-- Posted Thursday, 5 March 2009 | Digg This Article
| Source: GoldSeek.com
Older readers may remember the street photographers. In the 1940s they could be seen on the streets in most large cities. The photographer would stand on the sidewalk and take pictures of approaching pedestrians. As each person passed by he would receive a numbered card which, when presented at the photo shop later on, would enable the subject to see the picture and purchase one or more copies if he so desired.
Times and fashions change and the old-time street photographer is no more. There are different reasons for the demise of professions and jobs, but the fact remains that just like anything else in the universe jobs must die. Interfering with a natural process is futile in the long run and will probably aggravate the problem.
So it is with the proposed “bailout” bill that has recently been passed by the wise old men in Washington. Leave aside the fact that the bulk of the amount to be spent is “pork” and has nothing to do with assisting failing businesses. The whole idea of taking money, whether now or later, from productive and successful businesses and individuals and giving it to those that cannot compete is at best a delaying tactic. There is a reason some banks went bust. They didn’t attend to business! Should they be rewarded for their negligence?
This whole idea of propping up failure with public money is itself doomed to fail. If private individuals want to prop up GM or Chrysler, because they think the companies can be turned around and profits will result, that’s one thing. But to pour public money into these companies, neither knowing nor caring whether they can be made to survive, is not what elected officials were elected to do! Since the heyday of Detroit other smarter, more productive and more economical automobile companies have sprung up. Congress’s behaviour is extremely Luddite-like in its trying to prop up the less efficient because some workers may lose their jobs. Workers ALWAYS lose jobs in a dynamic economy! It is a universal law that the old must die to make way for the new. It happens in the forest, where old trees topple and young saplings spring up in their places. It happens in life, where old people die and babies are born. It happens in business, where old companies fail and new ones start up. JOBS MUST DIE! There is no magic exception for trade union jobs!
If I were to predict that in the next fifty years 95% of the jobs that exist today in any one industry would disappear, you might be shocked or even horrified. "What will all these displaced people do?" I can hear you ask. "How will the nation survive such a blow?"
Well the funny thing is that this very situation has occurred before, in the last century. In 1910 some 34.3% of North Americans were farmers. By 1990 this had dropped to 1.9%. Did this create a major unemployment problem? Of course not. As the movement from the country to the towns gradually evolved over time, most people weren't even aware that it was happening.
And what did the people who once would have worked on the farm do? Why they built the houses for the city dwellers, constructed the roads, made the refrigerators and telephones and washers and dryers and all the other items that those homes needed. And they no doubt made the fax machines, computers, contact lenses, and cars that we all use and enjoy today.
Are we worse off for having fewer farmers? We have a greater selection of food than at any time in history. Is there a desperate shortage of street photographers? Of course not. Will we be worse off with fewer GM or Chrysler workers?
I can hear the cries now. “But what about the poor souls who are laid off? How can they get another job?” The hard truth is that it not the government’s or the taxpayers’ problem. We all have to live our own lives and deal with each problem as it comes along. Each individual will have to work out his or her own solution. Does that sound harsh? It isn’t. It’s the truth, but, as we all know, most people can’t handle the truth and prefer to hear the sugar-coated lies of the “compassionate” politicians.
What has happened to America? It used to be the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s fast becoming the land of “me me” and the home of the slave.
The solution to the current recession is to scrap the whole “bailout” bill, and cut government spending drastically. At the same time cut taxes across the board, thus making money available for people and companies to spend and invest, thus creating more demand, thus creating more production, and thus creating more, newer and better jobs which will, in the end, mean greater wealth for everyone. Will it happen? I for one am not holding my breath.
March 5, 2009
Bill Trench [send him mail] is a writer and cogitator who enjoys watching and commenting on the passing show.
Copyright © 2009 by LewRockwell.com. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit is given.
-- Posted Thursday, 5 March 2009 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
