Irony and Fraud

Recently in England, there was some uproar as evidence that a government agency that was supposed to help protect people's privacy was actually in collusion with an internet ad company (read about it here). As it turns out, the agency was supposed to "ensure" the online privacy of the British people, and was likely working with a company to decide how much privacy they should be protecting. This is hardly the only example of such government abuses, and it is in no way limited to the United Kingdom. America has more examples of inappropriate government/corporation collusion then a person can count. Energy, pollution, finances, and almost everything else imaginable have fallen under the watchful eye of the government. We have seen the results, and they are not good. At best, it makes noise about protecting something or someone while doing nothing more then increasing red tape and prices for the consumers. At worst, it expands government power and influence and leads to wide spread corruption.

In the United States, most of these regulatory powers are unconstitutional and they do not work. The power over industry is what creates lobbyists and the "culture of corruption" that both parties are such fans of. If the government did not have any of these extraordinary powers, then there would be no work for the lobbyists. Not only are these powers unconstitutional, but they are also usually used to create regulations that are reactionary. The regulations are spawned because of some perceived problem or complaint from the "concerned" populous. These regulations stifle competition by ensuring that no small or start-up companies can afford to enter the market. Larger corporations, that were able to operate without these restrictions, are easily able to absorb the costs or the fines created by them. There are even lobbyists to twist the regulations to benefit the entrenched companies at the cost of newer or smaller ones. If nothing else works companies have proven that they are not above giving bribes, and politicians are certainly not above taking them. Ultimately, the government is doing nothing more then hurting the consumer by driving down choice and driving up prices.

The only way to combat this kind of governmental scope creep is to start taking responsibility for ourselves. If you want your privacy protected online then take steps to do so. If you don't want a tiered internet system, don't support any ISPs that use it. If you don't want your children to watch filth on the television, then change the channel. Even the "big" issues can be solved this way. If a company has discriminatory hiring practices (the government got rid of that right?), then don't support them by working there or shopping there. The biggest, evilest corporations in the world still need money to exist. With out money or employees, the company will have to change its ways or die. Voting with our actions is infinitely more effective then with our politicians.

The Red Threat

There has been an increasingly loud cry from some conservative and Republican circles that Barack Obama is leading this country down the path of socialism. There is weeping and gnashing of teeth from them and they are yelling from the roof tops that the end of days (for the American way of life) is at hand. They look at the "radical" bailouts, budgets, and government programs as proof that Obama will be the ruin of this nation. Unfortunately for them (and the people that pin their hopes on Obama to save us), what Obama is doing is nothing new - and it certainly is not socialism. What it is are the same tricks and "solutions" the government has been using for years, and a political/economic theory that has far worse connotations.

Every President since at least Wilson has been using the same techniques that Obama is now using. Presidents like FDR reveled in the thought that the government could be used as a personal savior to each and every citizen. Even Republican superheros like Reagan, massively increased the size of the government and its expenditures. One would be quite hard pressed to find any differences between the last President and this one. What people fail to realize is that a change in velocity is not a change in direction. In fact, Obama's massive increase in spending and government intervention isn't particularly out of the ordinary either. For the most part, the government has increased dramatically from one administration to another. People are just beginning to notice because 2 may not be that much bigger then 1, but 1,000,000 is much larger then 500,000.

Through all this, the United States is still not marching on an inevitable path towards socialism. The state has no intentions (or desire) of seizing the means of production and distributing the profit. What we are actually moving towards is an increasingly corporatist system. In this system, the government and private enterprises are working together at the expense of the American people. One doesn't have to look further then the TARP programs to see these ideals in action. The banks still keep their profits, but the debt is publicized so that they don't have to face any of the consequences of their actions. Farm subsidies, auto "loans", and many other government expenditures are also examples of this. The entire Federal Reserve system is based on corporatist ideals as a private institution is working hand-in-hand with the Federal Government. Where this is leading us to has been best described by Mussolini:

“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power”.