Venting a little

I prefer not to engage in political debates with my friends’ FB posts (if they want to engage with mine, fine). So I’m not saying anything (other than one quick comment) there about this, which a friend of mine posted yesterday (that’s what my blog is for):
“Until we believe for ourselves that political power doesn’t make people happier, that a better economy doesn’t make people happier, and that “controlling the message” doesn’t make people happier we won’t be competitive. Instead, we must believe that only Liberty gives people the chance to earn their own success, to be their own type of generous, and pursue their own idea of the American Dream. Only Liberty–free markets and limited government–has released billions worldwide from poverty, cured countless diseases, and given hope to generations.” – Owen Hill
Owen Hill appears to be a newly elected state senator in Colorado, which makes his claim that political power is a bad thing kind of dubious. In fact, I’m suspicious of any WASP male who announces that political power is bad, given how keen they are to hang on to it. I can’t help suspecting the real message is that women/minorities/Muslims/gays should forget about that stuff. It’s different for white Christians—that’s not “political power” it’s just the way things are supposed to be.
Likewise, since Hill has lengthy sections on his website about how bad the economy is, I’m curious why he thinks it isn’t important. I suspect it’s the same reason libertarian pundit Tibor Machan likes to lecture on the evils of “pragmatism”—you’re not supposed to care whether Hill’s policies actually improve the economy, you should celebrate that he’s giving corporate America More Freedom to control you (unsurprisingly he’s anti-union).
I agree political power doesn’t make people happier, but as Hill obviously realizes, it’s still important. Without political power—whether it’s attained through election to office or political protest—nothing changes. As Frederick Douglass put it, power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has and it never will.
As for Hill’s factual accuracy—he doesn’t have any. If we had the “liberty” of the 1800s where there were no restrictions on business, we’d still be working 80 hours weeks for pennies an hour. FDR’s New Deal, much as the right wing despises it, and government guarantees of the right to unionize went a long way to lifting people out of poverty (though WW II did more to end the depression).
And disease? The goverment spends millions on medical research developing treatments and formulas that for-profit drug companies then get to make millions off (we get it coming and going). It’s the government that pays for “orphan drugs”—the drugs for diseases so rare that there’s no way to profit off them. And government work promoting hygiene and health (clean water, restrictions on smoking) are what gave us the upper hand with cholera and lung cancer.
I feel better now for having said all that. Thanks.