Libertarianism 101

This week's podcast episode was titled "Libertarianism 101". I wanted to clarify some basic libertarian positions that I passively make reference to that may confuse some people. We covered 4 areas... Click HERE to listen to the full 30 minute episode.

Here is a summary:

Government Regulation

Typical Thought: We need government regulation to clamp down on big business. Without government regulation, the consumers will be abused, prices will be sky high and we'd be drinking orange juice laced with bleach.

If you really think about it, government regulations are kind of redundant. In a free and open marketplace, Businesses will take it among themselves to make sure products are safe and offered at a competitive price. Otherwise, they'd be out of business.

What about drugs? Many think that the FDA and Health Canada need to keep unproven drugs off the market. But no one thinks of it the other way. What about people who die while waiting for drugs to be approved? There is tremendous evidence to suggest government has killed more people withholding drugs from the market than it ever has releasing a drug too early.

Conclusion: Government regulation often has the opposite effect to what was originally intended. And any well meaning company would take it among themselves to make sure standards are met. Otherwise... you'd be out of business.

Monopoly

Typical Thought: We need government regulation to oversee big business... otherwise Wal-Mart would run everything.

We hear about monopolies all the time but in reality, it have never occurred in the history of north America. In fact, the only REAL monopolies occur with government ie. Alcohol sales, Healthcare, Heating and Hydro. All competition is outlawed in these areas... THAT is a true monopoly.

Conclusion: The word "Monopoly" is over used, and the only REAL monopolies in society occur within government.

 Capitalism

Typical Thought: Capitalism is bad. Only government oversight can prevent big business from abusing their power.

People THINK we live in a capitalist country... but we don't. The fact is, most government policy favours big business over little business. Business and government work very closely together. All you have to do is look at the biggest donors to the main political parties to know what's really going on.

Conclusion: We don't actually live in a country that practices Capitalism. What we THINK is capitalism, is actually crony capitalism brought on by bad government policy.

Government Spending

Typical Thought: Government is essential to keep the economy moving, invest in our future and create jobs to ensure the economy stays strong.

Because government doesn't have any of it's own money. By default, every dollar that government spends, is a dollar NOT spent some place else. Some people disagree with this claiming that the "Multiplier Effect" has a positive effect on the economy. However, it is debatable whether or not the multiplier effect actually exists.

Conclusion: Government doesn't actually create jobs. The best it can do is move a job from one location to another.

What Is A "Monopoly" Anyway?

Today, the competition bureau announced it’s going to look into whether or not google has too much dominance in the marketplace. The word monopoly wasn't actually used in this story but a Google run ‘Monopoly’ is really what is being investigated here.

Too often, people throw around the term “Monopoly” way too often. Progressives who use this word should really look up the definition in the dictionary. The definition of monopoly as given in the dictionary is:

Monopoly
: complete control of the entire supply of goods or of a service in a certain area or market
: a large company that has a monopoly
: complete ownership or control of something

There you have it, a monopoly is when one company or organization has 100% control over a marketplace or industry. However, monopoly is often used in the same sentence as ‘Walmart’ (or insert a big name company here). So if Walmart has a monopoly, then does Target not exist? Does Sears not exist? What about the dollar store? All of these companies are competitors for Walmart. Walmart may be the most successful and have the biggest share of the competitive pie, but by no means do they have a monopoly.

The fact is, monopolies almost never occur in the private sector. Monopolies occur almost exclusively with government. Like here in Ontario with the LCBO. If you want to buy wine or spirits, there is only one game in town, and that game is run by the government. Not only does the government have a monopoly on alcohol, they have outlawed all competition. THAT is a true monopoly. I find it funny that progressives who talk about these (fake) monopolies seem to be ok with government controlling almost every aspect of their lives. Let me tell you something, government will mess with you 100 times more often than any big corporation will.

I find it hilarious when a monopoly (government) investigates what it perceives to be a stranglehold on the marketplace. So much for Harper’s “Free Market Approach” huh?