Regulated Economy Equals Regulated Liberties

Thomas Anger, a retired Washington economist, posed this question, “Why, despite sound arguments and concrete evidence, do most Americans tend to resist denationalization and deregulation?” That is a question we, as citizens, all should want answered.

And Anger does just that: “Their resistance arises from two things: risk aversion (both personal and paternalistic) and economic illiteracy.”

To clarify what Anger calls, “risk aversion,” it is when people are afraid of taking a chance. And they start asking questions to justify their terror, yet no movement towards answers, which would, after comprehension, alleviate their said terror.

Anger’s second claim “economic illiteracy” plagues people, how could one dispute this? The average person does not grasp economic theory, and he or she only views financial and economic situations (as well as governmental issues due to the interdependence of our government and economy) through his or her myopic glass bubble. That is, thinking solely on the present money in hand, not the money in bank in the next 30 years.

This idea that a government’s job is to rescue its citizens from poor personal budgeting and the ignorant understanding of finances is a falsehood. That leads--in our case, as Americans--to the Socialistic War, which I have spoken on previously.

In doing so, we allow, as economist Bruce Yandle, Ph.D., calls “Bootleggers and Baptists” to occur. Dr. Yandle explains, “Bootleggers, you will remember, support Sunday closing laws that shut down all local bars and liquor stores. Baptists support the same laws… Both parties gain, while the regulators are content because the law is easy to administer.”

The “Bootleggers” are those in the business world who use regulation to oppress competition in the marketplace, so to profit while at the expense of the consumer. Need I remind one who the consumer is in this equation?

The “Baptists” are, as Anger states, the “self-appointed guardians of our health and well-being (the sum of all our risk-averse fears, you might say).”

Nationalization and regulation hinder the economy and thus the people’s pocketbooks, not only at present but into the future. Anger adds, “The benefits of nationalization and regulation come at a high cost, but we tend to focus on our own benefits… and forget the cost (the taxes we pay for benefits that go to others).”

Denationalization and deregulation promote free market and a strong economy, which means the consumer will be granted the liberties he or she foolishly pissed away out of asinine behavior.

The liberties I speak of are the ones that allow you, the citizen, to choose your own box of cereal, your own showerhead, your own doctor, and your own insurance company (which is an issue in Massachusetts at the moment) and, basically, spend your money the way you see best fit.

Of course, if this would occur, we all would need to start signing up for budgeting classes, which I would rather have than someone else’s “regulated” liberties thrust upon me. How about you, the American citizen?


Here is my last column for this term. It is sad; I know the problems I (and the Parthenon) had working together, but I believe those problems are behind us. Most of the columnists were writing “Goodbye” columns. I thought about that, yet I opt to write mine with no reference to ending of the term. I hope this post is one you will like.