. Perhaps worse than animals, for even wolves would not kill all of the prey and leave the next generation to starve, or foul their own dens beyond the level of habitability.

I do not know how we can elevate the argument beyond simple left and right. Many liberals do not believe in God, and many conservatives believe God's place is to serve man. It is the will of the Adversary to keep our vision small and keep us fighting amongst ourselves. Meanwhile, his minions who lust for power and wealth have crept up behind us to place the collars around our necks.

I'm not going to go into the authority these states have to secede. I'm a Southern boy and everyone should be able to guess how I stand on that one.

Instead, I'm going to discuss the complete naivete of the advocates of this.

Do you really think the Federal government is going to let any of its chattel go? It doesn't have enough citizens NOW to provide a tax base for its schemes. How will it survive if it just willingly lets some of those taxpayers opt out? Do you think the government would just allow a conservative, heavily-armed state like Texas to secede and then sit on its borders? Especially when you consider just how vital some of these states are to the Federal union in general. Consider how much oil and gas Texas either produces or processes. Consider that some of these states hold major transportation hubs, such as ports or railway stations.

Lincoln didn't let the states secede. I see no reason in the world why Obama would. But if a state does have the right to secede, and I believe they do, does not that right extend all the way down to me the individual? Do I have a right to secede from ALL government as well? If I need to drive on a public road then tax or toll me for the privilege. I'll opt out of education, social security, healthcare, or anything else. Participation in government could then be done on a cafeteria-style basis, with whatever services you wish to draw from becoming "for-pay" services that you must bring cash (or gold) to take part in.

A Land of Dead Pacifists

One of the things I have struggled with for awhile is reconciling my desire to fight with my desire to be a Christian. Too much church doctrine is dedicated towards pacifism, I feel. In recent times, I have come to understand things a little differently.

Jesus told us to seek peace. That's a lot different than telling us to be pacifists. A pacifist seeks peace at any cost, even at the cost of his own life or those who he holds dear.

I can be armed and ready and still seek peace. There's the difference. How am I serving God if I let evil men take all that I have, kill or imprison me, or harm my family? Jesus specifically told his disciples to take up swords to go out and do their ministry. He said if they didn't have a sword to sell their cloak and buy one. It was important to him that his followers go out into the world armed to spread the message.

I can seek peace in my heart and rest content if I never need to fight again. If I never smell cordite or blood again, should it be God's will, then I can dig in the dirt happily, raise my sons, and grow old sitting on the porch. Otherwise, God gave me the means and ability to do what needs to be done and I just pray that I'm given the wisdom as well.

Obama's Big Day

Today Obama declared a national emergency due to the H1N1 epidemic. This national emergency gives him sweeping authority to do pretty much whatever he wants. To be fair, GW Bush also declared a national emergency over the proliferation of nuclear weapons in North Korea, but I sort of see this as a different issue. I think Bush did it to get attention at the end of his presidency when he was otherwise considered a "lame duck". I'm not entirely sure why Obama is doing it, but I'm far more concerned with a national emergency at the beginning of a presidency as opposed to the end of one.

In addition, this week we've had Obama in secret meetings with news executives, excluding FOX news, the one media outlet which has shown they won't go along with any scheme of his. And on Thursday we had the FCC passing their "net neutrality" decision, which assumably will give them sweeping control over internet providers and even allow them to shut off access to content.

Why did Obama release this on Saturday? One of two reasons, or maybe both. First, the stock markets are closed on the weekend so any panic this causes won't cause financial disruptions until Monday. Second, and probably the bigger reason, is that by releasing it on the weekend when fewer people are paying attention to the news, it has all weekend to sit and percolate. By Monday morning when people drive to work and start listening to the news on the radio or pulling up CNN's website, this will be several days old and already get bumped down to page three, particularly if they can get Brittney Spears to get arrested tonight or tomorrow.

That time of year

We had about 3 days of Indian summer, but now a cold, icy rain has descended upon us.

I believe it is time to pull out the old copy of Robert Frost. Play some Nocturnes on the old stereo. Pull out the wool blankets.

Outside, it's starting to get cold enough to freeze a rooster's nuggets off.

Dear Mr President

Your entire campaign was one of "I'll fix it". Every statement, every fund-raiser, every time a camera gets shoved in your face you promoted how different you were from the other guys and how you'd "fix it".

You're closing on a year into your presidency now, and you're still blaming the other guys. You said you'd fix it. So far you've kept what they did and added more tyranny to it. You surrounded yourself with some really disgusting, criminal people. You've spent more money that we didn't have trying to fix problems that aren't there.

I believe you are clearly an incompotent boob of the first class. At least Bush had Cheney, who while as evil as Darth Vader, at least knew how government worked and how to get things done. You, on the other hand, have Biden. There's nobody in your administration who even understand the way our country is supposed to work. They're all communists, radical leftists, and criminals.

At best you're an incompotent boob. At worst, you're a criminal too.

From whence did it come?

When God commanded Noah to build an ark, where did the wood come from? Was Noah an exceptionally wealthy man who just had a ton of wood laying around? Or a handy forest? Did it just appear by miracle?

I think God must have had Noah preparing for a long time, or perhaps he sent blessings to Noah in the form of earthly wealth that enabled him to buy the wood when he needed it. I also think that God, in his mercy, was trying to give Noah's neighbors a chance. After all, it probably took awhile to build that ark. During that time some of his neighbors may have thought, "Hey, maybe we ought to build a boat too." They clearly did not act on that thought. Perhaps the tide of secular thought was just too great for them to listen to Noah and that's why only his sons were there to help him.

If God had willed it so, Noah could have just been transported up to heaven for awhile to wait out the flood. Or sent to some high ground, if there was any. Some supernatural intervention could have occurred to keep him from having to build that ark in the first place. Yet it did not, and it was earthly materials and Noah's labor which had to provide safety and security for his family. With help from God he managed to do all that he had been commanded to do.

Why the ark though? Clearly God meant there to be some special significance in a big wooden boat and a man's salvation through his own labors and preparedness. There's a message there for us all if we can grasp it. I think tonight I've got a tenuous hold on it.

The blessings God hath given me are to be used to make ready.

Rolling out the welcome mat

Ok, I've deleted the two posts where I ranted about the new readership. I need to work on how I respond to hostility with more hostility.

So to my new readers from other locations, welcome. Go back and read some of my old posts and you might be able to catch the progression from where I thought somewhat like you did to how I think like I do now. It's an evolutionary process that stems from my growth as a Christian and a self-reliant man. You may find that we have much in common, and that may actually challenge some of your own existing ideals. In a way, your arrival here is a blessing to me. It's an opportunity I am going to embrace. So welcome, and God bless.

I'm still not going to turn comments back on, however. This is my pulpit. This is my ministry. There are still too many of you who are simply here to jeer and mock and I'm not going to allow that to distract from my message.

Marx and Me

Since it's raining, I'm sitting inside today and catching up on some reading. Today's struggle is with Marx's concept of the "alienation of labor".

I consistently find that some thought or theory that I've come up with in my own head is actually someone else's thought and if I do some research then I'll discover that it's already been well-documented and thoroughly debated, only I was too ignorant to know of it.

The alienation of labor is one such concept. I have thought that much of America's dissatisfaction comes from its labor. Most of our manufacturing work is done in assembly line factories where a worker will bolt part A onto part B and then the gizmo moves on down the line. It may be a chair or a cabinet or a car but the worker cannot say that they are a chair or a cabinet or a car maker. They are only a cog in a greater machine.

Who can feel joy at such work? No one could look at the finished chair and say with pride, "I bolted that leg on there." This type of labor benefits no one but the factory owner who can churn out chairs at a much faster rate than his competitors who might be making chairs the old fashioned way. It prevents the individual laborers from becoming self-realized, satisfied human beings.

Marx explored this concept pretty thoroughly, but where I differ sharply is his approach to how to solve it. The cure (communism) is FAR WORSE than the disease (unfulfilling lives).

I prefer Wendell Berry's approach in that workers should seek out employment which doesn't degrade and alienate them from their labor. I will go a step further and say that we consumers should educate ourselves to the point where when we buy chairs we buy chairs from people who MADE CHAIRS, not people who bolted on parts.

This is also why so much labor has been able to be shipped overseas. I will contend that American CHAIRMAKERS are the best chairmakers in the world, but Americans who bolt on chair legs or sew upholstery are simply overpaid whiners who can easily be replaced by workers in India, China, or Mexico.