Thursday, June 14, 2007

Freedom is the key to everything good

Fred on Poverty



"I read somewhere that 77 per cent of all the mentally ill live in poverty. Actually, I'm more intrigued by the 23 per cent who are apparently doing quite well for themselves." - Jerry Garcia

I've expressed my view on world poverty a number of times, most recently here.

If these nations want to eliminate poverty and hunger, here's how. Democratize, lower taxes, and encourage individual initiative. And never put a "progressive" in charge. Ever.

Vilmar sent me this article by Fred on Everything that expands on that philosophy, it's a very good read. Here's a few snippets.

*Suspected Economic Law: The easier it is to bribe a working-stiff cop, the poorer the country.

*A serious obstacle to prosperity is Half-Assedness, a quality not widely recognized in econometrics but well known to experienced travelers. Half-Assedness is a curious mixture of just not giving a damn, lack of ambition, little interest in academics, and sometimes something that looks like lethargy.

*Another element of Half-Assedness is, depending on your politics, cultural or inherent, but unmistakable. Some populations just aren’t very bright, or at any rate don’t seem to be. Sub-Saharan Africa, though rich in resources, is pea-turkey poor and not improving. Arab countries, even when awash in oil money, do not establish First World societies that could survive without oil. In South America the white countries, such as Chile and Argentina, could be in Europe. The highly Indian countries, as for example Bolivia and Peru, would be basket cases if they could afford the basket.

*Suspected Economic Law: The more European or East Asian blood, the more money.


5 comments:

OregonGuy said...

When I visited Red Square--in the Former Soviet Union--I was told that cameras were not allowed.

I quickly found out that they were allowed if you new the secret permitting process cost $5.00 U.S.

20-thousand rubles sounds like more. But it was, just five bucks.

I was struck by the changes between the Soviet Union and the FSU. The Soviet Union was so stodgey. Now there is a new eclecticism. But it will cost you about five bucks.

Anonymous said...

I like Fred Reed. He moved to Guadalajara, married a hot senorita, and spends his working hours hanging out in seedy bars.

Firehand said...

Friend of mine was in Equador a few months ago, and on top of the other problems was a very strong marxist/commie slant on things. Lots of 'American capitalist dogs'-type crap.

Which doesn't exactly improve their standard of living.

Anonymous said...

I used to read Fred's column, which the Washington Times ran. "Soldiering," the only regular column on the military in a major US newspaper.

My favorite column was when he went into the Pentagon library and asked if journalists were allowed to check out books. The people there didn't know, they said they'd have to check the official policy.

The next time he went in, they told him they didn't have a policy on that. No journalist had ever tried to check out a book.

Bob Hawkins

Anonymous said...

Chuck,

Two outta three ain't bad. (I'll leave it up to you do decide which two!)
--Jack

Post a Comment

Just type your name and post as anonymous if you don't have a Blogger profile.