A Controlled Economy is a Stagnant Economy
Dale Netherton
March 22, 2009
With all the concern for oversight and regulation of the American economy you would think someone would think to ask, "What will this do to innovation and creativity?" Very few seem to be concerned with this issue although it is the ingredient that must be protected if the economy is to thrive and prosper. A bunch of phony money pumped into the economy will only arouse the pimps of economic subsidies to drift toward the shekels the government says are available for the governmentīs priorities. This targeted spending and bribing based on what the politicians find politically advantageous will undoubtedly create an abundance of unwanted trash when the true market price becomes evident after the subsidies disappear. No one will buy ethanol blended gasoline if its price is higher than unleaded. No one will want a wind mill powered grid if they donīt get the reliability of some other form of electrical generation.
If one reviews the innovations that came on the scene during the greatest period of prosperity and growth you will find it was the inventors and entrepreneurs, not government spending, that were motivated by the potential profit generated from bringing their dream to reality that caused the prosperity, the new inventions and the competition that brought down prices where the middle class could afford the new and convenient. People saw they could fulfill a need and profit by their efforts. As taxes rose and government tossed out dollars a new breed of businesspeople emerged. They saw that they could get government payments for providing what the government wanted. They could provide scooters for the disabled and be reimbursed by the government. They saw they could set aside farm ground and get paid for growing nothing on it. They saw they could create an ethanol plant that made ethanol for a subsidized fuel. They saw that they could provide medical care for the elderly and be paid by the government. Each time the government came up with a scheme to pump money into a favorite project with political favoritism there were people clamoring to get some of the "free" money. No longer were there people who simply wanted to invent and produce ( with a few exceptions) as the government would only want to tax and regulate ( look at Microsoft). The joy of profit and innovation becomes the drive to avoid the tax man, the regulator and fines and incarceration. This drive to control the economy degrades profit, suppresses innovation and warps the vision of what it is that makes for a dynamic and thriving economy.
Bread lines and shortages are the result of the controlled economy but the intermediary conditions create a rush to grab as much of the "free" government money as possible. This is grubbing for dollars without determining whether the dollars are earned or not or have any personal meaning. Politicians live by this viewpoint and have no idea what it means to fulfill a personal dream that is earned. Theirs is the dream of approval by others and control over others. When their vision dominates the world of innovation and prosperity dims. For with the loss of freedom comes the loss of self reliance and personal satisfaction. In its place appears the demands of the politicians with their bribes and "requirements. The distinction that private initiative is different from government handouts becomes blurred. A businessman can now be either a person who built his business with a personal vision and effort or simply a crony of the politician who gave him an economic development grant. It is easy to see who benefits from such a system and who loses. It is also easy to see why the GDP loses steam. Stagnation is the result followed by panic and chaos. America has reached the stagnation phase and the government desperate to prove it can revitalize the economy it wants to take credit for is doing the only thing it knows how to do....spend. This rampage of spending will not do anything but release the dogs seeking government money. Nothing new will be produced from that money only the junk the government says is necessary for health and the climate. It will not produce new and innovative medical procedures but long lines and forms that will translate into less care and more hassle. It will not make the air or water cleaner but it will create taxes on things that will place a bigger burden on production facilities to remain profitable.
The result will be a world of dull where the imagination of man is replaced with the dumb stare of the bureaucrat, the storm trooper and the dictator. Amidst this stupor those who remember the excitement of the new and different will know that they saw what the future generations will not have a clue about. Theirs will be a world of government handouts and dictates. Theirs will be a world of shortages and scarcity. Theirs will be a world of mediocrity and egalitarianism. There will be no champions of industry, no innovators and no self made men. There will only be the pompous promises reignited every two years like a revival meeting of old. People will long for hope and not have a clue what it is they are hoping for. The hope will be for an end to the dull stagnation of their everyday lives. They will live to avoid pain and the pursuit of happiness will just be empty words. For what will be controlled will be the ambition to succeed. It will be obfuscated by the illusion of political glory. The political leaders will flaunt all the luxuries no one else can afford. Like the rulers of old riches will only come to those best able to plunder.
The middle ages was stagnant and dull and the promise of tomorrow is taking the same shape. There is one difference the middle ages population never had. They had no recollection of what could be. We have a recollection and a vision of what could be. We also have the spirit of independence that has not been extinguished and will rebel when the need is evident. There is a trembling beginning to arise and it will only grow as the obvious becomes more clear. The objective is a limited government and that is the road that will lead us back to the kind of nation that will not turn dull. The passion for vitality and progress must not be drowned in the voices of government expansion. Stagnation is not Americaīs destiny.
If one reviews the innovations that came on the scene during the greatest period of prosperity and growth you will find it was the inventors and entrepreneurs, not government spending, that were motivated by the potential profit generated from bringing their dream to reality that caused the prosperity, the new inventions and the competition that brought down prices where the middle class could afford the new and convenient. People saw they could fulfill a need and profit by their efforts. As taxes rose and government tossed out dollars a new breed of businesspeople emerged. They saw that they could get government payments for providing what the government wanted. They could provide scooters for the disabled and be reimbursed by the government. They saw they could set aside farm ground and get paid for growing nothing on it. They saw they could create an ethanol plant that made ethanol for a subsidized fuel. They saw that they could provide medical care for the elderly and be paid by the government. Each time the government came up with a scheme to pump money into a favorite project with political favoritism there were people clamoring to get some of the "free" money. No longer were there people who simply wanted to invent and produce ( with a few exceptions) as the government would only want to tax and regulate ( look at Microsoft). The joy of profit and innovation becomes the drive to avoid the tax man, the regulator and fines and incarceration. This drive to control the economy degrades profit, suppresses innovation and warps the vision of what it is that makes for a dynamic and thriving economy.
Bread lines and shortages are the result of the controlled economy but the intermediary conditions create a rush to grab as much of the "free" government money as possible. This is grubbing for dollars without determining whether the dollars are earned or not or have any personal meaning. Politicians live by this viewpoint and have no idea what it means to fulfill a personal dream that is earned. Theirs is the dream of approval by others and control over others. When their vision dominates the world of innovation and prosperity dims. For with the loss of freedom comes the loss of self reliance and personal satisfaction. In its place appears the demands of the politicians with their bribes and "requirements. The distinction that private initiative is different from government handouts becomes blurred. A businessman can now be either a person who built his business with a personal vision and effort or simply a crony of the politician who gave him an economic development grant. It is easy to see who benefits from such a system and who loses. It is also easy to see why the GDP loses steam. Stagnation is the result followed by panic and chaos. America has reached the stagnation phase and the government desperate to prove it can revitalize the economy it wants to take credit for is doing the only thing it knows how to do....spend. This rampage of spending will not do anything but release the dogs seeking government money. Nothing new will be produced from that money only the junk the government says is necessary for health and the climate. It will not produce new and innovative medical procedures but long lines and forms that will translate into less care and more hassle. It will not make the air or water cleaner but it will create taxes on things that will place a bigger burden on production facilities to remain profitable.
The result will be a world of dull where the imagination of man is replaced with the dumb stare of the bureaucrat, the storm trooper and the dictator. Amidst this stupor those who remember the excitement of the new and different will know that they saw what the future generations will not have a clue about. Theirs will be a world of government handouts and dictates. Theirs will be a world of shortages and scarcity. Theirs will be a world of mediocrity and egalitarianism. There will be no champions of industry, no innovators and no self made men. There will only be the pompous promises reignited every two years like a revival meeting of old. People will long for hope and not have a clue what it is they are hoping for. The hope will be for an end to the dull stagnation of their everyday lives. They will live to avoid pain and the pursuit of happiness will just be empty words. For what will be controlled will be the ambition to succeed. It will be obfuscated by the illusion of political glory. The political leaders will flaunt all the luxuries no one else can afford. Like the rulers of old riches will only come to those best able to plunder.
The middle ages was stagnant and dull and the promise of tomorrow is taking the same shape. There is one difference the middle ages population never had. They had no recollection of what could be. We have a recollection and a vision of what could be. We also have the spirit of independence that has not been extinguished and will rebel when the need is evident. There is a trembling beginning to arise and it will only grow as the obvious becomes more clear. The objective is a limited government and that is the road that will lead us back to the kind of nation that will not turn dull. The passion for vitality and progress must not be drowned in the voices of government expansion. Stagnation is not Americaīs destiny.
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