Mr. Silva,
I’ve often wondered what’s wrong with our country and then I hear the diatribe like spending on human capital, which falls so easily off your pen and I remember what the problem is …
In your Sept. 2 D.C. Notes, you seem to be saying that the government (which is in my wallet) can somehow invest in the country and make the economy better.
This same thinking says that, anything that was old-such as the 1980s and the 1950s-is, by definition, not good. I wonder how it is that so many thinkers in this category refuse to look at history or indeed, the very underpinnings of our country.
Mr. Silva, the government cannot make this country succeed economically or politically.
This country was founded on the principle that the government is the servant of the people and the people lead the government. In this manner, the individual is free to achieve all that he can without being held back by government. He is free to succeed and free to fail-on his own! The government does not invest in him, he invests in himself and the economy of the country. Therefore, the business community is free to prosper.
But there are even more difficulties with anything from the current leadership. We have an administration that has bought us Travelgate, Paula Jones, Whitewater, gays in the military, cabinet member scandals, Vince Foster, drugs in Arkansas, guns to Serbia, Hillary’s health plan, failure in Somalia, failure in China, no balanced budget, and the only reason we have changes to welfare is because Republicans pushed a bill through (remember his promise to end health care as we know it?) This is only a partial list of the Clinton administration’s miscarriages of leadership. Why would you promote continued leadership from such an administration and base your economic success on it?
Oblivious to all this we still seem to be hearing, “Well, Clinton is going to invest in human capital,” which can make things better for us … telecom, computer, etc.
I think you are deceived!
Listen to this example: Mr. Clinton tells us that he is going to put workers in the schools (millions?) so that school kids can read by the third grade. Mr. Silva, that’s the job of the school system! The school system failed, which is just an example of what happens when the government tries to do things that we, the private sector, should do. This is an example of the government investing in human capital. From Social Security to Medicare to farm subsidies, this type of investing has a consistent record of failure!!
The best way the government can help this industry is to get the heck out of the way! If they would reduce the inefficiency of the Federal Communications Commission (maybe get rid of it altogether), decrease government regulations and administrative laws that hamper us; reduce government spending and privatize government functions, with the exception of the military, reduce corporate taxes, maybe to that 1950s rate, which you seem to dislike; and just get out of the way-maybe then we’ll get going back to where we once were.
You seem to equate it to a “Well, what’s in it for us,” or maybe it’s a “as long as I get mine.” Regardless, you color yourself as an economist; I see you as a person with his hand in the country’s back pocket!
