Please accept my apologies for such a slow beginning to this year. Another Joe’s been working on a new project. And it’s entirely possible that this new project may offer some opportunities for Regular Joes. Of course, we’ll let you know if such opportunities materialize.
During these times of economic turmoil there are hundreds, if not thousands, of self-proclaimed experts asserting their perspectives with what appears to be absolute confidence. In addition to those who are able to gain a gathering through their writing and speaking, there are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of armchair economists with a lot to say about such matters, but most of whom likely have very little understanding of the fundamentals at work. Perhaps this was most recently illuminated in the Occupy movement.
The massive inundation from material, perspectives, blogs, articles, comments, videos and other sources of opinion, expert and amateur alike, can leave the truth seeker’s head swimming in an effort to separate truth from fiction; verity from fancy. Today we’re going to make an effort to expose one such pundit, mainly because of the audacity of his assertions. We have no reason to pick on this individual. It’s just that he’s given us such a wonderful set of bullet points to work with that we couldn’t resist… okay, we could have if we wanted to.
Young Carl Gibson of Lexington, KY, is apparently active in asserting that corporations pay their fair share of taxes. That’s not my assertion. You can read it for yourself at the bottom of the article we’re addressing today. Apparently our young journalist doesn’t realize that corporate taxes necessarily have to be passed down to the end user. But that’s just a quick observation, and hardly central to today’s discussion.
Another quick and tertiary observation is the audacity of the title of this article. At what must be a very mature and wizened age of 24, Mr. Gibson has cemented his superiority over the inept and immature Ron Paul with what no doubt is a title of absolute verity, Grow Up, Ron Paul. If the sarcasm is too drippy, please forgive me. The utter and irresponsible irony of this whole setting is simply too much for me.
Let’s be fair to young Carl Gibson though. He’s a recent college graduate, so he likely still has the idea that his education sets him above most U.S. citizens in knowledge, even if he still lacks experience. Furthermore, at least he’s attempting to deal with issues that many of us hold near and dear. In this light, even if his views lack credibility, his desire to pursue truth is to be applauded.
Getting into the article, after a paragraph of reminiscing about his rebellious nature as a child, Gibson then asserts that, “Libertarian views of government regulation are very similar to how a 6-year-old views the authority exerted by their parents.” This is followed by the main subject of his diatribe, “Ron Paul’s every-individual-for-themselves rhetoric appeals to young, radical libertarians with simplistic views of authority, and an ignorance of why government exists in the first place.”
What to do with a 24 year old journalism major who understands authority and government better than a 75 year old doctor, Air Force and Air National Guard veteran, author, state representative, Austrian, Libertarian, presidential candidate who serves on the House Committees on Foreign Affairs and Financial Services, on the Joint Economic Committee and is the chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, must certainly be a challenge. In fact, as an added irony, after delivering more than 4,000 babies as an obstetrician, Ron Paul has been out of medicine for enough years that he couldn’t have even delivered Mr. Gibson. Grow Up, Ron Paul indeed.
Okay, enough ad-hominem discussion. It’s not normally how I pursue things, so let’s just get down to facts. It is certainly true that credentials do not equal truth. Even the most unlearned of men can sometimes grasp the truth that the more erudite fail to recognize. So let us continue this discussion with an examination of what it is that Mr. Gibson claims.
These bullet points are taken directly from Mr. Gibson’s article. Because of the length of this current rant, I’ll leave these for you to ponder over the weekend. Next week we’ll consider these thoughts carefully, examining why the views of young men like Mr. Gibson are so threatening to those who desire to see America once again live up to its claim as the land of the free.
- Families grieving for loved ones lost due to Massey Energy’s negligence in the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion would have to accept that their relatives were casualties of the invisible hand of the unfettered free market. And Massey would get off scot-free for polluting Martin County, Kentucky‘s drinking water supply with 300 million gallons of coal slurry.
- Millions of college students dependent on Pell grants would be forced to move back home and work minimum-wage jobs, no longer financially able to further their education. Oh wait – what minimum wage?
- Food recalls would be a regular occurrence when tainted meat and vegetables hit supermarket shelves and caused record outbreaks of e-coli. And risky new drugs would avoid FDA tests and hit the express lane to the pharmacy, endangering the health of millions.
- Too-big-to-fail banks like Wells Fargo, Citi, Chase and Bank of America would be allowed to merge and/or buy out their competitors, as would oil giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron, and cellphone service-providers like AT&T and Verizon.
- The Social Security trust fund would become insolvent, making retirement that much harder for those who paid into it all their lives.
Have blessed weekend.
Another Joe
