Regulation in the Twenty First Century

This blog has often characterized the libertarian and Tea Party wings of the party as out of touch with the realities of twenty-first century living.  My main point has been that today’s social programs, which have already been incurred by government (primarily Social Security and Medicare) together with the cost of projecting  military power worldwide, and the cost of education necessary to compete in the modern economy render the “Starve the Beast” view of government unworkable, at least for the time being.  I do believe that the libertarian philosophy and a true federalist system with its emphasis on local control is an important vision, but one that is more likely to be achieved in the twenty-second century than now.  As the national spotlight is now focused on the topic of Wall Street Banking, I think it is a good idea to look back on the history of regulation and federalism.

Federalism in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s amounted to state’s rights.  At that time, joint-stock  corporations were a relatively new concept.  Division of labor had reached the states, but by and large, America was primarily a source of raw material for European manufacturing.  Jefferson’s vision was to have de-centralized power and an agrarian lifestyle.  The Whig or federalist side believed in strong central control, and were intent on developing a strong manufacturing base.  This side scored big with the passage of the U.S. Constitution and the creation of the Federal Reserve, although state’s rights advocates did secure important concessions along the way including the separation of powers. 

The Obama Paradox

Hey wait a minute, who's running this country anyways?

President Obama ran on change.  Is change what we got with healthcare?  Maybe it seems like change to a voter trying to check things off a list, but to me it sounds like more of the same.  Maybe it feels like change for the President’s own party faithful.  But I ask the question again, is change what we got?  I had to smile at this line that I picked out of the Sunday NY Times:  “What if they through a revolution and nobody came?”

The truth is President Obama never really showed us his healthcare hand.  Perhaps he truly recognizes the problem of mushrooming U.S. healthcare costs, particularly in light of the eminent retirement of the baby boom, but if I had to guess, this is what his brain trust were thinking:

Easter is the True Meaning of Christmas

I have a public confession to make.  I am a Christian.  That seems pretty simple to say, but for me it has been really hard.  Perhaps I’m a victim of modern-day political correctness, or perhaps it’s because this is an area loaded with so many landmines.  That being said (and you can ask my wife about this), I have arrived at my faith by a rather circuitous route.  You see my wife and kids are Catholic, but for some reason, I continue to resist “taking the bread.”  The kids attended Catholic school, so it’s pretty obvious why 80% of our friends are Catholic (though some practice more than others).  Interestingly, this was true even before I met my wife.  Some day I may pull a “Tony Blair” and convert simply so I can take communion with my family, but for some reason I’m not that comfortable making the conversion until the Catholic Church unpacks some of the baggage it hauls around. 

For me, chief among these is the sexual abuse scandal.  It is the proverbial “elephant in the room.”  For better or worse, the scandal will continue to rock the Church to its foundation until it drills down deep to deal with these issues.  So this is where I begin to look for answers, both metaphorically and physically.