Insights That Would Come In Handy Now (If They Were Followed)
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
The saying about history repeating itself…because we didn’t pay enough attention when the same things happened earlier… is a truth which we would rather talk about than follow. Having just finished Henry Hazlitt’s book “Economics In One Lesson”, the message of that book underscored the foundational insight of the screwed-up course being pursued in the Nevada Legislature and under the dome in Washington, D.C.. If only those we elected to be our representatives could be required to first be taught the principles embodied in “Economics In One Lesson” and then be required to understand/carry out their meaning.
This past week’s legislative “process” (and there is good cause for the “” in using the word process) involved another round of the Senate Majority Leader exercising his bully-pulpit to extol the necessity for tax increases. No, there wasn’t any specific type, amount -- or other legitimate policy detail of the extraction in mind, but then those specifics would establish some form or degree of responsibility. This charade is about hiding the ball as long as possible in moving down the field…the targeted victims haven’t been vilified enough and the critical crisis hasn’t been cooked completely (that’s what the waning days of the legislative process are for).
In “reading” (since my initial consumption came in the form listening to the audio book version during my daily commute to the legislature) “Economics In One Lesson”, I was struck with the contrast of sound economic thinking and truth compared to the pandering political gyrations of those (especially involved in the Nevada Legislature) who see government spending as essential for public good. Hazlitt’s elementary precepts on government’s lack of ability to distribute -- what it hasn’t first taken from someone else -- zeros in on the misrepresentation of any good to come from the mainstay of the arguments we’re supposed to submit to in filling the current perceived “budget hole”. As he lays out so eloquently – yes, those who get the goodies from the government treasury might be benefitted, but those who could have gained (and who aren’t even imagined) in the mix…don’t count. In the end – we all loose from the destructive application of government living beyond its means and outside of its appropriate role.
It might be interesting for those reading this post to note, that Hazlitt’s first edition of “Economics In One Lesson” (written in 1946) devoted an entire chapter to the topic of government farm subsidies, aimed at securing parity for agricultural producers. Here, as with the other matters presented, we haven’t learned the lessons we should have understood and practiced. Truth, whether it hits close to home or is something witnessed in the form of what you’d like others to do differently – is still truth.
Raising taxes to put construction companies to work on projects…or thinking governmental actions to artificially achieve higher prices for wheat…to improve economic prosperity -- simply fail to deliver. The core belief that Nevada taxes should be raised to accomplish good things, in a mission of funding more government spending, is a misguided notion. It’s an outcome which potentially could be adopted because we simply won’t learn what history has attempted to teach us…time – and time – and time, again.
The saying about history repeating itself…because we didn’t pay enough attention when the same things happened earlier… is a truth which we would rather talk about than follow. Having just finished Henry Hazlitt’s book “Economics In One Lesson”, the message of that book underscored the foundational insight of the screwed-up course being pursued in the Nevada Legislature and under the dome in Washington, D.C.. If only those we elected to be our representatives could be required to first be taught the principles embodied in “Economics In One Lesson” and then be required to understand/carry out their meaning.
This past week’s legislative “process” (and there is good cause for the “” in using the word process) involved another round of the Senate Majority Leader exercising his bully-pulpit to extol the necessity for tax increases. No, there wasn’t any specific type, amount -- or other legitimate policy detail of the extraction in mind, but then those specifics would establish some form or degree of responsibility. This charade is about hiding the ball as long as possible in moving down the field…the targeted victims haven’t been vilified enough and the critical crisis hasn’t been cooked completely (that’s what the waning days of the legislative process are for).
In “reading” (since my initial consumption came in the form listening to the audio book version during my daily commute to the legislature) “Economics In One Lesson”, I was struck with the contrast of sound economic thinking and truth compared to the pandering political gyrations of those (especially involved in the Nevada Legislature) who see government spending as essential for public good. Hazlitt’s elementary precepts on government’s lack of ability to distribute -- what it hasn’t first taken from someone else -- zeros in on the misrepresentation of any good to come from the mainstay of the arguments we’re supposed to submit to in filling the current perceived “budget hole”. As he lays out so eloquently – yes, those who get the goodies from the government treasury might be benefitted, but those who could have gained (and who aren’t even imagined) in the mix…don’t count. In the end – we all loose from the destructive application of government living beyond its means and outside of its appropriate role.
It might be interesting for those reading this post to note, that Hazlitt’s first edition of “Economics In One Lesson” (written in 1946) devoted an entire chapter to the topic of government farm subsidies, aimed at securing parity for agricultural producers. Here, as with the other matters presented, we haven’t learned the lessons we should have understood and practiced. Truth, whether it hits close to home or is something witnessed in the form of what you’d like others to do differently – is still truth.
Raising taxes to put construction companies to work on projects…or thinking governmental actions to artificially achieve higher prices for wheat…to improve economic prosperity -- simply fail to deliver. The core belief that Nevada taxes should be raised to accomplish good things, in a mission of funding more government spending, is a misguided notion. It’s an outcome which potentially could be adopted because we simply won’t learn what history has attempted to teach us…time – and time – and time, again.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 4/2/2011 8:04 AM 
Categories: 2011 Nevada Legislature
Tags: Nevada Budget and Spending Government Programs and Policies
Categories: 2011 Nevada Legislature
Tags: Nevada Budget and Spending Government Programs and Policies
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