The Folly of Central-Planning

In this case, our central bank, the Federal Reserve. This video is Rep. Alan Grayson questioning the Inspector General of the Federal Reserve.



You have to either laugh or cry.

Take a look at the flowery language they put on the Office of Inspector General's home page:

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducts independent and objective audits, inspections, evaluations, investigations, and other reviews related to programs and operations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board). OIG efforts promote integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness; help prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse; and strengthen accountability to the Congress and the public. The OIG’s work assists the Board in managing risk and in achieving its overall mission to foster the stability, integrity, and efficiency of the nation’s monetary, financial, and payment systems so as to promote optimal macroeconomic performance.

Did you see any of that in the video?

We see in the video the jumbled up mess that government mandated central planning causes. The Federal Reserve, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Health and Human Services, and all other government organizations have ZERO incentive to "promote integrity, economy, efficiency, and effectiveness." They can't. They have no profit motive. All government organizations get their funding through coercive means, i.e. taxes. No government organization answers to the market place. If they did they would be forced to operate efficiently or be forced to fail.

We may have a lot of very smart people in high places in Washington DC, but they all seem to have no clue what is going on. It does not take a very smart person to get out of the people's way and let free people and free markets function. The highly educated elitists in DC just can not grasp that.

Healthcare

We are hearing again that the elitists in Washington are seeking to interfere, further, into yet another aspect of our lives. This time it is how we deal with our healthcare provider. Instead of free individuals being able to seek the doctor-patient relationship that best suits their own interests, it will now be dictated to us by government central-planners.

Central Planning does not work and it will be a disaster if the government attempts to try it with healthcare. Decisions concerning the proper care of each individual seeking healthcare is virtually impossible in such a system. Lets take a cancer patient for example. Should the cancer patient go through chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery? Maybe some varying combination of two of these options is needed? Each of the options can be substituted, one for the other, or some of the options can be complementary to the other. Can government central-planners efficiently make the decision for each individual cancer patient? NO! The most efficient way to ensure the best care is through a proper doctor-patient relationship, and that can only come about through free markets and competition in the healthcare industry.

The proponents of nationalized healthcare say the idea would boost our economy. How do they know this? They don't, and furthermore, they can't possibly know. Lets look at a couple of socialized healthcare programs that we have in this country now, Medicare and Medicaid. President Lyndon Johnson told Americans that these programs would be very affordable ways to care for our elderly and less fortunate. He assured us that by 1990, Medicare would only cost us $9 billion and Medicaid would cost $1 billion. Lets see how close the central planners were to getting these figures right. In 1990, Medicare cost Americans $110 billion while Medicaid cost us $41 billion! This should not surprise us. Government has no means of pricing structure. That's what free markets are for. Freedom in the healthcare industry, and in markets in general, is the only thing that can boost our economy and bring it back to life.

We, as liberty minded people, can not stand for this further erosion of our freedom. We must stand against the interventionist elitists that plague us in Washington DC.

Its That Time

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.
-The Constitution of the United States of America

As of today I am legally able to seek a seat in the House of Representatives. I have "attained to the age of twenty five years."

It seems that I should see criticism concerning my youth. I would like to cut that off before it starts. Number one, the Constitution of the United States says that I am old enough. If we seek to hold the Constitution the criticism of my youth holds no weight. Number two, youth may be exactly what we need. I like to make the point that, since I am younger, I do not know how to do that much. I do not know how to run your life, so I'll let you do that. I do not know how to manage your money, so I'll let you do that. I do not know how to run your business, so I'll let you do that. I do not know how to run your household, so I'll let you do that.

My goal is to get the government out of your way. Liberty works. Lets give it a try.