Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Please Pass the Catsup



Dear President Obama,

I know you are busy with your presidential duties and all, but I felt a “Thank You” was in order.  I just read in the newspaper that you recently took action to protect me from Mexican tomato growers.  I had a hunch those Mexicans were up to no good.  Let’s see if I get the story right, as I’d hate to malign the facts when writing to the President of the United States of America.

If I recall correctly, pesky and dangerous Mexican tomato farmers were maliciously flooding American grocery stores with cheap tomatoes.  I even read reports that some Mexican farmers were selling tomatoes to Americans at a loss.  Gasp!  The nerve of these people.  I’m so glad we have a President who won’t stand idly by while Americans tomato consumers are paying dirt-cheap prices for tomatoes.

Today, you put a stop to this nonsense by raising tariffs on these Mexican evildoers – tariffs that will, thankfully, increase the price of tomatoes.  I’m so grateful that I can now, with a proud smile on my face, purchase tomatoes at a much higher price.  Confidentially, I must also confess that spending so little on those tomatoes had the most unfortunate consequence of freeing up money in other areas of my budget.  Thanks to you sir, I don’t have that worry any more.

So, on behalf of a grateful nation of 300 million tomato consumers, I thank you for affording us the privilege of paying more (way more!) for our tomatoes.  Oh, and by the way: thanks for taking action on those pesky and dangerous Chinese tire makers.  My local tire store owner told me the ChiComs were doing the same thing as the Mexicans, only with tires.  Damn these people for selling us so many goods at such cheap prices! 

You know, Mr. President, perhaps one day, to truly benefit all American consumers, you can simply put an end to trading – period.  This free-trade crap is bad stuff – that is, allowing Americans to pay cheap prices for imported goods.  It’s ruining our economy.  I have a wonderful idea!  Instead of trade, which we both agree is bad since it gives Americans access to cheap imported goods, let’s hearken back to the good ole days and just make our own stuff.  Why trade at all when we can grow our own food, sew our own clothes, and build our own houses?!  Yes!  We’ll have full employment and a booming economy!  Let’s name your new legislation The Freeing Americans from the Ravages of Trade or FART Act.

With warm regards, 

Brad D.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Republicans’ fret over spending is misplaced



The Republicans in Congress are hell bent on cutting spending.  And with federal expenditures approaching $3.6 trillion, they have good reason to be concerned.  However, by focusing solely on spending, they are eschewing the real problem: federal encroachment.

Currently, we have fifteen executive cabinets.  They are (in no particular order):

Dept. of State
Dept. of Treasury
Dept. of Defense
Dept. of Justice
Dept. of Interior
Dept. of Agriculture
Dept. of Commerce
Dept. of Labor
Dept. of Health and Human Services
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
Dept. of Transportation
Dept. of Energy
Dept. of Education
Dept. of Veterans Affairs
Dept. of Homeland Security

Whew.  That’s a lot of departments.  Many have argued for the elimination, or at least the combining of several departments.  Do we really need a cabinet-level department of Interior, Commerce, and Energy?  I would argue that the cost/benefit of most departments don’t justify their existence.  Factor in the regulatory burden and any benefit derived from correcting market failures evaporates rather quickly.

The number, size, and scope of departments are only the beginning, though.  Nestled within each of these cabinet-level department lie several other, often obscure, federal agencies.  

For example, the Commerce Department has over 20 “key” agencies.  They are:

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Bureau of Industry and Security
Bureau of the Census
Economic Development Administration
Economics & Statistics Administration
Export Enforcement
Import Administration
International Trade Administration (ITA)
Manufacturing and Services
Marine and Aviation Operations
Market Access and Compliance
Minority Business Development Agency
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service
National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST)
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Ocean Service
National Technical Information Service
National Telecommunications & Information Administration
National Weather Service (NOAA)
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
Patent & Trademark Office
Trade Promotion and U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service
 *source: USA.gov

It would take several pages to list the entire federal bureaucracy, and I’m not sure the exact number is known to any one group or person.  

While the Republicans are right to go after spending, what’s really needed is the elimination of federal agencies that have outlived their original purpose.  Reducing federal spending protects the few (and decreasing) number of taxpayers, but reducing the size and scope of the leviathan state protects every American’s liberties.  

Thursday, January 24, 2013

A Case for College

Signalling is alive and well in America.



Go to college!

A Voting Disconnect



During the 2012 presidential election, Obama garnered 93% of the black vote.



I wonder why?

America's Military-Industrial Complex



This is a documentary on the power, might, and influence of America’s military-industrial complex. 

Why We Fight



It seems even our first president was keenly aware of the dangers of a large garrison state:

“Hence, likewise, they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments, which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and which are to be regarded as particularly hostile to Republican Liberty.” ~ George Washington, Presidential Farewell Address, 1976

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Washington or Bust



I don’t always consider it a good sign when more people are moving to our nation’s capital than anywhere else.  Yet, that is what’s happening, and has been for seven years, according to Atlas Van’s annual U.S. and Canada moving trends map.  See here for more interesting info on the matter. 


atlas map

The two states leading the exodus are (not surprisingly) New York and New Jersey.

Why are so many folks moving to DC?  Rent-seeking.  Earning money by lobbying the federal legislature and administrative state has supplanted the production of goods and services.  As Washington spends more and more money (it spent about $3.6 trillion in 2012), people are abandoning traditional production and service jobs, and are instead seeking careers as lobbyists.  While it’s understandable for the individual, this is not good for the country.
 
And the answer is not new restrictions on lobbying.  One has a right to lobby his representative.  The solution is to constrain the growth of government and curb federal spending such that it becomes unprofitable to a great many to lobby.