I'm sick and tired of messing with bureacracies.
I'm tired of the "city" of Richland Hills. I'm tired of their code enforcement Nazis, and their chief, a little guy who is surfing the First Baptist Church Of Euless website every time I've walked past his office.
I'm tired of the Department Of Transportation making up arbitrary rules about how far my guys can travel, how long they have to rest, what kind of paperwork they have to have on board, and blah, blah, blah. Look up CSA 2010 when time permits.
I'm tired of getting emails from online Sherpas who promise to help me navigate all the CSA 2010 bullshit.
The government digs a ditch, and then those who dug the ditch go into the private sector and set up shops to help you navigate the ditch.
I'm tired of The Federal Reserve printing money so George Bush, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and John Boehner can pay their bills without passing legislation or tax increases. I'm disgusted by the (recent) revelation that The Fed has an entire "education" wing that goes out to propagandize school kids, but can't debate or even discuss their policies with a political party.
I'm sick of Barack Cokehead Obama carrying out raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.
I'm p.o.'d about all the highway patrolmen suddenly pulling over people around Loop 820, a stretch of interstate where I've seen very few accidents. This has nothing to do with safety, and everything to do with revenue. Between my workplace on the northside and my meeting area on the west side, I typically see 4 revenue generators with radar guns. It's nuts, nuts, nuts.
Glenn Reynolds recently linked to a Reason magazine blog comment that I think is freakin' brilliant. Here goes:
It's not a coincidence. Politicians, pundits, and professional, revolving-door bureacrats are 100% revenge of the f***ing nerds. Every loser in high school or college that just knew he was smarter and better than everyone else is in DC pacticing politics, writing about politics, and arbitrarily f***ing up the lives of everyone else with regulations just because they can.
Yep. And we're going to keep putting up with it for how much longer?
The picture of bureaucratic hell came from here.
I'm tired of the "city" of Richland Hills. I'm tired of their code enforcement Nazis, and their chief, a little guy who is surfing the First Baptist Church Of Euless website every time I've walked past his office.
I'm tired of the Department Of Transportation making up arbitrary rules about how far my guys can travel, how long they have to rest, what kind of paperwork they have to have on board, and blah, blah, blah. Look up CSA 2010 when time permits.
I'm tired of getting emails from online Sherpas who promise to help me navigate all the CSA 2010 bullshit.
The government digs a ditch, and then those who dug the ditch go into the private sector and set up shops to help you navigate the ditch.
I'm tired of The Federal Reserve printing money so George Bush, Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and John Boehner can pay their bills without passing legislation or tax increases. I'm disgusted by the (recent) revelation that The Fed has an entire "education" wing that goes out to propagandize school kids, but can't debate or even discuss their policies with a political party.
I'm sick of Barack Cokehead Obama carrying out raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.
I'm p.o.'d about all the highway patrolmen suddenly pulling over people around Loop 820, a stretch of interstate where I've seen very few accidents. This has nothing to do with safety, and everything to do with revenue. Between my workplace on the northside and my meeting area on the west side, I typically see 4 revenue generators with radar guns. It's nuts, nuts, nuts.
Glenn Reynolds recently linked to a Reason magazine blog comment that I think is freakin' brilliant. Here goes:
It's not a coincidence. Politicians, pundits, and professional, revolving-door bureacrats are 100% revenge of the f***ing nerds. Every loser in high school or college that just knew he was smarter and better than everyone else is in DC pacticing politics, writing about politics, and arbitrarily f***ing up the lives of everyone else with regulations just because they can.
Yep. And we're going to keep putting up with it for how much longer?
The picture of bureaucratic hell came from here.
7 comments:
Believe it or not, I agree with about 90% of your rant, even the parts about Obama. Seriously.
Where I differ is in two unstated but implied (to me anyway) beliefs: that the Free Market would fix this mess, and that electing Libertarians would enable this to take place.
Nature abhors a vacuum. If through some Ayn Randian miracle, Libertarians were suddenly in power (from President to local dog catcher), there would be just as much corruption, petty bullshit, and bureaucracy as we have now with Republicans and Democrats. Human nature is not changed just because a regime changes.
As for your faith that the Free Market would solve all problems, I can only say again that nature abhors a vacuum. I work for a Fortune 200 company. The government has nothing on bureaucracies.
If government power subsides, that power and influence will get sucked in to corporate entities. And with no regulation, there's nothing to prevent Mega-Corporation from using its dominance in the marketplace to crush all competition. Read a little of the history of the 19th century industrialists without the rose-tinted glasses of the Cato institute.
So while you have no faith in Republicrat government, I have none in the Republicrats, Libertarians, or Business. Does that make me even more of a Libertarian than you?
(PS - I have a GMU decal for your truck next time I see you!)
I agree with you on most points Ron. The problem with government is that the inefficiencies and corruption become institutional - the new normal. At least with private inefficiency and corruption, there are profit maximizing and competitive forces to erode them over time.
When government has gone overboard, you get situations like Greece where austerity not only threatens the economy, it causes riots.
You would be correct to look back to the horrendous labor conditions of the late 19th century. Im not sure it would ever go back to that. Also I thing political opportunists and philosophical activists took advantage of legitimate anger.
I have no desire to live in a Randian world. But libertarians seem comfortable in a rules based world where constitutions and bills of rights are worth their ink. A discretion based world is more flexible, but tend toward arbitrary, capricious, and corrupt exercise of power.
Two of the more important characteristics of the the species homo sapiens are rent-seeking and bureaucratic empire building. To prescribe more of one in order to control the other is the definition of a fools errand. This is the paradox of ALL political parties.
Dr.,
Thanks for your comments, as always.
Here's where I part company with your argument....
There will always have to be some law enforcement. Always. Corporations can't be allowed to steal our Bibles or kill our babies, or break contracts. There is a difference between that, and an Obama/Bush regulatory orgy.
Speaking of the infamous 19th century robber barons and industrialists....what was the leading proof that the courts used to prove that they had monopolies? Consistently lower prices.
WS - slight correction: they lowered prices below the cost of production just long enough to drive competitors out of business. Once there was no longer any competition, prices went back up. Another thing that went with no competition was workers had fewer choices of employers, which depressed wages.
While we complain at the current state of affairs, we forget how they came to be. Competition in the marketplace is great until you are the dominant player. Then it's a pain in the ass.
"...they lowered prices below the cost of production just long enough to drive competitors out of business. Once there was no longer any competition, prices went back up."
I too was fed this myth in more than one undergraduate class. Later, I searched for a credible example of it in vain. Perhaps you have had better luck than I.
"Few men have the virtue to withstand the highest bidder."
-- George Washington
I would add it doesn't matter whether the bidder is a lobbyist or an investment banker.
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