I have often said that there is a formula to many government actions;

1. Pass a law/regulation, etc. with (we hope) the best of intentions.  These new laws/regulations are designed to meet some real or imagined need, desire, request either made by some special interest group or political goal.  Seldom are they passed at the request of the average citizen who is too busy trying to exist and move ahead with their lives.
2. The new program is instituted and funded and of course, new government employees improve the original idea which was found to be of such great importance to society.
3. Typically, the new governmental department or agency finds that the original goal is much more complex than expected and so studies must be made, which of course, demands time and money.  Or it is found that the new regulations as laid out by the new department do not really address or solve the original goal, but the agency does find other areas where it can “help” the average citizen.
4. With a new purpose or idea, the agency goes back to its source of funds (typically the Congress, State Assembly, City Council, etc.) and asks for additional funds to correct the problems caused by its own actions and to expand the scope of its work.

In other words, a problem is found, a solution is provided, it is found that the solution only made the problem worse and to correct the problem it has created, more money must be spent to correct its own bad actions.

This is being worked out by my local level of government, the City Council of Long Beach California.  The problem is that Measure MA was approved by the voters in 2016.  This allowed the legal sale of marijuana and the city put in place certain rules/regulations to monitor and capitalize on said sales.  The problem was that the rules/regulations were both complex and expensive for those who were going to be granted a license to sell the drug.  In fact, they were so complex and expensive that one of the goals of the original Measure was made worse; instead of eliminating the illegal sale of the drug, it has made the sale from illegal dealers larger. The illegal sale of the drug is estimated to be at least three times larger than the legal sales.  This means that the city is not receiving all the money from the legal sales of a drug which magically became legal and encouraged by the same government that had previously seen the drug as something illegal. When the expected tax revenue is not realized, you can count on the government to do something about it.

An ordinary person might believe that if the rules/regulations/taxes are too high to create a good business, the simple answer would be to re-examine the rules/regulations/taxes which are creating the problem.  One might even suggest letting individuals with real business experience do the work as at least they know how to live within a budget and actually create something that is viable and productive.  No, that would be far too simple and logical.

In its wisdom, the City Council has decided that the solution is to offer the now legal drug dealers a tax reduction if they can abide by additional rules which will increase their cost of doing business at a rate which is theoretically lower than the amount of tax reduction. Brilliant! Everyone in business knows that increased regulations, especially those which increase fixed costs, are the sure way to increased profits. Not to worry, as if the tax revenue to the city does not increase thanks to this solution, I am sure the City Council will have mor great ideas how to fix the problem.

And, just to show that they have their best thinking caps on, the City Council is putting its best Woke foot forward by ensuring that equity in drug dealerships will be reached.  You can apply if you are unemployed and are poor.  Of course, where you are going to get the capital for your business is not included in the new idea, nor is the question of what landlord will want to accept a drug dealer who most likely has no independent business experience and little money.  Unless of course, the new drug dealer has a secret partner who is funding the new business.  Sounds like a strategy for success to me.

When he became President Obama, he said that he wanted to fundamentally change the United States. His economic plan managed to increase the median family income by $3,200 over an eight-year period while at the same time increasing the number of people living in poverty by 787,000. When Joe Biden became president, he said that he saw it as an opportunity, “fundamentally transform the country.”  The result thus far has been that the average American family has lost between $5,600-$7,000 in income in only two years (Heritage.org 4/21/23).

Compare this to 2018, when under President Trump incomes went up $4,600; an increase in one year that was forty-five percent larger than during the eight years of the Obama administration. How was that possible?

Perhaps asking “how was that possible” is the wrong question. One might better ask, “what did Presidents’ Obama and Biden do to basically wreck a system designed and historically capable of incredible growth and wealth creation.”  Could it be that they did not understand the basic system of how the economy works? Could it be that were ignorant of past presidents who had led successful economies? Could it simply be that they believed they were smarter than anyone else? Somehow those who talk about being on the “right side of history” seem to ignore the lessons of history. Or, maybe it is just human nature; having winning such high office is like becoming a king, the new President has a burning desire to show his brilliance by doing something bold and daring.

We must ask ourselves if these two presidents actually believe that more government regulation, more government control, more deficit spending and now, inflation will lead to greater prosperity  Are we to believe that suddenly, a top-down centralized planned economy is going to be better for its citizens when there has never been a successful society based on those precepts?  Oh, I know, “it will be different this time.” 

The two articles linked below offer not only a history of recent results but also solutions to correct our current problems. Dare we hope that we have leaders who will own up to their mistakes?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/inflation-incomes-americans-kevin-mccarthy-new-york-stock-exchange-dc3bd179?page=1

Corruption and inefficiency in the spending of your money by all levels of government is nothing new. That corruption and inefficiency is one reason why the government is always seeking new revenue streams; they simply cannot account for the funds they spend.  And the more strings the government (and here I mean any level of government, but it is so blatant at the Federal level) attaches to the monies, the more the opportunity for greater graft and inefficiency. 

In response to the sudden concern about the state of dependence on foreign manufacturing of chips, the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act was passed which would help us decrease that dependence.  Yet buried withing the bill were requirements that billions of dollars (all of which are borrowed) be spent on day care centers for the employees, paid-leave allowances and “prevailing wages” during construction which very often actually slows the completion of Once On projects and leads to more inefficiencies.  If the manufacturing of chips is so important to national security, instead of “prevailing wages”, why not include a bonus if” the work is done ahead of schedule or heaven forbid, even on time?

The attached article gives but a taste of how large government which spends huge sums cannot account for much of the work and cannot keep track of the costs.  Any corporation or family unit that operated on the same basis would very quickly be in deep financial quicksand, but when all you need to do is authorize a new fee, or charge, or tax, why bother with accountability? 

Once upon a time in this country, prior to World War I, there were news reporters and writers who were known as “muckrakers”; they investigated and wrote about the corruption and criminality of numerous politicians and their allies.  Those brave individuals are long gone but the next time your government, at any level, has a hearing on some new fee/tax/surcharge/etc. don’t be afraid to ask what steps that agency is going to take to make sure that the precious monies you earn are not squandered. Remember, it is your money; the government does not generate wealth; the only wealth producers are “we the people” through our work, innovations, businesses, etc.

https://www.city-journal.org/article/the-more-some-states-spend-the-worse-things-seem-to-get

The twentieth century was not especially wonderful for Italy.  In World War I, although on the victorious side, the cost in manpower was terrible and most of the fighting took place on some of the most inhospitable land on the planet.  That generation was scared and almost immediately fell under the influence of Mussolini, a charismatic, blustering and to be honest, not a very bright individual.  Following his dreams of glory, all of Italy became a vicious battle ground and the nation, ill-prepared for war, was bombed and shelled into submission.  As if those experiences were not enough, Italy suffered bouts of Red terrorism, economic stagnation, and political instability.  The United States on the other hand had a pretty good twentieth-century. Victorious in two World Wars, the victor of the Cold War and huge economic growth, the nation became a super-power.  While the twenty-first century has not been all that great, the nation is still the magnet to hundreds of millions of people around the world who still believe that we are the land of opportunity.

How is it then that we see mobs in the United States, attempting to destroy statues of imperfect men who did great deeds, improved the health of millions of people or who fought for their noble and not so noble ideas but with an honest belief?  We do not see this type of activity in France were Napoleon who was responsible for the deaths of a million of his countrymen and who knows how many of other nations is still honored. Do the French tear down the beautiful palaces created by their despotic kings?  How about the British who first outlawed the slave trade?  Should statues of great explorers be torn down because they dared to believe that their values and system could help people in other lands? 

Why do we suffer they type of self-flagellation?  Who are these self-centered, intolerant racists that create such havoc in their attempt to show us how they have found the Truth?  How can they even dare to make suggestions about how things could be better when they are so woefully ignorant of what truly came before them. 

Which brings us to the article linked below.  Today, one can run across houses, commercial buildings, stadiums, statues and more that were built to glorify the Fascist regime of Mussolini.  They are literally everywhere, and no one defaces them or attempts to tear them down.  Why?  Perhaps it is the realization that those times were three generations ago and that Italy is a different country.  Perhaps it is because people understand that they can learn from history and that to discard it is another step toward totalitarianism.  The line from 1984 that “he who controls the present, controls the past and he who controls the past controls the future”. Perhaps we need to force feed some history to those silly children who believe they have found the “Truth” and that it will be different this time.  If we do not and they continue their ignorant ways, we should not be at all surprised at the result.

https://www.city-journal.org/article/italys-non-cancel-culture

Just as the pandemic revealed to millions of parents the hidden agenda that was being inflicted on their children, so too the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk was one of the most important actions in the past several years.  With the purchase, the citadel of the Left was pierced, and the many secrets contained within its walls revealed.

To say that the secrets were important is a huge understatement for the terrible alliance between the police powers of our nation and social media stood for all to see. A police agency, the F.B.I, known to have openly interfered with the last two Presidential elections, was exposed along with the Deep State bureaucracy of demanding censorship of political and medical opinions which they believed to be dangerous. Demands for censorship poured into the Twitter headquarter from FBI offices across the country, demanding that opinions by American citizens be silenced.

This was possible because, as the linked article points out, “…the administrative state has metastasized into a destructive deep state that threatens to bring about the collapse of America’s constitutional system within our lifetimes.  The unchecked, to this day, power of that deep state in alliance with national police power has gone from being a post 9/11 war on terror to a war on opinions which are contrary to those in political and bureaucratic power.

Years ago, even before being sworn into office, candidate Obama swore to fundamentally transform the United States.  It sounded like just another campaign slogan, but we are seeing just how much the nation has been changed, not by Congress, but by bureaucratic directives and overreaching of police powers.  The adage that the larger the government, the smaller the citizen is being played out before our very eyes and it appears that no one is acting to reverse the capture of power by individuals and groups with little if any accountability.

History has shown us time and time again, that economies which are centrally planned fail and that economies which offer freedom of choice and competition provide not only wealth, but long term stability.  We may expect that this lesson will be repeatedly ignored by Marxists and their ilk, but it is shocking to see it ignored by leaders of what use to be called, “the free world” (a term which we have not heard since the fall of the Soviet Union).  Perhaps it is time for the leaders of the Western world to go back to school and take some lessons on basic economics.

At the current time, one in seven workers in the United States earns their living by being connected to the auto industry.  One in seven, that is about 14%. In Europe, the auto industry provides employment for just over 6% of all workers and about 8.5% of all manufacturing jobs.  Those numbers represent a huge portion of the tax revenues of the U.S. and European economies. Economies which have successfully lifted millions out of poverty around the world by offering competition and choice.  Yet we see today central governments attempting to mandate a product which can only be sustained at this point by huge amounts of corporate welfare and adjustments to wealth distribution. This product offers a developing technology and while it may in the future become viable, those same central governments are not creating the infrastructure to sustain the product they see as the wave of the future.

Consider these facts:

• Ford announced that it will lose $3,000,000,000 (billion) on EVs in 2023
• Ford spends $220,000 to produce each Rivian electric pick up truck which it then sells for $81,000
• Ford plans to make 2 million electric cards every year by 2025, but,
  • Ford only sold 61,575 in 2022
  • In February 2023 it sold 3,624 EVs
• GM loses up to $9,000 for each electric Bolt, it’s “affordable” EV
• GM plans to sell 1 million electric cars by 2025, but is sold less than 40,000 in 2022

How would you like to be the marketing and sales manager facing those sales goals?

Additionally, with high interest rates, a slowing economy and what looks like major job layoffs and a possible recession, the centralized planning from government faces a daunting task.   

If anyone is in doubt as to the impact this war will have on employment, loss of taxes and basic freedom, one need only think back to the last time one in seven workers were involved in another “wave of the future”, that being the implementation of “Obamacare”.  Since then, we have seen hospitals close, many doctors leaving the health care industry, premiums increase and for the first time, a decrease in the life expectancy of certain portions of the citizens it was designed to serve.

If a product is truly good, it does not have to be mandated.

In a post dated 8/22/2022 entitled “Trust Deficit”, I wrote that there seems to be an increasing gap between those who govern us and we the people.  Unfortunately, this gap appears to be growing as the belief of those who govern in their ability to fool us only gets stronger.

How often do we find that the government, at any level, introduces a program designed with the (hopefully) best of intentions only to see it flounder on the shores of reality?  The response?  “Let’s form a study group to find out what can be done”, or “we need to fund the program so we can realize it’s full potential”, etc. Often, the correct response would be, “Man, did we screw that one up, how do we stop the program and not waste any more money”.

The attached article by Andy Kessler gives examples of how those in authority never admit (do they realize?) that their actions and programs are the cause of problems.  A famous politician once said “you never want a serious crisis to go to waste”, meaning that each crisis is an opportunity to fool the public into thinking the reacting politician is a hero.  Of course, he/she is a hero on your dime; they may even claim that the solution is “free”, but never fear, there will be enough people out there to give credit where no credit is due.

I am beginning to doubt the statement by Abraham Lincoln that, “you can fool some of the people some of the time and all of the people some of the time, but not all of the people all of the time.”  Even in the age of digital video and real time reporting, we see and hear our political leaders lie and insult our intelligence with a smile and shock when the proof is presented.  They must realize that at the least fooling all of the people some of the time is the acceptable standard.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-zero-to-hero-biden-inflation-fed-fdic-svb-deposit-insurance-bailout-interest-rates-oil-gas-willow-643b9f2d?page=1

We seem to be living in a time when the only people who are held to account are private individuals who play by the rules.  These are the people who go to work, raise a family, pay their taxes, make sure they get all the licenses and permits they need to drive a car, purchase a gun, upgrade the electrical in their homes, etc.  Heaven forbid if some line on their increasingly incomprehensible tax form should be incorrect, the heavy hand of the IRS shall land upon them.  Drive your car with a yearly license sticker that is out of date?  Get a ticket!  Park too far from the curb? Get a ticket! Use a gas powered lawnmower? You are personally destroying the planet. The list goes on and on how government agencies/bureaus/districts, etc. lay down rules and regulations that the average man or woman on the street must abide by or face the consequences. 

On the other hand, we see:

• Bums (is that term still used?) who boldly steal hundreds of dollars of merchandise from a shop, yet they walk free as it is not worth the time to capture them.  Don’t worry, the cost will be passed onto those who play by the rules. 
• We see government official perjure themselves in front of Congress but they pay no penalty.  Hey, he only did it once that we know of.
• The IRS targets certain groups as you do not like their politics, but when the leaders are caught, they are allowed to retire with their pensions. Trust us, it will not happen again.
• Bank failures?  There are calls to lock up the bankers but what about the multiple government agencies who failed to act on the problem in a timely manner?  Don’t worry, the cost will be passed onto those who play by the rules.

Everywhere we see systemic failure but the buck only seems to stop at one door, the average person who plays by the rules. The two articles attached should make us all sit up and take notice.  What is wrong with our system?  How have we managed to get so far off track that such degrees of stupidity, greed, lack of honesty and incompetence are viewed as just another normal day.

I have often heard that you cannot change the system and that is just how it works.  I have also heard that it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.  I must admit I prefer the latter of the two and that means that each of us, every day, must demand and battle for what we know is right: for honesty, excellence, justice and the value of merit and honor.  We may not make much of a difference in the big picture, but each of us must use each day to hold back the forces which degrade our standards and our possibility for the future. Great societies are built on ideals and doomed societies are destroyed by the acceptance of sloth, lies, deceit, and greed.   

https://www.wsj.com/articles/careless-supervision-sank-svb-fdic-federal-reserve-dodd-frank-act-bank-policy-instittue-bailout-treasury-cro-7340e6ad?mod=opinion_lead_pos7

There are some simple truths in life which are extremely unpalatable to some people.  These truths have been proven over the centuries as leading to better adjusted individuals, a stronger society, increased wealth, and less violence.  They include such concepts as:

• Get an education.
• Get married.
• Do not have children before you are married.
• A child needs both a mother and a father.

Somehow, despite the failures of societies which ignore these rules, there are those who preach that “this time it will be different”.  It never is, but there is not much that you can do with slow learners who are “believers”.

Another group which tends to ignore reality is called the “bleeding heart brigade”.  They truly want to help people, but just want to take the clean sanitary way of throwing money at a problem in the belief that money in itself can solve a problem.  A prime example of this was the “Great Society” movement during the 1960’s, when poverty was thought to be an outcome a lack of income.  The result of that movement, which has cost the taxpayers of the United States over twenty trillion dollars, was the break up of the traditional Black family, a higher crime rate, a decrease in house ownership in the Black population, etc..  Do not forget that it has also come with another price, a permanent welfare bureaucracy at the Federal, state, and local level with a vested interest in self-preservation.

The link to the article by Steven Malanga points out how past policies have led to a debasement of life in the Black community.  At some point we have to realize that the failed policies of the past have helped to ruin the opportunities for millions of our citizens.  That is not only a financial failure, it is a moral failure and one which cannot be hidden by new programs based on the same policies which have been proven to be worse than worthless; they are criminal.  We see not that poverty is not merely a matter of money, but it is also a failure of recognizing the value of the individual and destroying that individual’s belief in themselves.  It is time for a change.

https://www.city-journal.org/marriage-then-mortgage

At no time in history has so much effort, expense and legal aid been expended to encourage the freedom of choice and education of girls and women.  In order to insure that women have an equal opportunity at education, Constitutional guarantees have been ignored and specific laws enacted to ensure that females have equal access to all aspects of education including sports.  At every level, we see amazing numbers for females, in terms of numbers of degrees awarded (“58 percent of all B.A.s in the 2019-2020 academic year…at least 60% of all master’s degrees, and 54 percent of all PhD’s”).  There are more women attending universities than males and half of the highest universities according to Forbes have women as presidents. These numbers all point to the feminization of our centers of higher learning. How is it that in a world where two-thirds of college administrators are women, women at those very schools are subjected to a steady stream of rhetoric on victimhood and unsafety while demanding “safe spaces”, calming corners, etc.

We should be seeing the strongest and most confident generation of women to ever stride this planet, yet somehow, we do not hear about the successes of women, instead we hear of the “mental crisis among young people”.  Somehow there is a great amount of fear, depression, anxiety, and emotional volatility by those who should be the best and the brightest.

Added to this list of problems, either real or perceived, are various studies which show that there are major differences between men and women and the value of academic excellence.  Whereas studies show that nearly three-quarters of university males believe that free speech is more important that promoting “an inclusive society”, only about forty percent of women believe that was a positive value; building an inclusive society was viewed as more important than free speech.  In effect, the quest for intellectual clarity and the pursuit of excellence is of little value to the majority of female students.  What does this hold for the future in a world that is increasingly competitive?  Does this mean that an individuals perceptions are of paramount importance in the areas of math, physical science, etc.?  We have heard mandatory oaths administered to medical students that rather than promising to do no harm, demand that a medical treatment take into account a patient’s world view. How does that help to fix a broken arm or ease the pain of a heart attack?

That attached article by Heather Mac Donald should make everyone sit up and realize that there is something very wrong with a system that rather than celebrating the achievements of females, leads them to accept a view of the world and actions which is counter-productive and personally demeaning. The sad fact is that it appears that female administrators are creating a system whose chief victims are other females.

https://www.city-journal.org/the-great-feminization-of-the-american-university