Obama uses the C word
February 7, 2011 by
Jeffrey
Tucker
In his speech to the Chamber of Commerce, President Obama
said:
- America’s success didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen by
accident. It happened because [of] the freedom that has allowed good
ideas to flourish, that has allowed capitalism to thrive; it happened
because of the conviction that in this country hard work should be
rewarded and that opportunity should be there for anybody who’s willing
to reach for it.
Has he ever used the word capitalism in a complimentary way or even
a neutral way? I’ve not heard it. But the praise for freedom didn’t last
long. From there he spoke as a partisan of government programs and spoke
about all the wonderful things they’ve done for us.
- Early drug companies argued the bill creating the FDA would
“practically destroy the sale of … remedies in the United States.” That
didn’t happen. Auto executives predicted that having to install seatbelts
would bring the downfall of their industry. It didn’t happen. The
President of the American Bar Association denounced child labor laws as
“a communistic effort to nationalize children.” That’s a quote. None of
these things came to pass.
If the FDA did lead to destruction, the results would be unseen. The
destruction would be about the cures and medicines that we do not have,
not whether the ones we do have are marketable. As for seatbelts, they
are only one cost among many -- and, again, we do not know what kind of
safety innovations that regulations have prevented -- but it is a fact
that overall government involvement has contributed mightily to the
downfall of the industry, and downfall is a pretty good word actually.
Finally, when it comes to child labor, the social costs of keep kids
locked in government classrooms instead of doing productive work are
incalculable. Few laws are as ridiculously outdated as these, and, in any
case, these laws were passed in the New Deal to help shrink the existing
workforce and drive up wages, not help children. And hey, let’s reprint
this great speech by the ABA head!
And what is he talking about all these ancient fundamentals in any case
(drug regulation began in 1848!) when government regulations comes in
daily floods, with a thicket that grows more complex and costly by the
day? Obama says that regulation hasn’t killed industry. Well, true enough
since most regulation is in fact pushed by the largest industries as a
means of imposing costs on smaller firms and startups. Regulation doesn’t
kill industry; it cartelizes it. Most of the costs are of the unseen
type.
What’s wrong here is his whole theory of the glory of government, that it
is somehow the key to making our lives better. For example, he says that
it is thanks to government that “a typical fridge now costs half as much
and uses a quarter of the energy that it once did -- and you don’t have
to defrost, chipping at that stuff.” Are we really supposed to believe
that private industry has no interest in lowering costs or increasing
efficiency, that without government, private enterprise would never
improve products? Besides, every consumer knows to watch out for any
appliance that has “energy efficient” stamped all over it; it usually
means that it doesn’t
work.
-- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.
