Liberty's Laggards

A recent article in “MailOnline” the internet version of the Daily Mail from the United Kingdom provided an individual freedom analysis for the 50 states of the United States. There’s some irony in the fact that a British paper sought to examine liberty in the former colonies. Clearly when describing liberty within states there are subjective parameters at work. The 50 “laboratories for democracy” have considerable leeway in determining how their states will be organized and function. The three largest areas of limitation for them within the federal Constitution are the mandated federal obligations as given in the enumerated powers, the prohibitions for curtailing inalienable rights, and the states must be democratic republics. If the fifty states take their freedoms seriously, there are multiple opportunities to experiment with laws and rulemaking to generate environments for prosperity and liberty.

Alas, too many of our formerly-sovereign states have followed the lead of Big Brother by implementing restrictive regulatory structures and punitive tax policies. Where they might have flourished as laboratories of freedom and opportunity, they, instead, overregulated, overtaxed and overwhelmed their citizens with obstacles and constraints. The “MailOnline” piece by Mark Duell lists New York and California as the worst offenders in the limitation of individual freedom. These are two of the largest states in the union…rich in resources, talent and population. It defies logic for states so richly endowed to squander their natural wealth for the false dream of centralized government. Another state that Duell has categorized as “less free” is my own native Ohio. As a candidate for statewide office in 2010, I drove across the entire state. It was clear to me how statism impacts the economic environment of the state. Certainly there were pockets of prosperity, but most of my beloved Buckeye state was staggered by the loss of industry…and the tangential businesses, suppliers and service companies that thrive when the industries are doing well.

The federal government and the state regulatory apparatus combined to construct high hurdles and elongated approval processes for plants to upgrade. In addition the labor union situation in Ohio has strangled attempts to innovate and create a competitive cost profile. Big government, lousy business opportunities and excessive union power are a troika for job killing. A corollary indicator of the relative freedom of the respective states is the apportionment of congressional seats following the census. One of the freer states, Texas, picks up 4 additional congress critters while New York and Ohio each lose two seats…and the corresponding national influence. Florida with its friendly atmosphere for freedom will gain 2 seats while Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania will have one fewer congressperson in 2012. Missouri also loses one seat as does Louisiana…probably an after effect of Katrina. Indeed, there is a very high correlation between a state’s level of freedom and its growth and prosperity. You might ask why California is not on the “loser list” if it is rated as “less free.” The census counts people not citizens, and the continuing migration of non-citizens to California has kept the population large enough to offset the out migration of business, jobs and citizens.

Freedom and prosperity are linked. Where the people have the freedom to function without an oppressive regulatory environment or restrictive workplace rules, they will capitalize and maximize their opportunity. Lower taxes will encourage businesses to reinvest in growth and technology. Lower taxes and spending by state governments will encourage commerce and industry. Sadly, states, cities or any other government entity cannot resist the urge to grow and control. Only one of the original thirteen states was considered to be relatively free by Duell’s analysis: New Hampshire, the state with the stirring “Live Free or Die” motto. The other two top-ranked states were South Dakota and Indiana.

As a former researcher, I am aware that correlation does NOT confirm causality. Common sense suggests, however, that states that are growing may be doing so because of lower taxes, fewer union complications and sensible regulatory environments. Those liberty-lagging laboratories of democracy who have selected more government, more regulation and higher taxes as their modus operandi are faltering … staggering. As their businesses close or move, their tax bases dwindle and their social network costs increase. It’s a downward spiral that can be corrected by choosing liberty. Some experiments fail and others succeed. The intelligent observer can discern the difference and respond accordingly. Liberty, freedom always wins. Tyranny is a loser.

Comment:   cearlwriting@hotmail.com       or    www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Nuking Chicken Little

The post-earthquake tsunami devastation in Japan has developed into a tragic situation. They continue discovering more fatalities, and the number of missing people could increase the death toll significantly. Because of the impact of the wall of water, a number of nuclear power plants have malfunctioned. The issue is compounded by the fact that electrical power has been knocked out for much of the nation near the power sites, and the coolers for the systems have stopped running. News media have been awash with stories and predictions of pending doom for the Japanese, Hawaiians, Alaskans and other U. S. West Coast residents and Western Canadians.

Radiation poisoning is no laughing matter. Neither is the ingestion of any type of harmful chemical or substance whether natural or synthetic. Getting run over by a bus or drowning after an overloaded ferry capsizes are equally unpleasant ways to meet one’s end. Rusty nails, kitchen tools and power tools have the potential for deadly harm, and carbon monoxide can be sleepily fatal if one is in a confined space. Vicious animals, evil people and “wrong place, wrong time” accidents contribute to the untimely demise of people rather frequently. Risky situations and deadly circumstances surround us, but we must go on. The mass media’s obsession with hysterically identifying every source of mortality, and the government’s purported desire to protect us from ALL of them…are unhealthy for us. Fear is distracting, and morbid fear is paralyzing. Wanting to live, and being afraid to die are two radically different attitudes. The desire to survive is natural and instinctive. The fear of death limits one’s potential for living.

When government and media informally conspire to “gin up” threats to our well-being, their well-meaning actions can result in a fearful public who is afraid to take risks. Risk taking is vital for the growth and development of a society or culture. Frontiersmen go to new territory, and the pioneers follow them to establish new settlements. If today’s tenor of fear were in place some 400 years ago, Jamestown would not have been settled, Plymouth would not have been the landing point for people seeking religious freedom, and the backwoods of Georgia would not have echoed with the sounds of convicts and debtors seeking new beginnings. Although the security of the nation is a Constitutional mandate for the Congress, the analysis suggests that their duty is to protect the country from foreign invasion….not from toys in Happy Meals. Their constant pronouncements and warnings of harm have turned us into a sniveling, quivering gaggle of cowards who find any risk to be intolerable.

One of the great concerns for patriots today is the transformation of our country from a nation of producers into a collection of people who believe that they are entitled to rewards from the efforts of others. With entitlement comes the loss of need to take risks. If one expects government and others to provide every need, it follows that government should protect everyone from every risk. So, if government decides to protect us from nuclear accidents, oil spills or disasters in deep-shaft coal mines, our lights will flicker out, our vehicles will sputter and fail, our factories will shutter their windows, and we shall all shiver through the coldest days of winter.

When the great cathedrals of Europe were built, stonemasons occasionally fell from the highest walls and the laborers who quarried the stone were frequently crushed by the massive results of their efforts. They were all simple people whose names have been lost to history, but their work…their risk-taking… attracts thousands of tourists who gape with awe at what their pre-descendants accomplished. Risk taking involves risk…sometimes mortal risk. If an idea, a dream, a family or a nation is worthy of risk, it may mean losing one’s life. When the Nanny State overprotects us, it robs us of our passion for concepts greater than ourselves. It steals our humanity from us, and causes us to behave like panicky chickens who are afraid to die and incapable of living.

Psalm 31:14—“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say ‘You are my God.’ “

Note about yesterday’s “Why Libya.” I had two huge errors in yesterday’s column: 1) I referred to “Tunisia” when I meant Libya; 2) Teddy Roosevelt was elected VP in 1900 and ascended to the presidency when McKinley was assassinated. No excuse, no alibis. I blew it. Thanks to Harold, Steve, Kevin and other careful readers for informing me.

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