Will Rogers is known for having said, “I never met a man I didn’t like.” Another Oklahoman by birth, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, lives by another creed. She never met a social problem she couldn’t solve by government regulation. Will Rogers had faith in mankind. Elizabeth Warren has faith primarily in government solutions.
Dr. Milton Friedman, distinguished free enterprise economist, proved mathematically that, through labor dislocation and realignment, combined with the fluctuation of economic indicators, including interest rates, at any given time, 10% of the population is in need of economic aid. This system analysis, confirmed as universal fact, is what Dr. Friedman called the natural order of things.
Government can address the results of the natural order. Policy can be set in place that will alleviate certain pain and anxiety. But the consistent outcome cannot be changed.
Government relief packages to aid in economic recovery are appropriate at certain times. But regulating, restricting, and standardizing the 90% who are not in need results in greater destruction to society than directly applying resources to the problem situation recognized. In fact, not respecting the natural order can end in society accepting solutions that are detrimental to their well-being or their happiness.
Prior to COVID-19, 22.5% of Americans were on direct welfare. This exceeds the natural order of 10%. It should not be the desired objective of citizens to be on welfare. Productive employment is a key ingredient of the pursuit of happiness. Regardless of the circumstances, government policy should be based on keeping economic need of society to 10% or below.
There is an old joke about a surgeon that every person who walks in the door needs surgery, no matter what. If the ailment is a migraine headache, the doctor will continue to conduct tests until he finds the need for a surgical cure. Even if the solution to the problem is as simple as the patient should stop hitting themselves in the head with a hammer. It is rare to find a surgeon who doesn’t first consider the need for surgery to address the medical condition. It is rarer to find a surgeon who will consider whether or not, even if surgery is appropriate, will it substantially change the outcome for the better. Will the natural body’s system of healing and recovery, if allowed to progress, solve the problem?
I have a best friend recently who broke their arm. A renowned national orthopedic surgeon examined the break. His medical opinion and recommendations were most refreshing. He informed the patient that the break was severe and that the arm was out of alignment. He said the normal recommended medical procedure would be to surgically insert pins and realign the bone in the arm. This, of course, would be expensive, painful, and require extended rehabilitation. His medical opinion was that, in this case, such an extensive procedure would provide no more mobility or less pain in the arm than to let the bone heal naturally. He recommended against surgery.
Elizabeth Warren could take a lesson from a doctor with proper perspective on intervention versus the natural order of things.
Progressives have little or no confidence in the ability of the 90% not currently in need of assistance to be the oxygen of the healing process. Their solution is always to manage the 90% in the pursuit of equal outcome rather than pursuit of equal opportunity. This is not to say that we don’t need laws to ensure and protect equality. People are born with disabilities. Manipulation by the powerful must be kept in check. Any one of us at any time may fall into unemployment. A social safety net for those in need is a characteristic of a just nation.
However, accountability for citizen responsibility should be part of the policy formula. Not everyone is a consequence of circumstances or a victim of the cultural aspects of society.
America has made great strides in equal opportunity for education, health care, and employment. And yet, Elizabeth Warren continues to crusade for reform outside the boundaries of reasonable government policy. The distortion in certain stock prices centering on the GameStop, Reddit, and Robinhood transactions has led her to the conclusion that the government should control the rules and guidelines of all investments in stocks and bonds. She is a surgeon seeking a reason for surgery when the natural order can better manage the problem. The chronic poor are not managing a stock portfolio.
The warning Caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) is the ruling axiom of investing in the stock market. The GameStop fiasco did not undermine or threaten the stability of the New York Stock Exchange. It is impossible to legislatively remove all risk from investing in the equity markets. In fact, it is that very risk that measures and produces in part the return on investment.
Elizabeth Warren once said that she believes capital is just like water. Everyone has an equal right to what they need. In seeking a surgeon’s solution, she distorts the problem by demanding that all banks be regulated so that people not only have equal access to capital, but that all people actually receive and equal amount of capital. 99.9% of all bankers are honest, especially community bankers. They are trying to run their banks fairly, even with the onerous regulations imposed upon them. A few money center banks may have abused credit card services. They should have been held accountable. But those acts of corporate malfeasance should not have resulted in the overregulation of banks down to the small town level.
Senator Warren’s purpose is not to manage and address the implications for the good of the natural order of things. Her purpose and intentions are to change the outcome of the natural order.
In solving the societal effects of the ten percent determinative, it is freedom that is essential to the solution. The 90% acting freely with righteous guidelines will produce the greatest rise in the tide. As Winston Churchill opined, “a rising tide raises all boats.”
Christian morality dictates that those who have been blessed must support those in need. Christ directed that “the poor will always be among you.” This does not mean that anyone’s destiny is to be poor. Nor does it mean that the measure of wealth is the same for every individual. Freedom is the foundational stone of economic prosperity. Government’s responsibility is to protect freedom first. Programs should be structured to provide for those of us in need by direct services funded by fair taxation. The purpose of government is not to regulate and restrict the activities of the 90% until there is equal outcome for the 10%.
Will Rogers trusted freedom in respect of each individual’s equal contribution of their talents to the natural order. Elizabeth Warren fears the freedom of the natural order in that she only sees standardization of outcomes, not opportunity.
In a private discussion with Milton Friedman, he explained the mathematical formula defining the natural need of society at any given time. He asked me, “Do you think it’s a coincidence that the tithe in the Bible is 10%?”
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?