Why Occupy should fight Big Government

The Occupy protesters appear to be clueless, baseless and directionless. But they do have a point. One.

No, it is not that they blame capitalism. Many of the protesters claim that capitalism is the culprit behind the economic crisis. Although this is a popular notion nowadays, it could not be further from the truth. For capitalism to be the cause, we would need to have capitalism first. We do not. Proper capitalism can only exist under laissez-faire government that would not tax the hell out of everybody, would not try to regulate every move we make, would not systemically centralize power, would not force anybody to get insurance for anything, and most of all, would not use the taxpayer’s money to rescue any company from bankruptcy. Anybody who claims that capitalism is to blame, does not know what capitalism is.

It’s also not Occupy’s call for more legislation. What we need is less legislation. Both in the U.S.A. and Europe the markets are already structurally hindered by an overload of - all too often conflicting - laws, rules, and regulations. More regulations, more government appointed ‘authorities’, and more committees overseeing these authorities will not solve anything. Has it ever in the past? No. Not ever. All it will do is create more bureaucracy.

And it is certainly not that they blame the economy. Believe it or not, but some of the Occupy interviewees stated that they were protesting ‘against the economy’. Do not laugh, for there are many among us who consistently confuse cause and effect. Like those who believe our political leaders when they claim to bail out the bankers, or the Greeks, or whoever is next, in order to ‘save the economy’. What they really are trying to save is the status quo, their relations, and their power.

But Occupy is right on the money about one thing. Corporatism. The political power of Big Pharma, Big Finance, Big Defense, and Big Telecom is gigantic. The markets are rigged in favor of the big corporations. Small players stand no chance, as they are lobbied out and regulated to death. Consequently, we have government induced oligopolies in industries such as health care, energy, and defense. True competition is thwarted. Consumer choice is suppressed. This is hugely hurting the economy.

Yet, what Occupy does not say, and probably does not know, is that corporatism is sponsored by Big Government. Who is responsible for the overflow of nitty gritty laws and regulations? Big Government. Who bailed out the banks? Their comrades in Big Government. Who bailed out GM? You guessed it, Big Government. Corporatism festers in the fertile bureaucratic wastelands of overbearing and over-regulating governments.

Fortunately, there is an effective antidote. Small government. So here is what Occupy should demand: Do not regulate the markets. Do not bail out corporations. Restore a truly free market economy. Shift the power balance back to the individual.

Greek Drama

Yeah right.  As if sending even more billions of Euro’s or Dollars to the Greeks is going to keep their economy afloat.  News flash for the ignorant: Greece is bankrupt already.  Has been for a long time and no amount of spending will change that. The only rational and humane thing to do, is to let them go bankrupt in peace.  Would be best for Greece.  Would be best for all of us.  

It certainly would be best for Greece, as multiple kinds of cancer - bureaucracy, socialism, laziness, and being forced into oversized E.U. pants - have been eating away at this beautiful country’s intestines for way too long. Its life can be prolonged by artificial life support, but it cannot be preserved. Please let the old Greece die. A new Greece will arise from its ashes. Lean and mean. Slowly, but surely. With strong and healthy economic fundamentals. It will be hard in the short-term, but those individuals that really want to, will find opportunity and wealth. Why? For one, because they will have to. Having no fall back plan is a great motivator to stop complaining and start working. But also, there are, of course, plenty of clever and hardworking Grecians. It is this group of people who will light the path for a glorious Hellenic future.

It would be best for the rest of us too. Our governments, in all their various guises, are spending our income on playing pretend. Due to Soviet style planned interventions and investment programs all E.U. countries are in the red to the max. Printing more money, throwing more loans at the weakest E.U. countries, guaranteeing unlimited credit to the banks. It will not work. Now that the terminal cancer patient is starting to visibly decay, our leadership fools are acting that wrapping the dying body in bandages will make the problem go away. It will cover the wounds for some time, but it will not hide the stench. And already the blood is seeping through. It will merely prolong the death struggle and cost the E.U. tax payer an arm and a leg. More than anything else, it will hurt the world wide economy in a huge way.

Let this Greek drama end now. Stop using the individuals’ hard earned money in trying to keep the show going. Give the Greeks some time to fix their issues but let them start today. With their own currency and their own inventiveness. Let the leftover E.U. countries stop spending money. Also today. The market will recover faster without the governmental medicine man act. Governments throughout the Western world are increasing taxes and spending it on ‘saving the economy’. Does anybody with a sane mind think that decreasing our taxpayer’s spending power will actually be beneficial to the economy? That would be like believing that you can beat somebody into loving you. Let nature take its course. Let the markets do their job. Stop meddling.