Observations From Hadleyville: YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK

This election cycle I'm hearing a lot of nonsense about the government stepping in and DOING something to fix the private sector. The suggestions mainly concern the economy, health care and energy. For those of you who went to school in the past thirty years or so here's a bit of wisdom: GOVERNMENTS DON'T PRODUCE ANYTHING WELL.

It is not the business of the government to get involved in business; it stinks at it. When businesses have a money problem they re-budget and find a way within their means to fix the problem. When government bureaucrats have a money problem their inevitable response is to demand more tax dollars. For instance, the city of LA fervently believes that the best way to get more people to use public transportation is to continually raise fares.

Government run economy? health care? energy? God help us. Have you tried to access ANY government program lately? How much fun did you have? Does the DMV (Department of Maniacal Vampires) ring any bells?

This morning, there was a letter to the editor in our local paper that said it well. I'll reproduce it for your enlightenment:

"Back in 1990 the government seized the Mustang Ranch brothel in Nevada for tax evasion and, as required by law, tried to run it. They failed and it closed. Now we are trusting the economy of the world to a pack of nitwits who couldn't make money running a whorehouse and selling booze in Nevada."

That sums it up for me.

2 comments:

Eric said...: Thanks, Don. I'd never thought about it quite like that. I do try to religiously avoid involvement with the government. And I can honestly say that I have not visited a government run whore house in years.; October 22, 2008 at 1:06 PM
Don the Baptist said...: How Irenic.; October 22, 2008 at 2:50 PM

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

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WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”