More from the libertarian nightmare: Fixing healthcare

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4B40RF20081205?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews

Another case of government "fixing" something it broke. You know, after a while you'd think that people would just say -- "Uh, why don't you just move aside, I think you've done enough already."

How long will we be in this vicious cycle of government intervention causing problems that more government intervention attempts to fix? The finance industry, the energy industry, the auto industry, the healthcare industry -- I mean, where does it stop? It's beyond absurd.

Yes, it's time for another Constitutional Convention. Government is completely out of control.

As an aside, I have a theory about all the latest talk regarding Obama's moderation (one article yesterday wondered if Obama is conservative!) -- I'll write about it later, but it has to do with Rawls and the appearance of diverse thought, yet suppressed for political cooperation and the establishment of justice as fairness. I call it "The Final and Practical Agreement on Equality". The beauty of it is you can disagree but still cooperate to achieve the Greater Good.

Libertarian concern over the coming New Deal

Government is poised to effectively take complete control of the US economy. Green intervention, capping mortgage rates at 4.5%, financial manipulation, manufacturing manipulation, it goes on and on.

As was claimed that Bush rode in the back pocket of Big Oil, will it be said Obama rides in the back pocket of Big Green and Big Intervention? We're talking about trillions now. God only knows where all that money will wind up. Corporations are right in the middle -- what a feeding frenzy!

This new idea of capping mortgage rates at 4.5% is interesting. What about the existing loans, can they be re-financed at 4.5%, if this is implemented? Does this mean that renters will be subsidizing home payments?

I have to say this coming barrage of government intervention is disconcerting. We're now talking about major changes, and government's record on energy technology is not good. A few clever players will likely make billions, but what good will come of it for the nation? And it appears banks will be forced completely under government management, because they won't be able to survive on their own in this environment of manipulation. Is this the beginning of a global financial order?

I just don't think it will work. But now that it's in motion, there's no stopping it. I foresee collapse.

A new Constitutional Convention

The government is like a house built on fairly solid foundation but in a mountainous area where if the home shifts too far one way or the other, the foundation will be become unstable. For years the house has shifted to the left and, periodically, the owners have made certain adjustments to make up for the shift, but never enough to get it to the orginal solid point, and now the home is getting dangerously close to shifting to a point where it will fall.

Various structural engineers have different opinions, all say that if it shifts too far it will fall, but some believe measures can be taken to support the home even if shifts a little further, some say it's already shifted too far -- it could be necessary to tear the house down and rebuild so that there is no shifting at all.

The problem developed when there were additions to the home, additions which didn't take the foundation into account, plus there wasn't enough maintenance of the original structure, so that the looseness of neglect and weight of the poorly designed additions compromised the structural integrity.

Perhaps the US government can go on for decades and decades, moving left, moderating, moving left, moderating, with a gradual overall move to the left -- more intervention, more engineering -- but it seems that we're seeing compromise of the structural integrity and the possibility of collapse -- government engineers would, no doubt, disagree, at least the ones who've done the designing.

What we need is another Constitutional Convention, perhaps one every ten years. With all the controversy and disagreement regardng the original Constitiution, perhaps it's time to clarify all those areas, such as "general welfare", and strengthen the foundation. We've drifted so far from the orginal intent, perhaps we need to call a time-out, soul search and agree on all points of contention in order to establish a more perfect Union.

Libertarian accuracy

One wonders how such intelligent people throughout the history of the country could not have seen that government interference was a causative agent in practically all the turmoil and inequity suffered by small businesses, workers and farmers.

As I mentioned in the previous post, Gompers' passionate crusade against the evils of industry was misdirected -- government favoritism was the primary culprit. I can understand how someone can be influenced by the ideas of their time, but surely he'd read Paine and the original libertarians and was aware of the dangers of an over-reaching government. Surely he saw that industry couldn't stack the deck unless government controlled the game and enabled the unfair play.

Once a reasonably perceptive person has studied human nature for any length of time, it's obvious that corrupt systems breed corrupt players. Demonizing the Captains of Industry because they utilized a corrupt system to gain an advantage is like cursing the pain yet not addressing the trauma, or cursing the darkness yet not looking for candles. Many modern critics of capitalism point to these same symptomatic effects yet are mum regarding fundamental causes.

It's fairly obvious that if government has the power, and uses the power, to pick favorities, there will be those in society who lobby and manipulate to be favored, and, as a result, others, the unfavored, who will suffer. It does little good to blame the favored, except from a moral stance, but in a real, hard world that's a tad naive, although you can admire the principle. It'd be best to blame the fundamental cause if you're looking for the necessary leverage to create change. It's always been a systemic problem, and an obvious one at that.

Could it have been that critics of industry avoided the fundamental cause because they, too, would seek advantages? And could it be that modern critics avoid the fundamental cause because they merely believe government power favored/favors, the wrong side?

Perhaps there's an acceptance that government is an inevitable, needed, interfering force and now it's only a matter who wins government favor. The libertarian approach looks to the fundamental cause. If there's to be real change and hope, this is where the leverage lies.

Libertarian clarity in an age of images -- The Oz Factor

One aspect I associate with "libertarian" is a free-thinking objectivity which is mostly intellectually-resistant to image-makers. I don't have an opinion regarding the on-going debate about what makes a true libertarian -- some say it's sort of cool to call yourself a libertarian, but it's not based on a full understanding of libertarian thought, merely a label some people assign to themselves who are confused by political issues and perhaps base their "libertarianism" on a few basic issues where they selfishly promote freedom, like being free to smoke pot, hire a prostitute or walk the street naked wearing nothing but a tie and a smile if they so choose (I don't know of any libertarian movement promoting this last activity, but I'm making a point.)

However, there's been much written to form a base for libertarian thought and most of the people who've studied this thought and embrace the principles are able to look past images to what I'll call the Oz Factor. In a sense the libertarian journey parallells the Oz journey where people realize their inner strengths while discovering the truth about the Wizard of Oz (WoO).

Several of my life experiences have been great learning experiences regarding the subject of images -- for approximatelty 15 years I worked in mental health and the last 13 years I've worked in real estate (I could use a little mental health now in the real estate field). In mental health, I worked both in clinical and administrative positions at private speciality hospitals dealing with addictive disorders, alcoholism and drug addiction. I dealt with clients from different socio-economic backgrounds, some in powerful positions within their professions: physicians, politicians, entertainers, sports figures, top executives, business owners, lawyers, priests, etc (I also dealt with homeless men and women).  At that time, in-patient treatment lasted about thirty days and during this time I saw people go from the images they entered with to the underlying personalities and weaknesses behind the images. I had many, many discussions with powerful people who explained the effort they exerted creating their respective images -- most found the emptiness of their private WoO, and the inner strength they possessed all along but failed to trust. The point is that images are deceiving.

In real estate and construction I've learned that builders can create an image of quality, but upon further inspection the building is shoddy. When people see a finished home they're struck by the image, and unless they have knowledge of construction and an eye for quality, they'll be misled by the image.

We live in an age where image-making is an art and has powerful effects -- how else can you explain people actually giving validity to anything Alec Baldwin says? How else can you explain the importance we place in presidents, as if they have magical abilities to transform the country into our deepest hopes and aspirations? Presidents are the Daddy Macs of WoO. I saw the Oz Factor of Washington DC when I was marketing the Amtrak account for mental health services and had to go there about twice a month -- I got lost the first time I was there and wandered from the opulence of the imagistic government buildings and monuments into one of the worst poverty-stricken areas I'd ever witnessed. You can extort enough money to build grand structures which give the image of transcending reality, but, as we know, images are deceiving.

So, say what you like about libertarians, but there's much to be said for looking beyond images to underlying principles -- there's much to be said for the inner strengths of Dorothys, tin men, lions and scarecrows, and much to be said about the limitations of Wizards.