Tuesday, August 18, 2009

To be fat and happy


So let’s say the economy was booming with near full employment. Employees working for companies and the self-employed were all doing well; making decent incomes allowing them to own their homes, pay their bills, fullfill all family obligations and save money for their future.

Let’s also say that businesses were doing well too; making good profits, reinvesting part of those profits in new capital and technology and, of course, paying decent returns to investors with good dividends and value-based rising stock prices.

Finally, let’s say that our government was doing well also; efficiently and economically deliverying public goods and services, collecting sufficient tax revenues - from a booming economy - to cover its budget and service its debt so that additional national debt was not necessary.

This picture is a classic example from chapter 1 of an university introductory economics course devoted to capitalism where market forces of supply and demand, consumerism and competition all work together to produce outstanding economic results. Textbook only you say and not possible in the real world. I say no; it’s a superior economic model that should guide all individual, business and government economic and political decisions.

If you can imagine an economic utopia like this, ask yourself if all the players would be advocating and demanding a government-mandated and operated national health care system like what is currently being proposed by our misguided political leaders.

If everyone were fat and happy, would they be for the proposed national health care reform?

Personally, I don’t think so which begs the question of what do people really want; I say it’s to be fat and happy.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

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