President Obama delivered his State of the Union address on Thursday, January 27th, and promised more of the same type of “change” — bigger and more intrusive government. He is defiantly pushed for national health care, a stranglehold of environment regulations over the private sector, more government oversight and control over the financial sector, and illusionary “freeze” on government spending.
But what if the president discovered the writings of people like Henry Hazlitt, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Milton Friedman, and Ayn Rand? What might such such an address have been like, and how might those in the audience have reacted?
In a new piece I’ve written called, “The Address Obama Should Have Given – For a Change to Freedom,” I imagine such a State of the Union address for a change to greater freedom, and suggest what it would have said.
Richard Ebeling
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I believe you mean Wednesday, not Thursday.
It has been amazing to watch the “healthcare reform” bill grow and grow in a byzantine sort of way. What if someone would introduce a bill that makes health insurance portable, allows people to buy plans from other states, allows companies to offer individualized plans (less mandates) and if the left seriously wanted to cover the uninsured, give the poor and unemployed VOUCHERS to buy insurance. I guess its too simple and doesn’t destroy the private insurance market, they’ll never consider it.
I still wouldn’t like it but at least they could honestly talk about getting the poor insured.
And if the “president discovered the writings of people like Henry Hazlitt, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, etc….” then he would not be the president and no such address by him would have been given.
Floyd: “give the poor and unemployed VOUCHERS to buy insurance. I guess its too simple and doesn’t destroy the private insurance market,”
It only appears that way now because we view it from the point of view of where we are now.
But the voucher system is a proposal for a huge government subsidy that is as self-defeating as any other interventionist policy. Your proposal would give us all some breathing room for a while, but then we would soon find ourselves back to where we started: A market that has been almost completely destroyed.
But yes, I do agree that the lack of interest in such a proposal exposes the true nature behind this massive government takeover. It’s not about healthcare!
A State of the Union address by the POTUS and freedom? Together? Keep dreaming. Won’t happen because it can’t happen, Ebeling.
I enjoyed it. But why name drop Ronald Reagan? He talked a good game but his actions proved him to be an enemy of freedom. Even if he left the works of Hazlitt, Mises, etc. in the Oval Office, he obviously didn’t read them close enough.
Who gave themselves guardian of the poor? One thinks that it is his responsibility to look after the poor and protect them. Meanwhile, men have relinquished responsibility of taking care of the self to a mythical being. Men have long looked upon the sky fairy for guidance and protection.
For those of you who do not know –from experience– what it is like to be poor, it is not what world governments have been selling you. The poor provide from themselves under any conceivable conditions. It is the human instinct to survive base on what’s available.
Health care, jobs, free trade, etc. are not the poor man’s problems. They are the problems of narcissistic people grouped together as world governments. They have ordained themselves, fraudulently, as super heroes of human beings who are going to find their way in life –how minimal it may be.
At least Reagan would have lowered taxes to deal with the recession. *THAT* would stimulate job creation, as opposed to a pork-fest disguised as a “jobs bill”.
Barry (after leaving 2010 state of union address, having given Richard’s speech, is shown to his car by the head of his security detail: “Hey Terence whats up with the car? its a cabriolet. How is my family and going to get back home without freezing to death, don’t you know its the middle of winter and who knows what sort of lone nut is out there?
Secret Service Man: Don’t worry Mr President, the Lone Nuts are under complete control.
Barry: That’s what worries me.
I sent him a copy of Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson back in June, but he doesn’t seem to have read it yet.
Did I hear someone say: “Richard M. Ebeling for President!!!”?
The anticipated reactions of the members of the parasitic classes during the ‘speech’ are comical.
I sent him a copy of Hazlitt’s Economics in One Lesson back in June, but he doesn’t seem to have read it yet.
I have often thought that a good activist project would be to coordinate the sending of hundreds (thousands?) of perhaps Hazlitt’s book or Bastiat’s “That Which is Seen…” essay or even Davy Crockett’s “Not Yours to Give” to legislators. Sort of a book or essay “bomb”.
But then I am reminded that these arrogant, elitist boobs are seemingly devoid of intellectual curiosity and most certainly don’t regard us serfs as having half a brain anyway.
(Nice speech Richard. I was dreaming along similar lines as I watched in horror last night.)
Some interesting points, but I’m not sure this really looks at the history of the issue. How has this come about? And where do we go from here? Look forward to you addressing this in future posts.
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