Thoughts on Anti-Government Rhetoric And Other Links

Must Read: Government and civil liberties

• The DISCLOSE Act: New Media, Old Politics, and the Fight for Public Data « The Scholarly Kitchen

Also see

• Military: U.S. soldier to be charged in leak of strike video – This Just In – CNN.com Blogs
• The administration defends its assassination program – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com

Thought of the Day: Anti-Government Rhetoric

I have often said there is an ideological battle which this deep downturn has pushed front and center between those who see government as a positive force and those who see it as negative. See my piece "A few thoughts about the limitations of government."  Because of the history of America’s founding, I believe Americans are more sceptical of government than citizens of other advanced economies. The articles above demonstrate why this is healthy. 

Nevertheless, Americans’ individualism makes powerful executive agent of change tales more alluring than in Europe. Think of Washington, Jackson, Lincoln, or the Roosevelts. Barack Obama intuitively understands this and has been pushing a JFK-like "government is good" side of the debate. However, the inability of his policies to reduce unemployment combined with the still powerful influence of lobbyists and special interests has increased scepticism in government. Most Americans, therefore, see the deficit as worrying. In the American context, I sense this is a large factor behind the recent calls for austerity. (Note: no one is talking about military spending, though).

So I wanted to profile two pieces that take anti-government rhetoric to a logical extreme. In one, Anarcho-Austrian Murray Rothbard defends the deregulation as crony capitalism meme with which I disagree. He attacks Milton Friedman and the monetarists of the Chicago School as statists.

• Milton Friedman Unraveled by Murray N. Rothbard

In the other, economic historian Forrest Capie argues that British economic history demonstrates that the lessons of the latest crisis is less regulation and not more. While I disagree with some of the detail, this argument is more compelling than Rothbard’s.

• Less regulation, not more, is answer to current financial crisis – Risk.net

The key, however, is the starting point in any society. Some people are better-connected than others and it is unrealistic to believe that the well-connected in society won’t avail themselves of the opportunity to use their connections to tilt the playing field in their direction in order to legally benefit at others’ expense.

The Usual Fare

• Expect lots of government layoffs at state, local level – USATODAY.com
• Is a Penalty Kick’s Direction Predictable? World Cup Goalies Take Note | The Rundown News Blog | PBS NewsHour | PBS
• Amazon enters online grocery market | Money | guardian.co.uk
• AgBank IPO Totals $19.21 Billion – WSJ.com
• Long Recession Ignites Debate on Jobless Benefits – WSJ.com
• MarketClub Videos: The "death cross": What it is and how to trade it
• The First Thing Young Women Do in the Morning: Check Facebook [STUDY] – Mashable
• FT Alphaville – Tracy Alloway – 346 tonnes of gold at the BIS …
• FT.com – Martin Wolf – Demand shortfall casts doubt on early austerity
• Netherlands’ Wellink survives resignation calls – Risk.net
• FT.com – Richard Florida – America needs to make its bad jobs better
• Obama Job Approval Rating Down to 38% Among Independents – Gallup
• For a New Generation, an Elusive American Dream – NYTimes.com
• Vancouver home sales drop sharply – The Globe and Mail
• In Mexico, growth optimism hides sobering truths | Beyond Brics | FT.com
• Naked Capitalism and My Scary Minsky Model | Steve Keen’s Debtwatch
• 57% of Android apps are free — iPhone apps: only 27%
• Older, More Educated Workers Are Getting Crushed By The Jobs Crisis
• Rep. Barney Frank: Why We Must Reduce Military Spending – Huffington Post