"If Obama hates Bush's policies, hopefully he will cut government."

Nick Gillespie | October 24, 2008

Columnist Ron Hart:

Is there better irony than an imprudent Washington "investing" about a trillion dollars of debt funded tax money into the banking system and telling them how to run a business?

The same federal government confiscated the Mustang Ranch bordello in Nevada in the 90s and then promptly ran it into bankruptcy. If the feds cannot make a profit in a monopoly business of selling sex and booze, my guess is the complexities of banking will totally perplex them—especially when they have to follow the convoluted regulations they themselves impose.

If Congress imposes economic sanctions on Iran as harshly as they have on businesses in the USA, we should crush them with no military force required.

Hart notes wryly, "if Obama hates Bush's policies, hopefully he will cut government."

More here.

Comments

The Chad|10.24.08 @ 4:43PM|#

riiiiiight

The Chad|10.24.08 @ 4:44PM|#

Should've mentioned how he finished it: "It might be a great time for all of us to reread Atlas Shrugged."

NotThatDavid|10.24.08 @ 4:48PM|#

Should've mentioned how he finished it: "It might be a great time for all of us to reread Atlas Shrugged."

We're about to go from eight years of George W. Bush to four years of either Barack Obama or John McCain and he thinks we're not punishing ourselves enough?

|10.24.08 @ 4:49PM|#

The same federal government confiscated the Mustang Ranch bordello in Nevada in the 90s and then promptly ran it into bankruptcy.

Reminds me of the old Cold War saying, "that's about as fun as Soviet Porn." (IIRC it arose among some intelligence types who actually had to watch some )

If the feds cannot make a profit in a monopoly business of selling sex and booze, ...

Government actors do not care about profit, they care about power. They will gladly sacrifice real productivity for increases in the power of themselves or the institutions with which their interest align.

Big government types have a "better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" view of the economy and material welfare. They will gladly run our civilization into the ground as long they get to be king of the rubble.

Look at Detroit.

Mad Max|10.24.08 @ 4:50PM|#

"The same federal government confiscated the Mustang Ranch bordello in Nevada in the 90s and then promptly ran it into bankruptcy."

One would think that the one thing the federal government knew how to do . . . finish the sentence yourselves.

sage|10.24.08 @ 4:53PM|#

I don't really care for his vague tone in that piece. What's he getting at?

|10.24.08 @ 4:54PM|#

my guess is the complexities of banking will totally perplex them-especially when they have to follow the convoluted regulations they themselves impose.

Somebody should tell him banking is an unregulated laissez faire industry, before he embarasses himself further.

|10.24.08 @ 4:58PM|#

Big government types have a "better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" view of the economy and material welfare. They will gladly run our civilization into the ground as long they get to be king of the rubble.

Look at Detroit.

Waitaminnit! We have the best parks, police department, crime lab, school system, business climate, hockey team, yeah, hockey team, in the whole world here.

|10.24.08 @ 5:04PM|#

Cut a backward letter "B" into government?

sage|10.24.08 @ 5:08PM|#

P Brooks FTW.

Mister DNA|10.24.08 @ 5:09PM|#

Waitaminnit! We have the best parks, police department, crime lab, school system, business climate, hockey team, yeah, hockey team, in the whole world here.

Doesn't construction on Delta City begin any day now?

Adam|10.24.08 @ 5:14PM|#

Yep - this is why we need new voices in our political system. I hope the idea on this website catches on:

http://www.thirdpartyvote.com

never touched ayn rand|10.24.08 @ 5:18PM|#

should i really read atlas shrugged?

it looks really big and hard to read and stuff
is it worth it?

squarooticus|10.24.08 @ 5:25PM|#

@Adam:

What genius! If only someone had realized earlier that all we had to do to regain liberty in the United States was to... create an online letter of intent and get people to "sign" it.

Dear god, what has activism in this country come to?

Mister DNA|10.24.08 @ 5:25PM|#

never touched ayn rand,

If you must read a book that looks really big and hard to read and stuff, I'd recommend A Confederacy of Dunces.

|10.24.08 @ 5:30PM|#

Mister DNA,

I had to google to get your ribbing. Funny dig.
Sadly the city council would take a decade to approve one. Tiger Stadium still stands. The last game played there was September 27, 1999.

never slept with ayn rand|10.24.08 @ 5:37PM|#

thanks that book looks good, pewlitzer good

Nobel Prize-winning economist |10.24.08 @ 5:47PM|#

Cut government? The coming recession will force us to increase the size of government, just to stay afloat.

dr_dog|10.24.08 @ 5:47PM|#

Darn, I read

If Congress imposes economic sanctions on Iran as harshly as they have on businesses in the USA, we should crush them

and took them to mean Congress, and got all excited.

Mister DNA|10.24.08 @ 5:58PM|#

J Sub D,

It sucks that the first Google entry for "Delta City" doesn't lead to Robocop.

Just Plain Brian|10.24.08 @ 6:13PM|#

Speaking of Detroit -
the Best Punishment ever

Daniel Reeves|10.24.08 @ 7:08PM|#

The same federal government confiscated the Mustang Ranch bordello in Nevada

But not the same people.

Wonk|10.24.08 @ 7:48PM|#

Hart is the best columnist working today. He is an ex-Goldman Sachs guy with a wicked sense of humor. He is in our paper here in Florda.

And yes, banking is very regualate, Hart is right.

|10.24.08 @ 7:54PM|#

If you think Obama couldn't be worse, please inform yourselves about the discussions currently underway in Democratic leadership circles to "nationalize" all 401K's.

Will|10.24.08 @ 7:58PM|#

Hart says "It is a given that the media is biased, and are heavily to blame for our shift to the left. The media have spent more time and money investigating "Joe the Plumber,"

He is dead on. Until the average citizen can cut through the leftist fog that is our mainstream media, they will not get it.

jtuf|10.24.08 @ 8:19PM|#

This post is right on target. I was amazed that global stocks went up when the bailout looked possible and dived down when the bailout looked unlikely. The same people who regularly protested Bush jumped at the chance to put their retirement accounts in his hands. I guess if you wave $700 Billion in front of most folks, they loose rational thought.

Mike Laursen|10.24.08 @ 9:44PM|#

Is there better irony than an imprudent Washington "investing" about a trillion dollars of debt funded tax money into the banking system and telling them how to run a business?

I agree with sentiment, but I'm not sure what "debt funded tax money" means. I suppose he's trying to say the debt will eventually result in more taxes, but that would be "tax-funded debt".

TallDave|10.24.08 @ 9:55PM|#

A fact with to aid the augury:

Guess which 2 years of Bush's term saw the biggest rise in gov't spending? (Hint: they were recent.)

JB|10.25.08 @ 12:28AM|#

The current crisis obviously calls for us to increase the size of government while shrinking the private sector...completely. Only Paul Krugman will work. The rest of us will somehow survive by eating his ears.

Brandybuck|10.25.08 @ 12:32AM|#

Heard from an Obama supporter this afternoon: "I used to live in Singapore. Great city, they had lots of regulations."

ahole|10.25.08 @ 8:37AM|#

I used to rive in Shingapore Great shity, they had rots of regurations.

|10.25.08 @ 9:28AM|#

Personally, I cannot wait to see Dictator Bush OUT of office. I only hope and pray his little "mini-me" McBush doesnt win next month, if he does we are ALL screwed big time!

Liz
www.anonymity.pro.tc

Panic|10.25.08 @ 9:44AM|#

As Hart said in a column in our paper, "How naive' is it to think that government will lower our property taxes to reflect the down 25% value of our homes?"

"Government will insist on itself until we make it do otherwise." he also said.

At what point do they stop? GOP and Dems are both bad. My disappointment lies with the GOP, they should know better.

|10.25.08 @ 11:31AM|#

Ron Hart GETS IT! Let's run Ron.
If yo uhave not read any of his articles, I highly recommend you do. Extremely entertaining.
A wasted vote is another vote for the One-Party System of Ds and Rs. Otherwism, we get what we deserve.

greg|10.26.08 @ 11:02AM|#

Ayn Rand is Nostradomus it seems. Hart is right

|10.27.08 @ 11:08AM|#

Heard from an Obama supporter this afternoon: "I used to live in Singapore. Great city, they had lots of regulations."

Enforced with caning, if I recall.

Although, frankly, I would rather be caned than spend any length of time in jail.

Gladys West|10.27.08 @ 2:11PM|#

Ron,

Always enjoy your articles! Keep up the good work!

A Fan,
Gladys
Columbia, TN