We’re obviously losing right now and will continue to lose for the foreseeable future. But libertarians like to comfort themselves with the idea that our long term prospects look much better. If the national exit polls conducted by Edison Research last year are any indicator, however, the long term–or at least the medium term–looks bleak too. 59 percent of voters under the age of thirty think that “the government should do more to solve problems.” Only 37 percent responded that “the government is doing many things better left to businesses and individuals.” Every older age group registered much more skepticism towards government.
Of course, public opinion polls are always problematic, and it could simply be that people naturally get more skeptical of government as they get older. But I don’t see it being easy to convince young people to abandon their all of their commitments to the hosts of left wing causes they’ve been attached to since grade school.
I write this post not to council despair, but to emphasize the scale of the task before us.
At a Mont Pelerin Society meeting last year, the President of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus explained,
Hayek rightly argued that “freedom cannot endure unless every generation restates and reemphasizes its value.” Now it is our turn. Our generation and the generation of our children have to do it. And we should start doing it before it is too late.
With all the hysteria surrounding the gun debate, it seems that this subject has made it no longer possible for libertarians to hide under the safety of that term (libertarian) when discussing the matter with full-fledged leftists. If you defend full-blown gun ownership, you are automatically part of the right-wing. And on top of that, if you mention the government as the major problem you are automatically a right-wing extremist. We are now, it appears to me, cut from the same mold as conservatives in the eyes of leftists.
I could be wrong but this gun debate seems to be the ultimate and final issue - where all the lines are drawn - because it concerns private defense of property vs. the government and its ever encroaching ”right” to monopolize violence and defend property. If I am lumped in with the pathetic ‘conservatives’ – so be it. I’d rather be ridiculed and associated with virtually anyone outside of the murderous, arrogant, sanctimonious, central planners. And I’d rather side with the rebels who want to be left alone, no matter who they are, against the conservative occupiers of the state’s power.
Krugman is very flattered that some people think he should be the next Treasury Secretary, but reminds his supporters that he already has more influence than “most senators.” He writes:
So first of all, let’s talk frankly about the job I have. The New York Times isn’t just some newspaper somewhere, it’s the nation’s paper of record. As a result, being an op-ed columnist at the Times is a pretty big deal — one I’m immensely grateful to have been granted — and those who hold the position, if they know how to use it effectively, have a lot more influence on national debate than, say, most senators. Does anyone doubt that the White House pays attention to what I write?
Health insurance companies across the country are seeking and winning double-digit increases in premiums for some customers, even though one of the biggest objectives of the Obama administration’s health care law was to stem the rapid rise in insurance costs for consumers.
Particularly vulnerable to the high rates are small businesses and people who do not have employer-provided insurance and must buy it on their own.
Higher costs, fewer choices, more bureaucracy. It’s only going to get worse.
Ryan James Girdusky explains how Korean small business owners formed militias during the Rodney King riots after the police had abandoned their neighborhood. They drove away the rioting mobs with assault rifles.
