Our government does a whole lot of good. However, most folks realize that it's private enterprise, with its millions of workers and trillions of capital, not government, that, over time, improves our standard of living. Balanced government facilitates that progress. However, as both the 1930s and 1970s show, government can do much economic harm in four key ways:
-- Tax too heavily and unevenly. Not only does this take capital away from those who best produce job-creating businesses, but sustained heavy taxation quickly reduces tax revenue.
-- Restrict free trade. Trying to protect an industry that can't compete on its own will just make the eventual fall that much worse. Allow people, not government, to decide to trade or not; the long-term benefits to all are immense.
-- Overlitigate. Not only does this move capital in the wrong direction, but innovation, and the jobs it would produce, slows way down when the liability risk is absurdly high.
-- Overregulate. This is probably the most effective way to hurt folks' financial progress. Examples include inflexible labor rules, environmental rules that have huge cost for little benefit, price controls and health insurance rules that require benefits folks can't afford. While we have a right to liberty and freedom, we don't have a "right" to underpriced goods and services, as this creates a demand that never gives up until costs are out of control.
The best indicator your politician is clueless if he/she keeps mentioning "greed" or "victim." Greed is a human constant that is only effectively controlled by competition. And saying we're "helpless victims" is just a means to the government making even more harmful rules!
Economics is all about understanding what motivates us humans. Beware of politicians who promise unsustainable benefits that just end up making us all poorer.
-- Pete Hockenmaier, Ventura