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The Economy is not a "Patient"

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Daily Dose of Reason - Society & Culture
Written by Michael J. Hurd, Ph.D.   
Sunday, 21 June 2009 00:00
I don't understand this metaphor of the "ailing American economy." It's the metaphor of the economy as a sick "patient." People take one of two positions. One position is for government, as "doctor," to intervene and cure the patient. The other position is for government to stay out, and leave the "patient" alone. Now, given the premises of this analogy, which position makes sense? Obviously, the doctor who intervenes to fix the patient is far superior to the doctor who stands by and does nothing. How can there even be a debate? It's the premise that you must question here. The American economy is not a "patient." Yes, the economy is ailing. But it ails because government is sick. Politicians and government officials range from people who are merely wrong to those who are sick, ill and even power-lusters. The economy isn't sick because of the economy. The economy is sick because of what government does to it. Case in point: The creation of the housing bubble by a combination of actions on the part of HUD and the Federal Reserve. This is a major example, but it's only one example of the harm that government intervention does. It's true that human beings, outside the context of government, sometimes make mistakes and sometimes harm themselves. But government only makes those problems worse. And today, as for many decades now, government intervention in the economy has reached a point where it actually creates harm. Stop calling the American economy "sick." It's the government who is sick, crazy and destructive. People acting in the private sector could never begin to do the damage that government has done, is doing, and will do, to the economy. THAT'S sick.
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