IrishOutlaw : anarchy

Pushing the Button

IrishOutlaw — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:22:00 GMT

Button, Button, Who’s Got the Button

Everyone has probably seen the commercials for the office supply company were all the person has to do is push the “easy” button and all their problems are solved. Every time I see that commercial I think about what Rothbard said in “Toward a Theory of Strategy of Liberty”. He is talking about the classic liberal, Leonard Read who, after World War II was advocating the immediate end to price controls. In a speaking engagement he said, "If there were a button on this rostrum, the pressing of which would release all wage-and-price controls instantaneously I would put my finger on it and push!" Now that sounds like an easy choice to make. And maybe on an issue by issue basis, people could easily say if they would push a button to do away with something. But how many people are totally committed to freedom?

To quote Rothbard in that same piece, “The libertarian, then, should be a person who would push a button, if it existed, for the instantaneous abolition of all invasions of liberty — not something, by the way, that any utilitarian would ever be likely to do.” I see this hesitancy to “push the button” in the minarchist vs. anarchist debates. Personally I am tired to death of the debate, but it is a lingering question that will not go away. Roderick Long has already addressed the ten most common objections to libertarian anarchy and they are a great starting point for investigating the possibilities. But there is still reluctance on the part of some to “push the button”. Since we know what the objections are, I was wondering what the motivation behind those objections could be.

Our Father Who Art in DC

The first one I can come up with is the belief that people are basically “bad” and need a higher power to guide their interactions. This is an old belief and seems to be totally engrained to religious schools of thought. More often than not the people that tend to make this argument are religious, so I don’t find it that strange that they would feel a higher authority is needed to guide human interactions. What I do find strange is that these same people (if they are of the minarchist camp) find the “leftist” devotion to the state to be a form of religion and atheism to be a religious devotion to secular humanism. All the while arguing that a higher power, this in the form of the state, is necessary to keep people from being “bad”.

Interestingly enough, there are plenty of Christian Anarchists and anarchists that practice other religions as well. I remember having a conversation with a Christian friend of mine and discussing Christian Anarchism. He is not a minarchist or a libertarian, but he was dumbfounded at how anyone could be both a Christian and an anarchist. To him they were mutually exclusive. I am not an expert on the subject so I pointed him in the direction of some research material on the subject. A few days later get got back with me. He said he could understand the standpoint, and in a perfect world he would agree with it, but he still disagreed with the idea that you could be a Christian and not support government, at the very least that you wouldn’t make yourself into subjection to the government. This is by no means the only time I have had this conversation with Christians.

So, again, I am not surprised when I see this ingrained belief carried into the realm of politics. The belief in people being “bad” by nature is hard to overcome from this standpoint. It calls into question a complete belief system that many hold onto for dear life. I don’t blame them for their beliefs. They feel there is a higher greater good than even the “collectivists” argue for and that adherence to that is the only true salvation. It is hard to blame someone for their core beliefs.

The Emperor Wears No Clothes

The next belief is that “might makes right” which is another one that is hard to overcome. The group that takes this approach is often the same group that praises the foreign policy of Ronald Reagan. The have no problem with foreign intervention as long as it is in the best interest of the US. They buy into the “myth of self defense” even in the face of contrary evidence. They have what seems to be an overwhelming belief that every country in the world wants to invade the US and would do so as soon as the government ceased to be. An interesting argument they put up for this is the “invasion” by immigrants from other countries. To me, that is quite a leap. The idea that people will invade us without a government is an interesting one to say the least.

Right now we annually spend more than the next 24 countries combined on our military. Adding the growing cost of actions in the Middle East to the mix and the budget is staggering to say the least. We have bases in over 100 foreign countries, we GIVE weapons to different despotic regimes, we engage in clandestine operations all over the world, we place economic sanctions on a number of countries, all in the name of providing security for our country. All these actions are OFFENSIVE, not DEFENSIVE in nature. So the idea that we have enemies around the world is not hard to swallow. But are they the enemy of “the people” or of “the state”? This brings us to the first problem with this group.

There must be a difference between what a government does and can do, and what the people can do. Thomas Paine said, “Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins ... Society is in every state a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." This seems to be a lesson forgotten by many. We tend to base our beliefs on a certain society on the actions of their government. In Iran a looney tune religious fanatic has the bully pulpit. He spits venom at Israel on a continual basis, at the US on a continual basis, pretty much just about anyone in the world might be on his shitlist at any given time. Does that mean that is the general consensus of the people of Iran? What leads us to believe that they are any different than we are? Truthfully, there is no reason to think that any larger numbers of the Iranian people support their president than the numbers that support the US president. But that doesn’t sell the fear that is needed to keep the imperial war machine oiled. People tend to be people no matter where you go in the world. By virtue of birth within the imaginary lines that are the borders of the US we are not endowed with a secret knowledge on how to live life better than the rest of the world. Iran tops the list of likely candidates to “invade” the US if there was no government, but what do they have to gain? What do any of the possible candidates have to gain?

First and foremost, without a government, those countries would be free to pursue business with US companies that up until this time they might have been barred from trading with. China makes a ton of money off the US already, what purpose could an invasion serve them? Cuba, don’t make me laugh. Cuban soldiers on US soil would be more likely to buy a house and settle down. Russia? What Russia. Hugo Chavez, who can’t even get enough support in his own country to stage a revolution going to come here, among the most armed people in the world, and try to pull it here. I don’t think so. The people that fall into this category have fully bought into the idea that somewhere out there, someone is just around the corner waiting to enslave them. They are right in a way, but the thing they are missing is that the corner they are right around is in Washington DC.

The only purpose our military superpower status has is to maintain American firepower all over the world. Unfortunately it has backfired and no amount spending is going to change that. We haven’t been able to use that force to maintain our financial standing in the world. We haven’t been able to use that force to stop terrorists from hijacking planes with box cutters. And we won’t be able to, sometime in the future, repeal an imaginary invasion. Its time to quit calling these people whatever it is they want to be called this week and call them what they are, imperialists. And just like every other empire, eventually theirs will fall too.

One point that I will barely touch on, but an objection I hear often, is that a citizen militia couldn’t repel an invading army. First, I would have to see some concrete evidence that someone somewhere WANTS to invade the US. Than, I would want an explanation on how a superior force, one that is larger than the next 24 countries in the world, has such a hard time in places were a guerilla force is offering resistance. I want to know what makes people think that anyone in the world would sit around and allow another country to invade us. Once you pass those questions, I will discuss how a citizen militia can defend us.

The Button Theory

The reality of the situation is that there is no “easy” button that could instantaneously abolition anything, much less invasions of our liberty. But if there was such a button, I would push it in a heartbeat. I don’t have any fears or qualms about freedom and liberty. I also don’t have blinders on to the fact that there would indeed be problems to work out. I lack no faith, however, in believing that those problems could and would be solved by what have proven to be some of the most industrious people in the world.

I believe what Jefferson said when he said, “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.” Putting faith in the government to shrink its own size, to return liberties it has stolen, to return to a minarchist wet dream are pretty unrealistic. Anarchists are constantly being called “utopian dreamers”, that anarchy is unachievable. I say, not only is it not achievable, it is inevitable. No empire lasts forever. Eventually under its own weight, even this one will fall. When that collapse comes there are liable to be many types of societies built among the remnants, and that is just fine. Some of us are trying to work out the kinks in one that will be based on freedom and liberty, free from the force of a coercive state. Some of us are working towards ways to hasten that arrival, because we don’t have a button we can push to do it now, but we are not giving up on wanting it NOW. If you do find the easy button that will transform the leviathan to a mouse, let me know.

I used to be of the opinion that minarchist and anarchists could work together to achieve a certain acceptable amount of government. However, that would make anarchists minarchists instead. The goal and the strategies for getting to that goal are different. I looked around the libertarian movement and found that I felt like I was on the outside of a right wing conspiracy to overthrow the collectivist empirical government that is in place in the US. I have no intention or desire to replace the current government with one of my own making, so that struggle is not for me. If that places me outside of the political libertarian movement, if those ideas I hold dear, freedom from government and liberty for all, if those are too radical, than just call me a Free Market Radical from now on. It is more apt anyway.

The No Name Group Project

Immigration Smokescreen

IrishOutlaw — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:39:00 GMT

First Thoughts

First, let me say that when I say "illegal immigration" it is just to differentiate the topic, not because I think any immigration is illegal or in any way different from any other immigration. My personal view (from an anarchist’s perspective) is that people can't be illegal. Every person born has the same natural rights and liberties and no government borders can change that. One of my favorite anarchists was Thomas Jefferson (people think I am crazy for calling him an anarchist), but something he wrote applies to this thought. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Those rights are for everyone and they don't come from a government, we are born with them. I think that applies to everyone, everywhere. Doesn't matter where they are born. The reason the government raises and issue with illegals has nothing to do with them taking jobs, or using welfare, or any of the stuff they talk about illegals being a problem for. The money for those programs doesn't come out of the governments’ pocket, so why would they care about it. The only problem the government has with illegals is that they don't have the power to tax people they don't know about. That’s it. PEOPLE that have a problem with illegal immigrants are very upset and vocal about the problems they perceive them causing, but if you notice, the government hasn't really done anything to address their concerns, except when it will get them votes. Politicians that still feel some obligation to US citizens have tried to do things to address it, but it doesn't gain much traction. Partly because some of the politicians realize that, despite the cost associated with "illegal" immigration, a simple economic principle is in play. People are capital. They represent a real unit of capital. It is ALWAYS good for a country to get more people into it. They stimulate the economy, even if they aren't paying taxes. The not paying taxes part is probably the ONLY part the government is really concerned about. I don’t buy the, “They could be terrorists” argument.

Beat Down

I have to point out that government has a monopoly that they force on the people. They have a monopoly over a bunch of things, but the particulars related to immigration have to do with taxation, control of land, and the use of force to require compliance. It is in their best interest (not the interest of the people) to define an area of land as theirs and theirs alone. The idea that we have private property in this country is really a misnomer. The government can force anyone to comply with anything they want, even though a person owns a piece of paper that says the land belongs to them. They charge a yearly rent for that land in the form of taxes. They make rules about what you can and can't do with that land. And if the mood strikes them and they think they can do something better with that land than the owner, they can and do take it for themselves. So what does that have to do with illegal immigration? The main reason for borders is to show the world where their sphere of influence lies. If they fail to enforce those borders, at least to make a showing (no matter how half assed), than they are saying we don't really care about this area or our influence over it. The reality than is that they care less about who comes in those borders than who goes out those borders. I mean, yes they are going to be opposed to other governments trying to move in to that area and trying to assert force on the people inside them, but as far as people crossing them, it is mostly in their best interest to have more people to be able to exert that force over.

We the People?

But, as you know some people inside those borders are opposed to other people coming over them. I would say they have some legitimate concerns based on their perceptions of what is going on. They know that the government is going to force them to give up money to pay for stuff. They know that people that come over those borders without paperwork that makes they share in being forced to pay for stuff are getting a free ride for any of those things they are forced to pay for and the newcomers aren't. It pisses people off, but they are pissed at the wrong parties in my opinion. I would personally be pissed at the people who are exerting the force and are REALLY stealing from the people, which is the government. If there were no illegal immigrants, there would still be welfare programs. If there were no illegal immigrants, hospitals would still have to see people that won't pay for the services, because by law they still have to treat people regardless of ability to pay. The illegal immigrants really are doing jobs people don't want to do, along with some jobs that people probably would want to do, but either way, first come first serve. Ask the onion farms in south Texas about the jobs that Americans won't do. Because of the rhetoric concerning illegal immigration, lots of people that usually work the fields didn't show up to work this last harvest. And it wasn't just in south Texas fields either; it was all across the US. Even the ones that have come to do the work legally didn't come this year. There were advertisements looking for workers, paying in some places $20 an hour to do the work. But the reality is that the work sucks. 12 to 14 hours a day, hunched over in the beating down sun, usually 7 days a week. Most Americans don't want to do that, for any amount of money. So I don't buy the "taking jobs Americans would do" argument at all. The social programs that are being taken advantage of will exist regardless of who is using them. So the argument goes back to what the governments argument is, they aren't paying taxes. On that point I can only say, good for them. No one should pay their taxes. Anything that is getting taken out of your check is theft, plain and simple. Any other taxes we pay, illegal immigrants pay the same taxes. Any illegal immigrants that are using phony social security numbers are also paying income taxes, and that is free money for the government, because no one will ever try to claim a return on it.

Freedom of Association

I think there is also a constitutional issue involved with illegal immigration, even though I don't hold much for the constitution itself (which is a different topic for a different time). The first amendment says in part, "the right of the people peaceably to assemble". If you think, like I do, that "the people" applies to all people (that everyone is born with equal rights), than stopping people from assembling anywhere is wrong. If you believe that the constitution only applies to US citizens, it is still an abridgment of my rights if you want to keep me from assembling with illegal immigrants by keeping them out of the country. But really it is all probably a moot point.

Nationalism

I think nationalism is the same as racism. To me this is the reason, even if people don't realize the reason behind it, that some people see the anti-illegal movement as closet racism. It is about feeling that one group has more rights or a better station in life, merely by accident of birth. With racists it is by being born a certain race, with nationalists it is being born in a certain country. Everyone is free to feel however they want and to associate with whoever they want. But excluding people for whatever reason cuts a percentage out of your possibilities. Instead of looking for the things we think are wrong with illegal immigration, we should look at what is in it for us. If the government is doing something that is unfair to us, instead of saying the immigrants are taking advantage, we should place the blame on the ones who are forcing us to participate. If social programs and taxation are being taken advantage off, we should cut them off, no matter who is doing the taking advantage of. Let us give our money to programs that will spend it how we want, or lets us keep our money, either way. We shouldn't be forced to participate in things we think are scams. We shouldn't be forced to associate or not associate with anyone.

Blame Game

We do have a problem in this country and I think illegal immigration makes it glaringly apparent. But it doesn't have to do with the people, but with the government abuses of all of us. We need to quit letting the government shift the blame, especially when experience tells us that they have no real plans to do anything about it.

I don't think people are ever illegal. I would never tell a man he can't cross an imaginary line in the sand to feed his family or make a better life. There are some real issues that should be dealt with that the immigration problem points out though. I could also probably go on for a couple of more pages on private property rights and the difference between private property and "public" property, but I will let it drop for now.

The No Name Group Project

We Need More Time - The Collectivist Battle Cry

IrishOutlaw — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 11:05:00 GMT

I have heard it over and over. Excuses about why a collectivist society has always failed miserably. I have heard it so often that I have named it the "We Need More Time" excuse. "That wasn't true communism/socialism. If (insert excuse here) than it would have been a utopia." Well guess what, it wasn't a utopia and its very nature is flawed. Any process aimed at removing individual ownership of property or self is destined to the same outcomes as Russia, East Germany, Cuba or China. Before any of you collectivists try to point to China as an example, you better think twice. China has been doing better (but they have a long way to go) since they have introduced more of a free market approach. The Chinese Communists have NEVER exercised much control over rural areas of the country, of which nearly the entire country is made up of. China as a whole has been redirecting their resources largely based on the success of Hong Kong, which we all know, was probably the greatest free-market society that existed in recent times. If you need more proof of China's changing attitudes, look no further than the visit last year of the President of China to the US. Did he seek out his counter-part in the US government upon his arrival? Hell no, he went to see Bill Gates first, one of the most successful CAPITALISTS of all time. China has learned a lesson that you other collectivists have seemed to miss, your ideas don't work. So, if you want to point to China, at least admit we know where you really stand.

So the battle cry of the collectivists is "We Need More Time." Well, times up. It has been tried. It is a failure. Get over it.

The basis for collectivism is the divestment of capitol. The collective ownership of property. The very thing that it seeks is its downfall. Capital consists of ALL RESOURCES. Think about the automobiles you see in collectivists society and use them as an example. Where are the new cars, the new designs, the improvements in their production? They don't exist. Some people might argue that they don't exist because they are an unnecessary commodity. Than why do they continue to produce them in collectivists societies (if those societies at any time were able to produce them. Cuba has a bunch of old American cars that they just keep working on.)? The reason is obvious to anyone that is able to offer an objective response. The need to move people from one area to another is necessary in any society. To do that efficiently, we use automobiles. They still exist in collectivists societies for that very reason. So why haven't they evolved from their pre-collectivist conditions? Because the process of building them, the machines used, are capital. When you have a business, the means of production represent capital in the business. If your philosophy eschews capital, than you don't give a *** about the means of production. The tools used in production are of no importance. As a matter of fact, you might pride yourself on having older tools and point to them as a sign of your disdain of capital (either consciously or unconsciously). And there is your downfall.

As society grows (as they are likely to do) the amount of capital remains static in a collectivist society. The need for production rises, but the means of production remains static. Add to that the (ever increasing) amount of resources necessary to maintain a government (which despite any claims otherwise can never evolve past state-capitalism, might as well admit it) and your left with a shrinking resource pool, better known as LESS CAPITAL. Without increasing wealth and developing capital, the needs of a non-static society can never be met. The idea of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" can never be reached. Eventually even the most basic of needs will not be able to be met by the quickly evaporating pool of capital.

So, yell from the rooftops that you need more time. I will laugh at your ignorance. You have had centuries to do it and it is an impossible fantasy. Some collectivists societies bite the dust quickly, others take more time, but in the end, the results are the same. Good luck with that.

The No Name Group Project

What About The Children?

IrishOutlaw — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 23:25:00 GMT

First Thoughts

OK, my first thought is, “Why do people keep bringing up the children?” Even though I would have to guess that it is because they represent something to most people. So what do they represent? I think it is a deep rooted psychological problem that people have. They don’t even seem to know it. First, they see children as helpless and in need of someone else to care for them. That is pretty obvious and I doubt that most people would put much effort into arguing about whether children need protection or not. But, that brings me to my next thought on why people bring it up so much. People are made to feel (and act) like the government is their parent. They seek their comfort and care from the government. Every problem they have, they look to the government to solve. Every dispute they have, they look for the government to settle for them. Every bump in the night sends them screaming and crying for the government to come to their rescue. So when someone asks about the “children”, I try to understand what their real fears might be. But what I am going to do is try and take a look at some of the most common cries on behalf of the “children” and see if I can make sense of them.

Poor kids couldn’t go to school.

This is usually an argument put up by people that have never really seen any poor kids or been to any poor countries. I can assure you though that if you go somewhere with REAL poverty, the kids are in school. Education is an investment that most parents don’t mind making. As a matter of fact, it is an investment in society that most people, whether they are parents or not, don’t mind making. The idea that education would be less important if there were no government is just a knee jerk reaction to government indoctrination on the subject.

Early supporters of a government education system (by early I mean, directly after the American Revolution), felt that the best way to “indoctrinate” citizens to their views would be to start teaching them to the children at an early age. They wanted to pass on THEIR belief system and morals, because they felt that they were the most enlightened and that people should strive to be “just like them”. Most people that make the argument for government schooling today think the exact same thing. They all have certain goals and standards they want to pass on to the children. Never mind that in the US we spend the second most money of any country in the world on education and rank near the bottom as far as results go, it is more important that the kids learn to be “good citizens” that learn to bow before the authority of the state at an early age. It is more important that they learn tolerance than learn how to use critical thinking.

So the argument to me doesn’t seem to be so much, “Poor kids won’t go to school” as, “Poor kids won’t act the way we want them to act.” The two major political parties in the US seem to be like two divorced parents. Both of them using the “children” to try and get at the other one. In a world with no government parents, REAL parents will be able to pass on the type of education they want to their children on their own. It doesn’t matter who has money and who doesn’t, education is important enough that there will always be people willing to teach and children willing to learn.

Poor kids wouldn’t have health care.

Poor kids don’t really have health care now. But that has not much to do with the government paying for it, it has to do with the government being all up in the middle of it. It literally takes an act of congress to get the poor kids into the doctor. Than the doctor has a pile of red tape to go through to get paid. Book keeping takes up more of the doctors’ time than actually seeing the patients. And who requires the paperwork? You guessed it, the government does. All this extra work has to be paid by someone. When people are getting the government to pay for it, we all pay for it. On top of that, it helps the doctors set their prices on what they charge for their services. So on top of paying for it in taxes, when someone goes to the doctor they are paying for a service that is priced basically by the governments willingness to pay for the service. As the cost of doing business with the government (and conversely what the government will pay for the service) rises, so does the price for everyone else, even those paying for the service out of their own pocket. This is precisely one of those areas that the government has done incredible amounts of damage to the market by interfering in it.

Today we see lots of clinics opening up. There have been medical and dental clinics all across the US that have operated on a free or sliding scale basis, but they are making a comeback. Doctors have figured out that the best way to offer their services is to take the government out of the equation. It lowers their cost of doing business and it increases the number of people they can see. In the case of seeing people for free, they are usually compensated through donations. But the impersonal treatment “medical farms” give to their patients is giving way to a more personal approach. This is very attractive to most people. Lets face it, even with a government, lots of people (not just kids) don’t have the insurance or money to pay for medical services at the rate they are charged now. And despite the pessimistic outlook people have of doctors being in it for the money (although I am sure there are plenty), most of them got into the field because they wanted to help people. The absence of government will not change the desire of a certain group of people that want to help others out.

What about child abuse?

I could break this down into its many, many different categories. Sexual, physical, mental, or just plain neglect, but there really is no reason to do that. Abuse is abuse. It happens with a government and it is likely to happen without one. The argument is that without a government, no one will step in to help the children. They say that private security agencies won’t have a motivation to intervene on their behalf. All I can say is, BULLSHIT. If I know about abuse of a child, I am motivated to step in on the children’s behalf NOW. What would change just because there is no government?

For something to be done about abuse in our current system, the reported abuse must come to light first. The same would have to happen under a stateless society. Right now the government sends people over to investigate the allegations. In a stateless society the abuse would be investigated by a private security agency. How do I know this? Because I for one (and I am sure most others would also) would only do business with a PDA that included that service. And if it wasn’t an included service of anyone of them, I would hire one of them to do it anyway.

The idea that the children won’t be cared for is just insane. I don’t even know where people come up with that idea. Well, really I do know where they come up with it, it is the load of propaganda they have been fed.

Kids would be doing drugs.

Once again, kids do drugs now. Having a state or not doesn’t change the fact. Some people think that MORE kids would do drugs than do now. That could be, I don’t have a crystal ball to say one way or the other. I do believe that only a certain number of people do drugs, it doesn’t matter if they are legal or illegal. If the prohibition of alcohol in the US is any indicator, we can pretty much assume that MORE people do things when it is illegal than when it is legal. But regardless, there is no reason to just assume that there would be more kids doing drugs then there is now.

What about the kids that no body wants?

I don’t know that there are any kids that people don’t want NOW. There are plenty of kids that are in foster homes or state custody, but that doesn’t mean no one wants them, only that for whatever reason the state has taken them from their parents. But, many of them seem to stay in the system now. Most of the ones in the system end up turning 19 or 21 or whatever arbitrary age the government says they can’t stay anymore and THEN they are turned out on the streets. With no support system, no family to turn to, no religious affiliation to lean on, nothing. Where do a lot of this kids end up? Back in the system, but this time they are locked in cages to be kept away from the rest of us.

Lots of these kids are kept from going to loving caring families for whatever reason the government comes up with. In some places, if you smoke you can’t take them in, if you are gay you can’t take them in, and on and on. Without those kinds of draconian prohibitions against caring and loving for a child, I don’t foresee any more children being homeless and alone, than we do now. More than likely those kids would find a loving home and someone else will provide the service that gets them together with that new family.

Something about a stateless society that sounds barbaric when you just hear it is this; in a stateless society, people will be able to sell their children. That sounds awful, but is it really? Think about it. NOW, if someone has a child they don’t want, can’t handle or can no longer care for, that child goes to the state. The chances of the parent ever getting them back are not very good and many parents don’t even want them back. It is a sad fact of life that there are unwanted children sometimes. But IF the parents can sell the children they will have an incentive to provide them for sell in the best possible shape. They will be motivated to make sure they are well fed, without disease and definitely not beaten and bloody. And since most people want babies or young children, they will be motivated to get rid of them as soon as possible, therefore removing the children from a bad situation even sooner.

Conclusion

One of those things that make people uncomfortable about a stateless society is their perception of how children will be treated. Whether that is a true belief that children will be mistreated or a deeper fear that they themselves will feel insecure without the government is hard to see on the face of the issues. I would be willing to say that it is a combination of both of those things. I don’t think the whole argument is about the children, but there are things involving children that I myself think should be addressed. Sometimes people are at different points on their journey to a stateless society and this is one of those issues that will continually come up.

The No Name Group Project

Quit Saying Public Please

IrishOutlaw — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 06:38:00 GMT

It is interesting how much power is in that one little word, “Public”. From where I am sitting, it is the word used to commit all kinds of atrocities in the US. The idea that there is some kind of collective greater good that can be imposed on people against their will is implied in the word. Private property is subjected to the whims of special interest group’s because of that word. Education and discipline are taken from the hands of the parents because of that word. A feeling of subjugation is implied in that word. What I want to do is take a closer look at “public”.

Public Schools

The idea sounds good on the face of it. But what it really means is “funded by everyone”. They really aren’t public. You can’t go down to you local elementary school in your bathrobe and go check out a book from the library. If you don’t have kids in the school you may get to vote for school board members, but you have little to no say in anything else that has to do with the system. Even if you do have kids in the school system you have very little say. This is the local level, the place were you should be able to exert the greatest control. But instead we see schools that run from the top of government down. And we get government results out of our school systems. We spend the second highest amount on education in the world, but rank consistently low on all scales that measure education.

We continually hear about how the “public” doesn’t get involved with education. How they need more money, more teachers, more everything, but truthfully, your input is not really all that welcome. We hear about our school system failing and our future falling further and further into doubt. The answer? More money, more teachers, more schools. If you have pile of crap in your front yard, does it make it less of a problem if you pile more crap onto it? That just doesn’t make sense to me.

There are some good and interesting programs around that are making a difference and doing things that seem to offer a ray of hope for education in this country, but they are not coming from the government and they never will. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation comes straight to mind. They have been able to go into some places were drop out rates are high, reading and comprehension are low and a myriad of other problems are evident in the system and to turn it all around. And, they end up doing it for less than the government spends.

We spend an average of about $7000 a year per student in the US. Private school tuition averages about $3500 a year. And just look at test scores and overall student performance between “public” schools and private schools and you wonder why we don’t just send all the kids to private schools, save about half the money and get better results. I know I wonder why.

Well, really, I don’t wonder why. The school system is run by the government. It is really set up less to educate students than it is to turn out “good citizens” who are used to bowing to government authority figures. The schools are more concerned with instilling what students will accept over what they know. One of these days I am going to write more on this issue, but for now lets move on.

Public Funds

When people talk about public funds or public funding, they are usually referring to a pool of resources gathered at the expense of tax payers. Lots of people pay taxes against their will and don’t agree with the programs they go to sponsor. That is the first three strikes against public funds and I haven’t even gotten into the concept of them yet. Of course, unless it is against citizens, the government has no idea that after three strikes your out.

So what about this pool of appropriated resources? Is it really public? That should be easy to find out. When is the last time you paid your bar tab with them? Never has happened has it?

Funds taken from the people are not public. Quite the contrary, they are more private than your own bank account. When you get taxed, the money is no longer yours. The goods or services the money goes to are not yours either. The people that pay for goods and services are the owners of those goods and services. When you buy goods or services, they become yours to use of and dispense of as you wish. The money you used to pay for those things was yours and you can logically claim a right of ownership over not only the funds, but the property you acquire with those funds.

This is not how public funds work. From a local perspective you can influence more control over were those funds go and how much goes to what project, but the further up the chain you go, the further away from the funds you get. And when you get all the way to the top you hit another obstacle. Just because you voted or were involved in saying where those funds would go and how much would be spent on the local level, the federal level imposes all kinds of restrictions on what you can do with them. Really, it is quite a racket the federal government has been able to pull off. First, they take your money. They promise or guarantee certain things in return. Then they take part of that money and keep it for themselves. Then they give a portion of the remaining money back and tell you how you can spend it. Its nothing more than a scam, plain and simple. Advocates of states rights, though they are booed down by the left as wanting to bring back slavery, are really upholding a higher standard of accountability to the government. The US government isn’t supposed to work from the top down, but from the bottom up.

Public Roads

I am going to go camping on Sixth Street. I will just put my tent up right in the center of the street. No one should care, they are public roads. Then I am going to start me a little campfire, make smores and sing Kumbaya. Ok, I am not really going to do that. It isn’t allowed. But maybe I will just sell the street in front of my house to someone else. Then they can own a larger part of the public roads. They will have a controlling interest in the road system, because they will own more of the public roads than anyone else. What? I can’t do that either? I thought I was part owner, that they were public and I am part of the public that paid for them. I must be crazy.

At least I have a say so over where they put the roads, that’s something, right. Oh wait, I don’t even get to say that. As a matter of fact, if the government decides they are going to put a road through my front yard, they will do that. If they decide they are going to put a sidewalk next to that road through my yard, they will do that too.

I like the idea and use of toll roads. Pretty soon, you won’t be able to come to Texas without paying for the roads you are using. To me that makes a lot of sense and I can’t believe anyone in the government went along with it. I am going to talk more about roads on a later date too, stay tuned.

Conclusion

I think it is imperative that we take the word PUBLIC and remove it from use anytime we are talking about government. Let’s call these things what they are, Government Schools, Government Funds and Government Roads. And lets continue that and apply it to everything that we have been thought to believe is public. Public lands aren’t really public lands, they are government lands. Public airwaves aren’t really public, they are government airwaves. Public buildings aren’t really public, they are government buildings. If we took the use of the word public out and replaced it with government, people would see how all intrusive the government has become. Of course, some people would champion that. Some people can’t seem to get enough government. They want it everywhere; even in the bedroom (unless they are having gay sex with underage kids, but that is another story). The left wants to work “for the greater good” and take my money to help out a very small portion of the population. The right wants to “protect my safety” by killing people I have no problem with and keeping people out of the country that I really like a lot. How about this, I will keep my money and if I see someone in need, I will help them out. Or better yet, I will give money to charities that help them out. And if I see someone with an AK47 trying to blow up my house, I will keep myself safe. I don’t need to give the government a portion of my money, so they can give me back less, to do things that I am perfectly capable of doing myself without them.

The No Name Group Project