Monthly Archives: March 2012

What law would Jesus pass? None.

Although Georgia has a long history of having one foot in the dark ages when it comes to certain “blue laws” such as the ban on Sunday alcohol sales, it was encouraging that last year Governor Nathan Deal signed into law legislation that would allow local communities to vote on the matter. It is also heartening to see that our local governments are permitting us the opportunity to vote on this matter (as the new legislation did not require such a vote). We should be grateful the governing bodies of the state of Georgia have deigned to permit us the opportunity to have our say on this bizarrely anachronistic ban.

 

Blue Laws are not in conformity with Jesus’ message

 

Although proponents of blue laws (laws that ban a range of activities from occurring on Sunday: alcohol sales, automobile sales, shopping, working, etc) often claim there is no religious basis to these laws, history suggests otherwise. The overriding goal of these laws is clearly to restrict activity on one day of the week and oddly that day is always Sunday, the traditional day of worship for Christians. These laws have included both the mandatory closure of all business and in some locales the prohibition of personal work or “non-spiritual” behavior (e.g. arrests for fixing wagon wheels or playing cards are known). Over time the total ban on Sunday commerce inconvenienced even those that had passed such laws. So rather than wholesale repeal they chipped away at these laws, making exceptions for some goods (the ones they wanted on Sunday) but keeping bans on others. And so we end up with a bizarre hodgepodge of restricted goods. For example in Texas up until 1985 laws banned the sale of house wares such as pots and pans. Currently in several states the sale of automobiles and hunting is still banned on Sundays.

Given that there is a clear Christian motivation behind these laws I am perplexed by the rationale employed. I’m not alone. Jesus had no qualms about violating those Old Testament commands that are putatively upheld by blue laws. He is derided by the synagogue leaders for “working” on the Sabbath (Luke 13:13-15). Furthermore the aversion that some Christians have for alcohol is quite odd given that Jesus himself turned water into wine on more than one occasion (John 2:1-10, 4:46).

The motivation behind these laws can be summarized as a general knee jerk reaction of “we must keep things ‘holy’ on Sunday.” However that is not only misguided but is also actually not in conformity with Jesus’ message. Jesus led by example, by words and deeds. Had he desired to forcefully apply God’s laws to the world he would have done the very thing the Jews had expected their Messiah to do: establish himself as a king and militarily conquer the world thus ensuring that his ideals as king were spread throughout the world by the force of royal decree. His inaction in this regard speaks volumes. It says we must willingly follow Him and if we do not it must be our choice. As in the story of the rich man who could not give up his possessions to follow Jesus (Mathew 19:21), Jesus told the man what he must do and allowed him to choose. He did not command him or threaten him with punishment if he did not follow him. In the same way it is extraordinarily un-Christ-like to pass laws that attempt to mold or coerce the behavior of others in a way that you believe to be in line with Jesus’ message. Following the logic of the blue laws it would be acceptable to lock everyone in prison for their whole life as that would 100% prevent any possibility of sin.

There is no virtue in not sinning if it is impossible to sin. You can’t make someone believe as you believe by coercion. Lead by example.

 

Playing the “roads” card

Tax discussions invariably devolve to a point where one side finds it necessary to resort to the “roads” card. The assumption with this rejoinder is that “roads” are a major and necessary function of government. Setting aside the “necessary” aspect for now, let’s address the “major” assumption. At first glance it would seem something as ubiquitous as roads must carry a heavy cost burden: they are everywhere after all. But first glances are seldom correct. Let’s look at the numbers. In the state of Georgia the FY2012 budget allocates a mere 0.03% of the budget to transportation. The proposed Federal FY2012 budget allocates only 2.8% to transportation. Hmmmm… how can this major function of government be such a minor expense? The US contains approximately 4 million total miles of all road types. We could repave all of it EVERY YEAR and it would only cost roughly $400 billion (1/10th of the budget).

Tax discussions invariably devolve to a point where one side finds it necessary to resort to the “roads” card.

As I’m sure most are aware, the GA Department of Transportation has been busy around town the past few weeks, most notably with the repaving of the Hwy. 441 Bypass. This is a prime example of resource misallocation. This repaving was not necessary. I drive this stretch everyday. There was not a thing wrong with it and believe me I know bad roads! I lived in Indiana for several years where the roads were subjected to snow, ice and salt. They were rough, pot-holed and frost-heaved. They were only repaved when the cost of annual maintenance exceeded the cost of repaving. Our “old” Georgia roads would be the envy of any Hoosier! Why are we doing this? Jobs. The seen. We see the workers working; certainly this is good for the economy? What we don’t see are the jobs not created, the goods not purchased, all because present (taxes) or future (progeny taxation) funds have been redirected towards work that wasn’t even necessary.

Yes, roads need to be maintained, but absent any economic incentives (prices) bureaucrats have no way to efficiently allocate resources. Resources (money) get allocated based on personal whims and connections. I have no doubt somewhere in Georgia there are some beat up old roads that do need work (Fieldcrest Lane in east Morgan comes to mind!) but they are not political priorities.  Politicians waste money on pet projects and then have the audacity to put their hat in hand the following year asking for even more so they can accomplish what they failed to do the first time. And we give it to them, because we’re too busy with our own lives to care. We hear the President pontificate on our crumbling infrastructure. Nobody bothers to as ask why governments, the supposed stewards of our roads and bridges, were not setting aside funds all these years to properly maintain these depreciating assets. That’s what any good business does (good meaning one that does not go bankrupt due to mismanagement). With our revolving door governmental representation there is no accountability; 236 years of “the next guys problem” is the legacy we are left with. Concentrated benefits and diffuse costs perpetuate the problem.

So yes, we all love a nice new smooth road, but let’s consider the cost, in the end someone must pay. Let’s not spend money we don’t have.

Freedom from hard choices is no right

The testimony by Sandra Fluke before a House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on February 23 sparked a firestorm from the right which precipitated an avalanche of rhetoric from the left. As with most “controversies” both sides miss the point entirely as they would rather try to denigrate their opponent by casting them as being in opposition to the simplistic two word slogan each chose to rally behind (“women’s health”, “religious freedom”).

To the Right: This is not about religious freedom or any kind of “attack” on religion. The issue is one of freedom period. Freedom means not having the government force choices on people.

To the Left: This is not about women’s health or reproductive rights. Lack of insurance coverage does not proscribe someone from obtaining those services particularly in this case where the cost is nominal relative to other monthly consumer expenses. If government wanted to actually help women they could do so by rolling back regulations and allow contraceptive pills to be sold over the counter – this would dramatically drive costs down by removing an unnecessary barrier to a safe and common drug.

The case Ms. Fluke makes is not novel. Her argument is the one used by all those who perceive the world to be misbehaving. The thought flow is this: 1) Some aspect of the world is not behaving as I want therefore (2) I will co-opt the power of the state to force my worldview on those that are not currently conforming to it. Both sides do it: minimum wage laws, blue laws, drug laws, vice laws, business regulation, etc. They are all the same: force Party A to behave as Party B desires. The Orwellian justification for such interference? Freedom. But in this government double-speak world, freedom doesn’t mean being free from forceful influence, rather it means exerting forceful influence on some in order that others may have the freedom from making hard choices. The justification of force rests on the false proposition that individuals are trapped (lacking in freedom) by their circumstances and thus are not free. The irony is that the entity which claims to guard our freedom (government) is the only entity that truly has the power to restrict freedom. Ironically, government restricts the freedom of some and justifies its actions by falsely claiming the party against which it aggresses is guilty of the very thing it itself is doing. The truth is that (within the limits of government restrictions) we do still have choice. Exercising that choice is not always easy, but it can be done. To suggest one has no choice because some choices are difficult is to suggest we have no free will and thus no accountability i.e. “I’m not responsible for my actions because I simply followed the choice-path of least resistance – I had no choice.”

To suggest one has no choice because some choices are difficult is to suggest we have no free will and thus no accountability i.e. “I’m not responsible for my actions because I simply followed the choice-path of least resistance – I had no choice.”

Absent outside interference our collective choices would transparently reshape the world to be the one we collectively desire rather than the one that a minority who has co-opted government is able to impose on us. If employees don’t like working conditions they can all quit and thus that company will change or go out of business. If we don’t like ABC Co we can all stop buying their products and they will either change or go out of business.  Think this can’t work? Witness Apple, routinely criticized by Greenpeace for years, they have now made changes to their products that earn them kudos by that same group. Additionally they have responded to criticism of working conditions in their Chinese manufacturing partners by joining the Fair Labor Association.

Her testimony only serves to highlight that not choosing is a choice. Her first argument centered on cost in an attempt to elicit feelings of sympathy for the plight of these women and married couples who cannot afford contraception. “Women … have no choice but to go without contraception,” she says. Wrong. They have a choice and they made their choice. Their choice was that they value other goods and services (e.g. cell phone, internet, dining out, cosmetics, latest fashions, subscriptions, etc.) more highly than contraception or paying for an individual policy that does offer contraceptive coverage. And that’s ok. We all have our own value scale of prioritizing how we spend our money. The problem is expecting someone else to foot the bill for the thing you want but put at the bottom of your value list. You’d look pretty stupid if you decided to forego your cell phone plan in order to pay for contraception but then insisted your auto insurance provide free cell service. But somehow if the reverse is done it is ok? Requiring insurance coverage for voluntary routine expenses is simply government-mandated subsidization (those not engaging in an activity paying for those that do). Claiming it is “free” is disingenuous. Nothing is free, those costs are simply passed onto all policyholders.

In a further attempt to elicit sympathy for the “high cost” of contraceptives she then overstates the cost burden with a little slight of hand. She claims $3,000 is the total 3-year cost (3 years is standard for law school and is what we must assume since she does not specify the time frame) and that cost is “practically an entire summer’s salary” IF one is on a “public interest scholarship”. Setting aside for a second the irony of complaining that the free money one is being paid to go to school is in insufficient to pay for this other thing you think should also be free, we see that what she is saying is that the TOTAL cost of $3,000 over 3 YEARS is a disproportionately large percentage of 1 YEAR of stipend salary. That’s like saying the $30,000 I spend in electricity over 10 years is 100% of my 1 year salary and thus that undue burden is justification for me to expect someone else to pay for it.

Her next appeal is to evoke outrage in the listener by citing extreme examples as though they are the norm. But again the example backfires if one actually considers what she is saying. The examples include multiple stories wherein women who had a true medical need for contraceptive pills were denied coverage and thus negative consequences ensued because they weren’t willing to buy the pills on their own. If it was medically necessary, then yes, of course it should have been (and in most cases is) covered. But tales of insurers trying to avoid paying claims is nothing new. What is new is her revelation about the complete lack of priority these women gave to this supposedly essential medication. As mentioned previously, if it was really that important they could have reorganized their priority scale so that they did not go without the medication they needed. The figures cited ($83-$100/month) are quite inflated over actual contraception costs ($20-$50) but even these inflated figures are “doable” by even someone making minimum wage. It’s not like the pills are $10,000/month.

Lastly she then paints a false dichotomy of it being wrong that a woman would have to choose between a “quality education and our health” in response to the question of “You knew what Georgetown’s policy was when you came there – if you don’t like it, go somewhere else.” So, apparently there are no other non-Catholic laws schools in the entire country that are on parity with Georgetown in terms of quality? I guess she’s never heard of Yale, Stanford or Duke. But to answer the question she did not answer: Yes, she was aware of Georgetown’s policy prior to coming there, but rather than accept the consequences of that choice she’d rather the government step in and force her will upon those running the school.

Insurers should be free to offer plans that have contraceptive coverage and plans that don’t. Consumers should be free to choose whichever plan they want. And employers should be free to offer or not offer whatever insurance they want. That’s what freedom is, the freedom to make your own decisions, even if it is a hard one.

Now, enjoy this little video done by Reason.tv 😉

All the world is a game…

Perhaps one of the best metaphors for the free-market and good governance is that of team sports. I recently came upon this revelation as I was watching my eldest son’s soccer team playing. Two teams on the pitch are a microcosm for society. Markets are represented by the presence of both competition (between teams) and cooperation (within teams). Any player not acting in the best interests of the team is rapidly replaced so that the efforts of the team are not affected. Governance is represented by the presence of simple rules understood by all and which are enforced through the mutual consent of all via the arbiter of said rules (the referee). All players are governed by these rules and any transgression results in an equivalent punishment (equal protection) for all. However not all players are equal in skill. Even on this elite team there is a bell-curve distribution of natural skill and earned abilities. On an elite (non-rec) non-professional team ability is rewarded with that which is most sought by these young players: playing time. In other words, playing time is the currency that all seek to maximize.

Two teams on the pitch are a microcosm for society.

Let us now test proposed policies on our model to see the outcome. To test “minimum wage laws” we will propose a minimum playing time rule whereby a coach is not required to play an individual but if he does they must play a minimum amount. What effect would this have? The weakest players (those this rule was trying to help) would never be played because the team could not “afford” to have such a weak player on the field for that long. All other players would then have greater playing time (same time but fewer players).

Now test income redistribution in the name of “fairness”: Let us propose a “player equalization” (aka “maximum skill”) rule. Since we can’t “take” skill away we will artificially limit skill to a maximum level by using weights, elastic restraints, etc. What effect would this have? Would it make the less skilled players better players? No. It would slow the game down thus making it less productive (fewer goals per game). It would also decrease any incentive a player has to improve his skill set beyond the maximum mandated level.

Now, onto governance: Let us propose that the referee be granted absolute authority to conjure up any new rule he desires and enforce it in any way he desires (remember the referee embodies all branches of government) which is what we see today with lawmakers completely ignoring the constraints on power found in the Constitution. The referee could write up hundreds of new rules. Rules as arcane as “players may only wear green socks” are strictly enforced even though they have absolutely no relevance to the game. The referee feels he knows best because green socks will cut down on grass stains therefore he feels it is in everyone’s interest that this rule be enforced for the “good of all.” A rule of “all players must pay the referee” whatever sum the referee deems necessary would not be far behind (remember he has absolute authority on the field in ALL matters). Anyone who questions the magnitude of said fee would be targeted with the straw man argument of “you do not value the service I perform” even though it is not the service being performed but the size of the fee being demanded that is questioned (i.e. “fair share” is whatever I say it is).

If an issue can be sufficiently abstracted such that it can be applied to this “team” model and the outcome is obvious at the team level then it logically follows that the same result will occur in the larger sphere of society from which it was abstracted. People are people and incentives will be followed no matter the scale.