Links and Minifeatures 04 12 Wednesday

Carnival of Debt Reduction Recommended: Mighty Bargain Hunter



Carnival of the Capitalists Recommended: Business of America is Business



Carnival of Investing Recommended: It's Just Money



RINO Sightings Recommended: Decision '08



Carnival of Liberty Recommended: Pubcrawler, Combs SPouts Off



Carnival of Vanities Recommended: Random Yak

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Michael Barone has a point worth making in the latest edition of US News. His column, aptly named "Slouching Towards France" deals with the march of the welfare state, despite its failure everywhere it has been tried. Indeed, it discusses examples such as General Motors, which are symptomatic of a welfare state and yet are not what one thinks of when one says the words, "welfare state." And yet GM started out as a protected entity - protected by the high cost of entry into its market domestically, and by the shield of protectionism that our domestic companies had for many years. The problems with our domestic auto industry have been obvious for at least twenty-five years, and yet the mindset of the union, and to a lesser extent, the management have yet to adjust to the realities of the current market, as if there is hope that tomorrow the government will set the clock of protectionism back forty years by banning all of the foreign competition.



The welfare mentality is easy and seductive. It says that everyone will be taken care of, that no one will be left behind. Everyone will have a comfortable standard of living, no one will be forced to beg. Unfortunately, in order to deliver this, it means that everyone is left behind of where they need to be. Those government programs aren't free; in addition to the money it collects to help these people with problems, it also has to pay the people to do it. Furthermore, the fact that the government is there for everyone who asks means that there is less incentive not to allow the things that would cause you to be left behind were the government not there, and therefore, more people slip into the net, increasing the drag on everyone else. The bureaucrats themselves, wanting to become more important, will do what they can to expand, not reduce, their scope of mission.



Given the realities of the global economy, this is a recipe for disaster.



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I liked this Q and O article on what is wrong with the system. He puts his finger on the greater half of the problem, rent-seeking behavior on behalf of our elected officials. The lesser half: Gerrymandering. The adversarial political climate in this country can be put squarely at the foot of "safe" districts.



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From the online version of my local treekiller. Why immigration reform failed. I'm normally not interested in "blame pieces," but this time the buy/sell got much too blatant.



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Via Mudville Gazette, a front-line reporters take on why the media are determined for Iraq to be reported as a failure (Warning: They have an NSFW advertisement on the page, although it's Hollywood Interrupted, not one of "those sites")



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Indepundit observed the protest against immigration refrom here in San Diego.



Neil Boortz has more on the nature of the problem. As I have said before, we need immigrants. We don't need colonists.



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Dr. Sanity has a good piece about the clinical symptoms of Denial. It's supposed to be a three part series. I look forward to parts II and III. Especially III. Describing the symptoms is useful, but the problem is usually doing away with the problem, not identifying it.



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Speaking of dealing with denial: Mark Steyn. NOW!



Also, Big Lizards debunks "Magical Israel" syndrome.



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Ace of Spades on how to appear neutral even though you're not.



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Thought for the day: If the multiculturalists really meant that all cultures are equally valuable and equally worthy, would they want to ban foxhunting?



Sure it's okay for some cultures to hold women as chattel, and kill them if they try to break out of their narrowly prescribed roles via such means as (gasp) wearing comfortable clothing. It's okay for those same cultures to kill those who wish to leave their dominant religion. Why is it acceptable? They're not Americans/Westerners!



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I know I haven't been writing much, except for my four articles per week on real estate or personal finance. That's probably going to continue for a while, because of stuff taking place off of the internet. Nothing horrible, but it all takes time away from the 24 hours I get per day. I'm hoping that by the end of next week, I'll be able to write a little bit more here, although I did manage to read every entry in the carnivals above.