About This Blog

Ludwig von Mises (1881-1973) was the greatest economist of my time. His greatest works can be accessed here at no charge.

Mises believed that property, freedom and peace are and should be the hallmarks of a satisfying and prosperous society. I agree. Mises proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the prospect for general and individual prosperity is maximized, indeed, is only possible, if the principle of private property reigns supreme. What's yours is yours. What's mine is mine. When the line between yours and mine is smudged, the door to conflict opens. Without freedom (individual liberty of action) the principle of private property is neutered and the free market, which is the child of property and freedom and the mother of prosperity and satisfaction, cannot exist. Peace is the goal of a prosperous and satisfying society of free individuals, not peace which is purchased by submission to the enemies of property and freedom, but peace which results from the unyielding defense of these principles against all who challenge them.

In this blog I measure American society against the metrics of property, freedom and peace.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

A Simple Question

The latest manufactured crisis in Washington is failure to raise the debt ceiling. Our dear President, his Treasury Secretary and a host of Democratic morons from Harry Reid to Nancy Pelosi to obscure politicians like Congressman Paul Tonko from NY predict economic catastrophe if the debt ceiling is not raised and the government shuts down.

Really?

Have we in the great bastion of free enterprise sunk so low, have so many in this great country opted to suck at the government teat, that a failure of the government to write checks to constituents will result in economic catastrophe?

Really?

But this is not the simple question I want to ask. My simple question is this:

Why do such crises result in only half of the government shutting down?

Let me explain. If the debt ceiling is not raised, the check writing half of the government shuts down, but the revenue collecting half continues to operate. Why? Why not shut the government down completely?

No more government stipends, grants and subsidies. And no more taxes.

Let the country's wage earners experience what it means to keep all the fruits of their labor and to have the government totally off their back, which begs another simple question.

If both the check writing and tax collecting halves of the government were to shut down, would you want it to start up again...ever?

1 comment:

John Galt said...

The revenue side of the equation could easily be shut down if the IRS is not funded. That is the power of the Executive and the Treasury who have all the levers as to who is funded and who is not.

Welcome back Sherman.