COLUMN: Hey, leave our market alone
When it comes to matters pertaining to our economy, our government has taken the irresponsible approach to both individual freedom and economic prosperity. Instead of believing in the free market to solve for our economic problems, the government instead has interjected itself as the absolute know-all on human behavior. Our politicians have insisted and are continuing to insist that they know what is best for us and our economy.
We would be fools to fall for such a notion again.
We constantly hear from elected officials about how important it is for the government to focus on creating jobs. Almost all the candidates that ran in this last election put job creation as their number-one priority. Most don’t even understand how the economy works, much less the negative economic consequences to what they are proposing.
We should not blame our intelligent politicians however. During times of economic hardships, it is we the people who turn to the government for help. We fall on our knees and beg the government to stop the pain, to end what is now being known as the Great Recession. This is why you see so many politicians running on a platform of job creation and government intervention into the economy. It is we the people who are begging to be screwed.
If there’s a group of people who don’t understand jack about the economy, it’s the American people. I believe that in order to survive during these economic times, the public must begin educating themselves about how our economy should work. We must dispose of the belief that government intervention is justified because somehow it works. When elected officials state that the government can indeed create jobs, they are relying on an outdated and fallacy-ridden economic theory known as Keynesian economics.
Keynesian economics is the belief that if the government spends money in the economy, that will in turn lead to economic growth. The theory follows like this. The government borrows money and spends it in the economy. This money is circulated and as a result, the economy grows. The problem is that this theory suffers from a glaring logical fallacy.
In order to spend money, the government must first somehow attain it. Government is not a business. It cannot work to attain a profit. In order to fund any sort of government program, the government must first take that money from the people. It’s inherently insane to believe that if we take money from the people and then give it back to them, that motion will somehow kick start the economy. It makes as much sense as moving a hundred dollar bill from your left hand to your right hand, and saying that you’re now richer. The perfect example is the stimulus packages.
President Obama and President Bush injected almost a trillion dollars into our economy in 2008 and 2009. So what do we have to show for it? We have unemployment still stuck near 10 percent, housing prices are still dropping, our overall net worth has decreased and we are still stuck in this painful recession. How do Keynesian economists respond? They claim that we need to spend even more money on an even bigger stimulus package! Though that may seem just downright silly, by having the people tell their politicians that they need to create jobs, we end up moving down that Keynesian route.
But, if we are to adhere to the principles of the free market and to embrace individual freedom, we will move beyond this recession stronger than ever.
I believe that the government should focus on eliminating economic barriers instead of putting them up. The government should not impose moral law into the marketplace. If an employer wants to discriminate against women or a certain racial group, I believe they should be allowed to do so and the market will respond accordingly.
The government should not tax corporations and businesses at a higher rate. We should never punish productivity with higher taxes nor should we look down at the rich simply because they are rich. Perhaps most importantly of all, the government must stop spending in areas it need not be.
We should cease all funding for groups such as National Public Radio, Planned Parenthood and most foreign aid, immediately. Such crucial services can and will be provided by the private market. If those services fail to generate enough revenue, then it will become apparent that society does not want those items and as such should not be forced to pay for them.
The free market must be allowed to move in whatever direction the consumer wants. This way money is spent most efficiently and will bring us out of this recession faster. By allowing the course of events to run out, we will all be better in the long run.
Justin Hinh is a sophomore majoring in political science and the president of the College Libertarians. He can be reached at justintsn10@gmail.com.