by alexmerced

Rules and Liberty

Rules need enforcement. Enforcement takes resources. More rules require more resources taken from the economy or enforcement gets spread too thin which makes the rules less credible making them meaningless.

So whether they be laws, morals, or any other kind of rule. The mantra that best manages resources with order is “simple and few”. As a #Libertarian I see autonomy, resources and order optimized when rules are “simple and few”.

by alexmerced

Laws and Crimes

Laws don’t reduce crime. They expand what is a crime defining more and more of us as criminals. Coexistence doesn’t come from dictates or zero tolerance, it comes from respect for each others life, body and property and a willingness to tolerate and forgive each other. #amliberty

by alexmerced

Inequality and Open Markets

“I want to help those who are the worse off. That’s why I want inequality in incomes so there is an incentive to invest in the knowledge, skills, and capital that will make the economy more productive. As the economy increases productivity we’ll be able to make more for more people.

Today we have more people than anytime in history, yet less of them starve than ever before. We are aware of wars around the world more than ever before but there is less war than ever before.

Open Markets in theory and in practice give you every reason to hope and look forward with the brightest optimism. No matter how much governments try to control Open Markets they will always succeed in spite of them. Why? Because an open market is just all of us individually trying to make tomorrow better, and no matter what controls or headwinds lay before us we will always strive to make tomorrow better.”

Alex Merced

by alexmerced

10 Reasons to be Skeptical of Government Growth and Intervention

By Alex Merced

1. The cost of living: It costs time and money to pay for taxes and complying with regulation. Many will try to offset these costs by increasing the cost of goods and services making life more expensive making more people struggle than otherwise would.

2. Scarcity of labor demand: Not only will costs increase but individuals looking to make up the costs will seek more labor hours leaving less demand for labor for everyone else. Work becomes harder to find especially for hourly wage earners who find more competition for each hour.

3. Lowering of Quality: When unable to recover the tax/regulatory costs with price increases, many may try to reduce their costs instead by lowering the quality of

goods and services they provide.

4. Distorted Investment: Industries that are less able to reduce costs or charge more will find their profits decreased which makes it harder to attract investment capital to grow that industry. Industries with more resilient cost structures and or products with inelastic demand will see themselves abundant with capital while those that don’t will be underdeveloped.

5. Corruption: The more power government has the more it will attract those who want to abuse that power. A more powerful government will find itself not run by the benevolent angels many imagine but by corrupt tyrants who buy favor with carve outs from governments costs.

6. Lack of Diversification: If Government becomes the sole provider or purchaser of a good or service you create a systemic risk. When one institution is the sole provider/purchaser, its possible future failure results in pain and suffering of everyone without a backup.

7. Poor Governance: Even If run by the most well intentioned, if government handles too many areas of our lives it creates an inability for those at the top to have the broad expertise or ability to oversee all of it effectively. Those who do too much do little well.

8. Rampant Extortion: The more rules government needs to enforce the more enforcers it will need. It will be harder to fill a growing demand for enforcement with the noble leaving many who will use their enforcement power to selectively enforce on their enemies and vice versa on those they favor. This creates a culture that makes it difficult to criticize government as its enforcement apparatus can quickly silence you.

9. Social Conditioning: The less choices people get to make their lives the more their ability to effectively make decisions decays or under-develops making society more dependent.

10. Accessibility: the larger government is the less accessible it becomes to those without relationships with the powerful.

A world of individuals free to make choices over their life, body and property within a environment of diverse institutions has the opposite effects. This is why Libertarianism matters, so society and each of its participants can reach its potential.