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. 

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.

Water, dangerous pollutant, EPA says

We always take time out to bask in the moment whenever a court rules against the EPA.  Last year saw a few good moments for liberty lovers, not the least of which was Sackettv. EPA.  In this case, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that property owners can have their day in court during a compliance order spat with the EPA.  That was very good news.  

However, one must always be on guard against a hyperkinetic EPA.  Fairfax County, Virginia, recently got a taste of victory this year against the rogue agency.  Bestowing upon itself new powers, the EPA recently declared that storm water runoff, yes H2O, was a dangerous pollutant that needing regulating.  Under this rule, municipalities across the country would have been exposed to potentially millions (even billions!) of dollars to mitigate the effects of storm water runoff.  Virginia, seeing millions of its tax dollars flow down the storm drain, sued.

A federal court agreed with Fairfax county officials.  It’s heartening to know that common sense sometimes still prevails.

A Christmas Poem

Twas the night before Christmas

And all through the land,

Not a regulator was sleeping

They were readying their rules, with pen in hand.

With ink still wet

And time slipping by,

They crafted their plans

And laws born on high.

Three letter agencies

A dime a dozen,

Determined to remain relevant

Pumped out rules for every citizen.

Proclamations they read

And shouted with glee,

And filed in their federal registers

For everyone to see.

Thou shalln’t do this

And thou shalln’t do that,

Heed our commandants

And obey our diktats!

Every man woman and child

No escape waits for thee,

The sprawling federal bureaucracy

Covers all who live and breathe.

Drowning in paperwork

And living in fear,

The businessman’s pleas for waivers

Fall on deaf ears.

Please, no more rules

And no more laws,

Enough is enough

Is what I told Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas to All

And Happy New Year,

I’m off to Thailand

See you next year.

Unregulated (but fun) chaos

What can ice skating teach us about self regulation?  Much, I think.

I happen to believe an ice skating rink of any size is the source of much hand wringing and anxiety for many a regulator.  Consider the following:  a mass of human beings with metal knives strapped to their feet sliding around, all at varying speeds, wearing very little protective equipment.  Throw children into the mix and this must surely create feigned nervousness for those with a hankering for government rules.

There’s more.  Inside the rink, the absence of life saving safety devices is forefront – no stop signs, warning signs, speed bumps, traffic signals, right-of-way indicators, flares, flashing signals, directional indicators, or other crucial safety controls are present to warn wary skaters of the obvious dangers.

How is it then, despite this unabridged lawlessness, very few accidents actually occur.  (I base this on my own experience skating)  Given that during one hour of skating on an Olympic-sized rink filled with 350 skaters, opportunities for accidents must be north of 10,000.  In fact, casual observation of skating would seem to suggest that it’s suicide.  At the conclusion of one hour of frolicking on the ice one would expect to carry off numerous dead bodies, sweep rows of teeth off the rink, and mop the blood from the ice.  Yet, with few exceptions, this isn’t the case.

Yesterday, I took the family skating in Seoul plaza in downtown Seoul.  A mere 1,000 Won got you onto the rink, skates included.  They limit the number to 500 each hour (at only 1,000 WON, there is almost unlimited demand, so they ration).  During our hour-long skate, I noticed several accidents, but most were the result of inexperienced skaters stumbling and falling, not reckless careening into other people.  I was amazed at how, as human beings, we instinctively know how to avoid an accident.  People are adept at self-regulating and social adaption.  We rarely require prodding and herding.

The lesson here is this: observed chaos needn’t always regulating.  Top-down rules, well-meaning regulations, and other impositions by the state often lead to unforeseen and undesirable consequences.  One example is traffic on Yongsan (Army base) during school hours.

School hours on post are marked by interminable waiting and dreadfully long lines of traffic.  The cause, at least in part, is the over-regulation by the MPs (military police).  During school hours, MPs erect barriers, traffic cones, and other vehicular impeding devices, all in an effort to manage the traffic.  Army officials see traffic and devise plans (rules and regulations) because they think their plan for managing it will result in fewer accidents and decreased wait times.  I would argue their plans have the opposite effect.

If, instead, officials allowed traffic to behave organically and instinctively, results would dramatically improve, and at much lower costs.  But this rarely happens.

 

Why?

Why is the proclivity for regulating chaos so prevalent in our society today?  Why have we been fooled into believing that top-down instruction is always superior than bottom-up self regulation?  Not only do we tend to surrender our liberty with all this oversight, we are left with fewer (good) choices.   

So, the next time you witness chaos, tarry a bit before calling for government oversight.  Chances are people will figure it out on their own.

A Dentist Visited – Korean Style

After lunch today, I began to feel a strange soreness in my mouth.  I had a root canal several years ago (like 30!) and my dentist back in the states told me this condition might rear its ugly head one day.  So, after lunch, we went dentist hunting.  And they are in season, so to speak.

Our search began at 1:00.  Walking around the streets of Seoul, we saw several signs for dentists.  We visited a couple of practices, but everyone was out to lunch.  I guess all Seoulites eat lunch around 1:00PM.  Instead of waiting around, my wife suggested we visit the dental office in our building.  That turned out to be wonderful advice.

At 2:00PM I walked into Dr. Kim’s office and was happily greeted by the good doctor himself.  I briefly explained my discomfort, and he told to have a seat and that he’d be right with me.  He wasn’t kidding.  I barely got my jacket and scarf off when we began leading me back for an examination.  He, along with the help of his cheerful assistant, sat me down in his fancy dental chair and leaned me back.  After a few moments of probing and questioning, he decided I needed an x-ray.  He walked me to his x-ray room, and after a few zaps, I was back in the chair.

 

While he waited for the film to develop, we began chatting about America (Koreans are always interested in where you lived in the states) and the recent presidential election (Korea elected their first female president yesterday).  After 2-3 minutes, and with film in hand, he explained the cause of my discomfort and suggested I make an appointment for minor surgery.  I told him we were planning to travel to Thailand in a few days.  He assured me the surgery could wait and prescribed some drugs (I don’t really know what they are) for inflammation and the pain, along with an antibiotic.

 

He didn’t charge me a dime for the visit or x-ray, and I paid less than $10 for the drugs.  I made an appointment for the surgery, which he estimated would cost around $100.  I was stunned.  I looked at my wife and we both were stunned.  No waiting, superior customer service, a free visit, and cheap drugs.   

Wow.