Monday, June 28, 2010

Explaining How Government Intervention Does Nothing Positive

Government intervention is one of the most present obstacles to just about everything in this modern age. Bureaucrats always think that knowledge can all be centralized and that correct decisions can be made from this information. Knowledge is tacit and dispersed. There is no way that bureaucrats can know everything possible to make the correct decisions about anything. 

This idea is brought to light by Judge Andrew Napolitano in this clip. Napolitano demonstrates to an unglued Shepherd Smith that the federal government is ultimately responsible for the disaster and the ensuing lack of clean up. Napolitano points out that since government has no stake in the game, that is no capital risked, it can bungle as much as it wants and never be checked. It is not governed by a price system. It has no economic accountability. It can never be sued. Napolitano amplifies a point that Ludwig von Mises made:  "A bureaucrat differs from a nonbureaucrat precisely because he is working in a field in which it is impossible to appraise the result of a mans effort in terms of money." 

Here is the clip: 

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QE3 Is Here!

Move over QE2, QE3 is here! The markets are euphoric for now.