The promise of more public spending is no longer an animating political philosophy for most people. It’s just there, a dull humming noise. Britain proved that. America, while it watches the Pelosi impeachment revels, may follow.
The proposition “doing good while doing well” refers to the process by which entrepreneurs earn their wealth. It’s the benefit the community realizes as this wealth is accrued. To paraphrase Adam Smith, people enjoy the benefits of meat, beer, and bread as a result of their respective producers’ efforts to earn a profit.
Contrary to progressive belief, America is not divided into rigid economic strata. The incomes of the wealthy often decline, while many taxpayers go from being poor at one point to not-poor at another.
They point accusing fingers at non-recyclers. In environmentalists’ eyes, those who unquestioningly disregard the value of one resource (time) in order to spend it on the conservation of other resources (wood, plastic and glass) are righteous while those of us who value and conserve time are sinners.
The CPI might tell us that inflation is “subdued,” or “muted,” but there are plenty of people whose budgets are taking big hits anyway. Home prices are a big part of most households’ monthly expenses and healthcare spending and higher education cause big increases in the cost of living.
Arthur Diamond helps us understand where new ideas come from, how they diffuse, how they improve people’s lives and importantly, how they can be throttled by regulators, special interests, and even cultural commentators.
Across the world, whole peoples have shifted their own view of government from trust to disgust. This has profound implications for the status of any ideology that longs for central control and command. It also raises the question: if not government, then what?
Through history, economic growth has alleviated human misery, improved human happiness and opportunity, and lengthened human lives. Wealthier societies are more stable, offer better living standards, produce better medicines, and ensure greater autonomy, greater fulfillment, and more sources of fun.
I’ve lived in this city for almost 20 years, supporting my family thanks to the full-service-restaurant industry. Today I’m struggling because of a policy meant to help me. I’m proudly progressive in my politics, but my experience shows that progressives should reconsider minimum-wage laws that hurt the very workers they’re trying to protect.
AB 5 will also enable powerful labor unions to influence and coerce the millions of individuals it will deem as new employees. People have the right and freedom to join unions, but the government should not enact public policy that essentially increases the number of people who will potentially pay union dues.
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