Only governments can save us from “supposed” economic crisis

Dr. Tim Ball
1/28/2009

Henry George said “The state, it cannot be repeated too often, does nothing, and can give nothing, which it does not take from somebody.” Put this with George Bernard Shaw’s point that, “A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul” and you have a terse assessment of what is happening as governments convince us that only they can resolve the supposed economic crisis.

I say supposed, because it is important to step back and consider the way numbers are used and abused. While it is a tragedy for the 7 percent who are unemployed this means 93% are working. While it is hard for the 3% who lost their homes through foreclosure this means 97% are making their payments. A very long list of such distortions of catastrophe is easy to compile. No, I am not a Pollyanna, but a balanced focus is essential.

When we consider the amount of money being thrown at these problems, wouldn’t it have been cheaper in the case of the mortgages at least, to simply buy out those in default and write legislation to reduce the possibility of defaults in the future? What is happening appears to confirm H. L. Mencken’s comment that, “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” Clearly the ‘crisis’ is seen as an opportunity for greater government control and that is no surprise to many. However, what is interesting is the method of resolution.

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