The World Simmers

The world is a scary place right now, and more thankful I could not be to currently reside in the True North Strong and Free as Greece and the PIIGS drown in debt with the rest of the Euro zone and America not far behind.

Economic unrest can breed strategic instability, and the growing tension in the Korean peninsula may further evidence of this.  In the past, economic unrest in the Wiemar Republic led to extremist political movements which eventually gave rise to fascism in Europe and imperialism in Asia.

So where are we now?  America, thanks to President Obama, is refusing to lead the free world towards economic recovery.  Instead, Obama is on a mission to increase government's size and the dependence of the American people upon government.

Instead of providing incentives to the private sector, the President of the United States has gone on the offensive against private business, profit, success, and entrepreneurs.  While doing this, he has extended the tentacles of government into the auto industry, the banks, student loans, insurance, health care, and the biggest boogey man of them all: oil and energy.

America has been weakened.  This is not Obama's doing alone, he's had plenty of help from the Congress, the media, and all those willing to hand over their freedom in exchange for government "security". The West as a whole has been living beyond its means for decades, thinking that a lethal combination of socialism, the welfare states, declining birthrates, rising pensions, more state-benefits/entitlements, and general societal weakness is a sustainable path to civilizational success.

But it's difficult to believe that the President or Congress has any sense of urgency over the pressing issues facing America.  America, as the leader of the free world, should be acting swiftly to confront the challenges facing it.  Instead the President dithers away on trivial issues like health care and cap & trade (tax) that will do nothing to speed the recovery of the overall economy. 

Expanding the government will only slow the economy further.  Increasing the deficit will only exacerbate the infection of deficits, waste, and debt that threatens to drown western civilization.

How should American move forward?
1. De-regulate - get rid of Sarbanes-Oxley that has done nothing to better the economy, release Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the free markets and end their lifeline of cash from the taxpayer via Congress.  Repeal Obamacare, replace Social Security entirely with a new system based on free market principles.

2. Slash taxes along with government departments.  Flatten the income tax, eliminate the estate and capital gains taxes.  Meanwhile eliminate the federal Department of Education, Dept. of Energy, Census Bureau, and a thousand other agencies that suck the blood from the bull market of capitalism.  Americans would be shocked at how much they don't need government to regulate and control their lives on a daily basis.  After all, the Dept. of Energy has over 16,000 employees!  What are they doing all day?  What new energy sources have they discovered or created?

3. Go on the offensive against public service unions, private unions, and bureaucrats in general.  A massive portion of the debt and deficits is a result of the bloated public sector that increasingly drains from American productivity and wealth producing sectors.  Massive entitlements, gold plated benefits, and tax payer subsidized waste must be eliminated.

It isn't enough to reform the government agencies, many must be eliminated or replaced with bodies that actually work, make people's lives better, and serve the taxpayers rather than the union bosses.  But don't expect this to occur in 2012 at the earliest.