Thursday, August 30, 2007
Rockwell's Thirty-Day Plan by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.
Rockwell's Thirty-Day Plan by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.: "When Eastern Europe broke free in 1989, we all realized just how little thought had been given to the transition from socialism to capitalism. Mises had told us the collapse was coming, and we should have been prepared. As America comes to resemble a command economy, we need a transition plan here too. Yuri Maltsev proposed a 'One-Year Plan' for the U.S.S.R. We're not in that bad a shape (yet), so we could do it in 30 days. DAY ONE: The federal income tax is abolished and April 15th is declared a national holiday. The 40% reduction in federal revenues is matched by a 40% cut in spending. The budget is still almost twice as big as Jimmy Carter's. DAY TWO: All other federal taxes are abolished, including the corporate income tax, the capital gains tax, the gasoline tax, 'sin' taxes, excise taxes, etc. Businesses boom, and the few legitimate federal functions are funded with an inexpensive head tax. People who choose not to vote need not pay it. (Note: this was a mainstream view in the 19th century.)"
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Comprehensive Health Care Act by Ron Paul
Comprehensive Health Care Act by Ron Paul: "Unfortunately, most health care 'reform' proposals either make marginal changes or exacerbate the problem. This is because they fail to address the root of the problem with health care, which is that government polices encourage excessive reliance on third-party payers. The excessive reliance on third-party payers removes all incentive from individual patients to concern themselves with health care costs. Laws and policies promoting Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) resulted from a desperate attempt to control spiraling costs. However, instead of promoting an efficient health care system, HMOs further took control over health care away from the individual patient and physician. "
A Political Theory of Geeks and Wonks by Jeffrey A. Tucker
A Political Theory of Geeks and Wonks by Jeffrey A. Tucker: "Part of the agenda of democracy is to turn the whole of society into a herd of wonks who believe in the process and want to make it work. But it isn't so easy to control human nature. There are always the geeks to contend with who see that the system is based on a lie and want to overturn it. Why should the majority rule the minority – or, more precisely, why should the well-organized minority rule the relatively indifferent majority? What we need is democracy 2.0 in which power and privilege are not steered but abolished altogether."