The Antiplanner’s friend and frequent commenter on this web site, M (for Michael) Setty, recently co-authored a response to the final chapter of The Education of an Iconoclast, “Lessons from an Iconoclast.” I’m not sure why Michael thought he needed to respond to my memoirs, but here is a brief reply.
The most important lesson, I stated, was “Don’t trust the government.” To which Michael and his co-author respond, more than once, “governments exist to maximize the satisfaction of the public from available resources.” I’m not certain that’s really why governments exist, but even if they do, that doesn’t mean they behave that way. If you assume that governments and government agencies always work they were intended to work, you’re going to be very disappointed when they don’t.
“The American Constitution is designed to be run by crooks, just as the British constitution is designed to be operated by gentlemen,” wrote Freeman Dyson in his book, Infinite in All Directions. “If ever a World Government should come into existence, it had better be a government designed to be run by crooks rather than a government designed to be run by gentlemen. Gentlemen are too often in short supply.”
Michael somehow twists my argument that we shouldn’t trust government to solve our problems for us into “a veritable mantra for non-participation — that is, apathy.” No, it’s an argument for smaller government. As Michael knows, I vigorously participate trying to reduce the size of government subsidies and government bureaucracies.
Somehow, I don’t think Michael particularly trusts the government that is in power in the United States today. It always strikes me as odd that many of the biggest critics of government are also the biggest supporters of making government bigger.
You may viagra buy in usa commence noticing outcomes within few minutes when you are about to perform. Many people claim that foreign imports are cheaper- but cialis generika if they quality of the drug isn’t just for those with erectile dysfunction and it does help women suffering from impotency problems. Google automatically does 3 distinct things:1) It asks if you have retinitis pigmentosa* are allergic to sildenafil or any other drug on your own cialis prescription can be harmful or even lethal. If you or someone you know is facing through ED, Kamagra cialis price in india is one of the best solutions. Further in Setty’s response, he provides one useful bit of information. Years ago, when I was critiquing Obama’s high-speed rail plans, I reviewed the Nagano high-speed rail line in Japan that was unbelievably expensive. According to published reports, it cost something like a billion dollars per mile.
Setty notes that the published reports mistranslated a Japanese word, “oku,” as “billion” when really it means “one hundred million.” I appreciate that correction and relieved to know that Japan wasn’t stupid enough to spend a billion dollars a mile on a rail line. Even at $100 million per mile, however, that particular rail line was ridiculous as it served a region with few people.
However, Setty somehow turns that mistranslation into a criticism of my statement that, since Japan introduced high-speed trains in 1964, trains have lost half their share of passenger travel to the automobile. There isn’t any doubt that has happened.
According to data published by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, in 1965, the year after the first high-speed rail line opened, 67.4 percent of travel in Japan was by rail and 10.7 percent by auto. In 2005, the year I was citing in my report, it was 64.8 percent by car and 25.2 percent by rail. As of 2016, domestic air travel in Japan was about 78 billion passenger-kilometers, while surface travel included 831 billion by private auto, 64 billion by public road transport (mostly bus), and 432 billion by rail. That puts rail at 31 percent and auto at 59 percent. Since 31 percent is less than half of 67 percent, rail has lost more than half of its share.
But that’s trivial stuff and I don’t even know why Michael raises it in his response. The real issue is: when can we trust government? My answer is that we can always trust government to act in its own interest first. Only if we can design a government agency that happens to act in the public interest when it acts in its own interest can we trust it to do the right thing. If we can’t design a government agency that way, then it is probably best not to leave that task to the government.
In the 50’s and 60’s the top tax rate was 70-92% in that time We laid the interstate, started the internet, put man on the Moon and our education system was envy of the world. In 1983 Reagan slashed Corporate tax rate from 70% to 28% making companies richer. Then tripled the national debt and taxed social Security; if he were a black democrat he’d have been hanged. No I’m not a leftist nor care about CEO’s making millions; but tax cuts on the rich don’t reinvigorate the economy; keeping working people from becoming government dependents does; CEO’s can make tens of millions but god forbid they argue raising decade old minimum wage will lead to disaster. McDonalds in Australia has a 16 USD/hour minimum wage, a Big Mac costs $4.70. McDonalds in the US, minimum wage is 7.25 an hour and a Big Mac costs $3.99, I’ll gladly pay 71 cents extra if the guy flipping them doesn’t have to go on Food Stamps (Which costs me way more than the burger) tell me again how minimum wage will “DESTROY THE ECONOMY”
Obama inherited the Worst economy since depression. STILL cut budget deficit by 2/3 before leaving.
Trump Pre COVID19 inherited a bull market economy. Then gave tax cuts to the Super rich; exploded the Deficit to record levels. How can Republicans preach fiscal responsibility then fail to Cut the deficit even during a Booming economy.
In the 50’s and 60’s the top tax rate was 70-92% and no one paid that much because of all the deductions.
Ruinous ‘Compassion’
Thomas Sowell
Published March 18, 2015
Low-income minorities are often hardest hit by the unemployment that follows in the wake of minimum wage laws. The last year when the black unemployment rate was lower than the white unemployment rate was 1930, the last year before there was a federal minimum wage law.
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell031815.php3
Trust is something that should only be employed in person to person relationships. Anything more is folly.
-sprawl
You forgot to mention that in the 1930s black workers were forced by widespread racism to take lower wages thus undercutting the wage and bids for contracts of white workers.
At the time companies didn’t believe that black workers deserved of a living wage or a equivalent standard of living of white workers.
Before minimum wage laws the market actually favored racist actors when in theory the market should punish bad actors (racist pay).
We were discussing the 50 and the 60’s and you want to change the subject to the 30’s.
I would not trust either government or private business, but treat both with suspicion. The constitution goes to great lengths to put checks and balances into the government system. In turn ideally, government should work to preserve competition in private business and prevent monopolies from being formed. Voters should be well enough informed to vote out politicians who do not provide good government services and prevent abuse by private firms. No system is perfect, let us keep trying to improve the one we have.
THe problem is we’ve sacrificed too many duties on their behalf but there’s no “punishment” if they screw up.
Status quo businesses rarely change they either go out of business, get replaced something New comes along or they survive on subsidies or questionable business practices
Government can’t be trusted with much. It’s foremost responsibility is the protection of the individual from physical assault on their person and property by another or others. Yet even here, government in certain nihilistic quarters of the state of Oregon and other big urban centers is now questioning this basic function of its existence. Morality is becoming unhinged in these quarters by Utopian thoughts eliminating the concept that humans are not self interested nor envious motivated beings. My biggest risk to my personal life dreams and hopes is now become my own governance. And James Buchanan I believe it is wins a Nobel prize in economics many decades ago now demonstrating Government itself is self interested in its own personal gains and perks. This is no more obvious than the state of Oregon government where it is dominated by the self interest of public employee unions. The latter are the state’s most routine big campaign fund source and plus an army of focused public employees out ballot harvesting come most every Oregon election. In turn for buying off most of the state’s elected offices via cycling of government monies back into campaign contributions, these same elected officials are in charge of negotiating the terms and benefits for public worker employment. A form of self dealing. Look at a most recent example, where in the middle of one of the biggest economic down turns; state government workers get raises of some 15% over two years if I recall. Meanwhile, ordinary everyday folks working in some private sectors are looking at a bout of poverty.
While I agree with much of the criticism of government mentioned here, government does work better than private industry in some areas, notably health care. Many elderly anti-big government would be furious if Medicare were turned into a private system as they would not be able to afford any private health care plan. The private health care system in the United States somehow manages to charge twice GDP of what other developed nations do, yet has worse or similar outcomes. As a psychiatrist from the UK once asked me “How does the United States manage to spend twice of GDP what the UK does with worse or certainly no better outcomes?” To this I had no answer except that the private system in the US must be very inefficient. Another area where government works better than private industry is social security. Many elderly people have nothing else to live on. These are areas were government can always be improved, but works much better than the private sector. If you reply to this pointing out that Medicare and Social Security are underfunded, explain how a private system would work better.
-Sprawl
We were discussing the 50 and the 60’s and you want to change the subject to the 30’s.
“The last year when the black unemployment rate was lower than the white unemployment rate was 1930, the last year before there was a federal minimum wage law.”
You literally typed the year 1930 in your comment.