Federal Government: Mind Your Own Business! Founding Principles

The founding principles of our nation were designed around individual liberty and limited government intervention. In today’s language our founders were simply saying to the world and future politicians in America: Mind Your Own Business! The founders knew that a robust federal government was the biggest threat to the burgeoning nation. The founders had lived the disaster of centralized government that was intent on crushing individual liberty. They knew a government of the people, by the people, and for the people would not be easy but it would be worth it. They knew it was time for a different and new approach.

I am reading a great history book about the ratification arguments at the state conventions, and the arguments could be summed up as a healthy and passionate skepticism for the need of any central government, never mind a powerful intrusive federal government. I know what you’re thinking, “who the heck reads books like that!” but I do and I love it! I feel like I should have lived in that time period! The bottom line is we are looking at a complete reversal of the founding principles in today’s political environment.

Every time there is a national incident the call goes out “what is the government going to do about that? (place issue here)” It is a result of historical ignorance of the founding principles our government was built around. Except for making pot illegal, too many in the younger generation believe the government has a role in every issue without question. It is assumed that the government has a role in everything. It is not just the young; many in the “baby boomer” generation have accepted the intrusion of the federal government. Otherwise how did we get federal regulations that limit our toilet flushes and light bulbs we use in our lamps?

The one thing I have noticed as a result of the current Obama administration’s attempt to transform America from the individual to the state, is a renewed interest in our Constitution. There has been so much lawlessness in this administration that Americans instinctively feel something is not right. The economy is being smothered in regulation creating less opportunity, the federal government takeover of the greatest healthcare system in the world is quickly changing the system into a mess of regulation and chaos, and the thousands of environmental regulations limiting the production of energy that fuels our economy is stagnating job growth. The list of federal government intrusion is at a crescendo!

The founders knew this would be the result if they didn’t limit the federal government’s role in the US Constitution. The problem is they expected Americans to be as passionate about protecting their individual liberty as they were. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore although it may be growing. We should return to the founding principles and simply follow the chant of Federal Government “Mind Your Own Business!”

Or we could simply hold the government to the limits in the law of the land the US Constitution. Now that would be a novel idea!

Federal Government: Mind Your Own Business! Free Markets

When the President of the United States makes a claim that “unemployment benefits creates jobs”, it is absolute proof that the federal government must get out of our economic system. The POTUS has absolutely no experience in economic affairs but he is only the tip of the iceberg when you talk about politicians and bureaucrats in the federal government. The statement by the POTUS alone should be enough for most people to agree the federal government is not the right mechanism for growing an economy.

But for the left and the emotional citizen proof may be needed. Every economic “fix” could be termed as “imbecilic” (idea of somebody with low IQ: in a former classification system, somebody with an IQ between 25 and 50 and a mental age of between three and seven years). I use the term because it describes the economic intellect of most politicians and federal bureaucrats.

First, if the government could just create a vibrant economy by passing a law or implementing a government policy wouldn’t they have done it already? The opposite is actually true as we see the more the federal government gets involved in the economy the worse it gets. There are reams of studies supporting this assertion but I know the people that need to read it will not - so I will not waste any time arguing the facts. I offer this as a perfect example: If fixing the economy means people need jobs and higher wages, why not pass a law that everyone be employed and make the minimum wage for those jobs a $100.00 an hour? Why can’t the federal government just mandate jobs and wages? It is called the “laws of economics.”

Economics is very simple, and creating a vibrant economy is even easier. The answer is to allow individuals and businesses to operate without oppressive taxes and regulations. Boom!  Done! The economy will take off. All we need to do is close most of the Federal Government, layoff 75% of the federal bureaucrats, end welfare for capable Americans, tie Social Security directly to the people that contribute, and shut down Medicaid and allow private charities to handle healthcare for the poor, make the federal tax a flat 10% that every working person pays, limit terms for politicians, make congress part time and boom!

If you think that is too aggressive, we can simply start by freezing federal spending and stop the ability for the federal government to borrow or print money. Even that will send the economy roaring.

The laws of free market capitalism are extremely resilient as we have seen over the past 5 years with the way it brushes off the absolute assault that has taken place under the current federal regime. Any system other than capitalism would have collapsed under the pressure! Just imagine if the free markets were actually free like they were under President Regan? Even then there was too much federal intrusion but I would take the 80’s over the past 5 years in a heartbeat.

The economy is being smothered by the federal government. It is why the founders placed so many restrictions (in the US Constitution) on its role in the lives of Americans and their economic pursuits. I wish when it comes to economic policy the federal bureaucrats and “dogooders” would just mind their own business!

Federal Government: Mind Your Own Business! Income Inequality

The Obama administration is cleverly trying to change the subject from Obamacare to the growing income “inequality” gap. We need to stay focused on the destruction of our healthcare system but the issue of income inequality is one in which people instinctively have negative emotional reactions. These emotional reactions cling to the myth that CEO’s and the “rich” are somehow unfairly taking/making more than they deserve.

The first question I instinctively ask is this: is income supposed to be equal? Should a doctor and a garbage man make the same amount of money? Should a nurse and a janitor make the same amount of money? Should a professional athlete make so much money for playing a game? Income is determined by many factors. The first and most important is the market. What are people willing to pay for a service? Income is simply the economic principle of setting prices for labor. Like any product, pricing is set by how much it takes to produce, what people are willing to pay for the service, competition, and how the service/product is delivered in the market.

The price to deliver labor for a doctor is based on the investment that individual must make in their education and the loss of opportunity during the years spent investing in education. A doctor spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on education as well as remaining out of the labor force for eight additional years beyond most professions. The number of people willing to make this sacrifice is small which means less people compete for positions in the profession increasing the demand for their services.   A garbage man needs little education and almost anyone that can handle doing manual labor becomes available for that position. Since the skills needed are limited, the labor pool (competition) is greater, so the employer has a huge choice of candidates which means people compete heavily for the job keeping the salary down.

I often have the conversation with my wife who has been a nurse for over 25 years about why sports athlete/actors get paid so much more than a nurse or doctor. It doesn’t seem right based on the nature of the services provided but the laws of economics make it clear why the disparity in wages is justified. To sum up the reason in simple terms: The athlete/actor creates value to the team owner or movie producer worth millions of dollars. People go to watch sports or movies based on the players of the team or actors in a movie. To the employer of these people, the player and actor return millions of dollars in value so the employer can pay them more. Take into account the natural athletic ability or attractive acting skills of an actor and the people that can create that value for the employer are a limited pool.

The only way to make income equal is to force employers to pay everyone the same. The result of this mandate is counter to the laws of economics and destroys the value of work for everyone. Individuals have different skills and abilities. Jobs take different skills and educational ability. Some services/products are more valuable in the market than others. No matter what you think someone should be paid does not matter. What matters is what the market determines a wage can be.

If we continue to allow the government to attempt to make incomes more “equal” we will all be miserable and some positions and industries will simply disappear creating even more poverty. The incentive to compete for work through investments in education, developing new products, services, or companies is eliminated. Why would anyone spend the time and money if in the end we all make the same amount of money? We will all be equal in our misery, poverty, and inability to earn a “fair” wage…

Federal Government: Mind Your Own Business! The light bulb

The incandescent light bulb has been completely outlawed starting January 1, 2014. I am appalled that the federal government has spent a moment of time on the issue of regulating light bulbs. Do we really believe that the regulation of a light bulb is worthy of the time and effort of federal bureaucrats? Never mind that this is not a constitutionally mandated activity for the federal government.

The “do-gooders” have effectively used the federal government and an emotional plea to convince otherwise smart people that the incandescent light bulb is destroying the planet. Nothing could be further from the truth. The incandescent light bulb as a matter of environmental concern ranks about as far from the top as say the five gallon toilet flush. Until that is, the truth about the new light bulbs is revealed as a hazardous material. People that supported the effort to outlaw the light bulb are fools. Yes, that’s right, you’re a fool if you think this is an important issue and that the federal government has any role is this obvious fringe movement to “save the planet.” And to think the federal government would be capable of an alternative to an American staple is an even more discouraging tale of the citizen’s engagement in an issue beyond emotion. It shows how easily an entire country can be fooled by a simple appeal to our emotional senses.

What thinking Americans needs to understand is that the environmental movement is actually a movement to control the citizen and attack the capitalism that has made this country the greatest in the world. Environmentalism is communism in disguise. There is a difference between people that care about the environment and the organizations behind movements like banning the light bulb. These groups prey on the American spirit to protect our resources in a common sense manner. There is nothing common sense about Green Peace, Earth First, or a million other radical groups. Their goal is to end capitalism and choice.

Here is why the banning of the incandescent light bulb is not about the environment. Although the new light bulb lasts a bit longer, if the new light bulbs break you are told that a “hazmat” team is needed to clean up. Here is an outtake from an EPA briefing on the new light bulbs: “

"In switching from incandescent light bulbs to fluorescent light bulbs and CFLs our elected officials opened the door to a massive mercury pollution problem across the United States threatening landfills and drinking water supplies. Our elected officials have

been derelict in making this information available to the public and providing the necessary hazardous waste sites available for their recycling and disposal in every local community [9]. And there should have been a massive public education campaign to inform the public about these hazards. It is too late for the fluorescent and CFL bulbs that have already been tossed into dumpsters and landfills. We now can change this process through education and laws regarding the hazardous material disposal of these bulbs [10].”

 

So what is the goal of environmental groups? You have to wonder? But the thing we should all agree on is that the light bulb should not be the concern of the federal government. Because if we look at the competence level of “do gooders” + federal bureaucrats = total incompetence and inefficiency.

We would be much better off as a country if the EPA was banned instead of a completely functional light bulb…   

 

Federal Government: Mind Your Own Business!

I have decided to issue a series of articles in 2014 based on a single theme, “Mind Your Own Business”. I simply want others to treat me the way I treat them. I just want to be left alone to pursue my life. Too many people believe they know better and use the “hammer” of the federal government to force people to engage in specific behavior by using the power of the federal government. They believe that what they want is the best thing for all of us. I don’t believe a majority of the “do gooders” are evil in their intent. I believe they are utterly misguided in the beliefs.

I have been observing and listening to the political debate for most of my adult life. I am a keen observer of human behavior. I am especially astute in human behavior that impacts political policy and the economy. I am going to publish the observations in relation to the way many people of all political persuasions feel about a big intrusive government. I am going to attempt to argue in a practical manner the way the do gooders are actually making this country less free and less “good”.

In my observations it seems the younger generation is fed up with the feds. It is a perfect bridge for constitutional conservatives to bring them into the constitutional camp in a way that increases their ability to analyze all government programs with an eye toward freedom. Many of the old school democrats that love this country have not had the heart to let go of the party of their parents. The actions of the latest democratic administration and a majority of democrats in congress are far left radicals that are bent on limiting individual choice by regulating everyone and everything that moves. The federal government and democrats mostly, but also too many GOP politicians, continue to fail to mind their own business, and have failed to abide by our social compact the US Constitution. This behavior needs to be pointed out to convert these old school democrats to the constitutional conservative camp.

The American people are conservative by nature. They are also progressive. We simply want to be left alone and if policies are counter to the belief of the people they make an effort to change the policy. We are all at the point that we agree that the federal government is too big. The way to work together is to vote for the right candidates. Regardless of political affiliation, the voters must stop voting the party and vote the candidate. We need to end the democratic rule because they are the radicals destroying the fabric of this country. In the GOP, voters must vote in primaries and vote in candidates that promise to leave us alone!

The arguments I will make will take on the government at the federal level. Although I think all government should be as small as possible, I have the option of moving to and from States that have policies I don’t agree with. I can’t do that when the federal government passes regulations that impact all fifty states.

I think we the people have a responsibility to live by the laws of the land. The ultimate law of our land is the US Constitution. I believe if we want to change that document we should do it by using the process laid out within the document. If you were to sum up the intent of the US Constitution in terms familiar to people today it would be: Federal Government “Mind Your Own Business.” I can live my own life, Thank You!