I was just reading an article from the Mises Institute called “A Message Of Hope From the Dismal Science” .
I am sharing a small section from the article which is 4 ideas the author proposes to make real change in the world.
He’s politically right-leaning, which you’ll see a reference to. In the American system of politics, I’m pretty much not even in the political spectrum.
Here are some changes I can believe in:
- The first change is to temper the rhetoric.
Calling President Obama a socialist or a Nazi short-circuits the discussion and puts our friends on the Left on the defensive. It obscures the substance of the analysis. It’s also intellectually lazy, and it’s something I don’t tolerate from my students. - Understand the data and be careful about your comparisons.
Consider some American commentators’ infatuation with European welfare states. In the case of international discrepancies in infant mortality, for example, European countries measure infant mortality in a way that biases the numbers downward and the US measures infant mortality in a way that biases the numbers upward. It is also important to note that European welfare states are financed by high debt, high taxes, and high inflation. In the words of one expert on French economic history, the French are able to enjoy a massive welfare state because they have spent the next two generations’ incomes. - Write with a clear, cogent, and temperate voice.
Perhaps you’ve seen a bumper sticker that says, “Stop Whining and Start a Revolution” — or something less polite. It’s hard to do, and I’ve wondered from time to time, “What can I do? I’m just one guy.” Start with letters to editors of different newspapers that you can publish on a blog. Don Boudreaux, former president of the Foundation for Economic Education, is a prolific writer of letters to the editor, and he has been my inspiration for a lot of letters and columns I have written. - Look for private rather than political solutions.
Political processes reward people who are good at politics. Political process rewards people who are good at conveying sincerity rather than achieving results. Assess your charitable giving and the institutions and organizations you support. In particular, look for things that voluntarism does better than government, and support that. Education is the best example I can think of. Government education monopolies are crimes against humanity. Not only do they absorb massive resources and turn out mediocre products, they rely on and exploit the credulity of the citizenry in order to protect their ability to do so. The resources available at Mises.org, for example, are breathtaking, and organizations like the Foundation for Economic Education, the Mises Institute, the Cato Institute, the Independent Institute, and a host of others are producing excellent educational resources every day.
You can read the full article here
I am not sure what that statement “Government education monopolies are crimes against humanity” means. Post-WW2 prosperity in America and its multi-decade preeminence as a global leader is attributable to the tens of thousands of GI who got a technical science and engineering education on the GI bill. This was the generation who gave us the Apollo moon landing and the personal computer. Without government-furnished technical education for the masses, America would have been just another Argentina.
I think what is meant by government education monopolies has to do with “lower” forms of education (K-12) rather than higher education.
Although post-WW2 American prosperity and prominence certainly was largely influenced by the Boomer generations parents and their hard work, I have a feeling it more likely could be attributed to the fact that most of the worlds GOLD reserves came to the US during and after WW2.
I also do not know what “Govt edu. monopolies” is, but could he mean
the Pell-Grants that do not have to be repaid for one’s education,
that Obama just trippled? Those grants are extremely popular at
community colleges & produce most of our health-related careers
& other technologies, however, the down-side is that many people that
are using the money from those free grants (they give the person
monies for more than just paying for the classes so clever people
can even manage to sign up for a full load & then drop down to only a couple classes and spend the money for other things. The money
should NEVER BE GIVEN TO THE INDIVIDUALS, but should be paid DIRECTLY
TO THE COLLEGES only, and any classes that are dropped should be
REPAID TO THE COLLEGE or the person should NOT BE ALLOWED TO USE THE
PELL-GRANT AGAIN. The colleges Financial Aid Offices do state that
the student must complete a certain number of courses, but they seldom
bother to keep tract of that & seldom enforce the rules. I know students
that have actually lived off these grants monies for YEARS as a way of not having to get a job!! Even for the regular student “loans” are you all aware of how many people NEVER REPAY THOSE LOANS AT ALL?? This is your tax money. Write your congressmen and demand accountability.