Whether or not Einstein said it, it’s true that doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is a definition of insanity. Keep that in mind…
So many problems are created by government. Not that government is a bad thing; it’s not. But out-of-control government is a very bad thing.
The bailouts — first begun when Bush was president, but under the direction of a Democrat Congress — were something I opposed when they were proposed.
The bank failure was caused by government. And the bailout was government getting more involved.
Think about this: if you put a bunch of monkeys in a room and let them run loose, and they caused damage to the walls and furniture, would you then give those same monkeys hammers, nails, and paint, asking them to fix things?
No, you’d remove the monkeys and deal with the consequences. It might be a rough time for a bit, what with all the mess the monkeys made, in addition to all the collateral damage that will result. But that’s what you’d do.
Of course, it was your fault for putting the monkeys in charge to start with.
In case you missed it, them monkeys? Democrats. Keep that in mind in November.
And keep in mind that insanity quote.
It’s the political equivalent of “iatrogenic disease” (where the doctors made patients sick, before proper sanitation was recognized.)
With government we have irrational feedback. Imagine if my home thermostat was built by Congress. Instead of turning on the furnace when it gets cold, the Congressional thermostat would open the blinds, turn on music and start mixing drinks. The theory? Neighbors, thinking there was a party, come over and their body heat warms the house.
Government is incompetent to regulate financial markets, much less micro-manage the economy. The only possible role for government is to enforce the premises of free markets (many small, independent agents, free flow of information, no subsidies, tariffs or other distortions; no monopolies; and no “too big to fail”). Then we let the markets operate, rewarding winners and punishing losers.
Instead, government in its vanity tries to manage where it is unfit. Regulations invariably create not only unintended consequences, but outright contradictions. In math terms, the equations are over-determined. Thus the best minds are drawn to regulatory arbitrage, which has far greater profit that real business.
Even worse, the regulatory edifices created by government invite, nay beg for, regulatory capture. Only when there is a large bureaucracy in place, is it profitable to seduce and suborn it. (Here only Goldman had the foresight to have its very own Treasury Secretary.)
And then, when it all goes bad, the answer is not a chastised modesty and withdrawal to enforcing the premises. No, the answer is always yet more regulation, offering up yet more arbitrage opportunities, and new apparatus for capture. Case: What was the price to auditors for failing to find Enron’s fraud? Why, yet more work under the useless Sarbanes-Oxley.
The feedback mechanisms are misaligned, designed to hold no one accountable, to give each player maximum flexibility and minimal responsibility.
Does that mean the government is not legally responsible for its actions?
You called democrats monkeys. Racist !!@!!!!!11
Excellant analogy. It’s like putting Janet Reno in charge of the fire extingulshers. Or Bill Clinton in charge of the girl’s dorm. Or Janet Reno in charge of the girl’s dorm.
Storm1911: Thanks! Great analogies.
I thought monkeys liked bananas, not cheese? Oh well, your point still stands, Basil.
democrats are like monkeys?
You evil racist!
(yes, that is a joke.)
“Whether or not Einstein said it, it’s true that doing the same thing over and over expecting different results is a definition of insanity.”
I wonder if he said that prior to all the electron diffraction experiments or the weird affects of quantum mechanics were discovered?
Sorry, the thought distracted me. Nice post, Basil, and also #1.
This all depends on your world view. Conservatives would like a nice room in which to entertain, relax or enjoy. Hence, the “one more monkey” solution makes no sense at all.
Liberals on the other hand, think that monkeys are inherently good, therefore, the more monkeys the better. Better still, each bit of monkey destruction calls for an additional monkey to do “repair.” This creates an vicious cycle that can only be satisfied by pure socialism.
Conservatives are simply baffled as to why anyone would want monkeys instead of a nice room.
Poor people play the lottery don’t they? So why do you expect them to stop voting for democrats?
-State Umpire not Empire!
-Monkeys and power junkies (govt) just as dangerous with a hammer in your living room.
ok, first… MarkoMancuso, who gave monkeys cheese, i mean come on… lol… well maybe bannana flavored cheese.
B. Is this before or after the monkeys attack your friend and eat off her hands and face? Do you then bring in more monkeys to perform the surgery and give medical care?
And IV. Has anyone checked to see if we are on the outside looking in, or the inside looking out of this primate exhibit?
@Bantha_Fodder: Liberals making the decisions need not worry about the monkeys because there’s always lots of citizens to throw under the bus (feed to the monkeys) before any of the dear leaders are endangered.
I was going to call Frank J racist for calling Democrats monkeys, but it looks like several people already beat me to it. GMTA?
“…It might be a rough time for a bit, what with all the mess the monkeys made, in addition to all the collateral damage that will result. But that’s what you’d do…”
most certainly will be rough, very rough. We have to go a long way back to really fix America. That means undoing and living with the aftermath of every government program that takes any money at all from anybody at all for anything other than what government is supposed to be doing. No welfare. No education. No food stamps. No Socialism Security. None of that can be left if you want to call yourself “fixing” it.
And that’s going to hurt. Not as much as waiting longer, and there’s no avoiding the pain, the only thing that comes from waiting is it’s gonna hurt worse when you do have to do it. But you are going to have to do it.
Politics appears to be convincing you to forget that just a little while longer…
Perfect analogy. Perfect.
I saw the building inspector in Lexington, MA the other day, you know,
that whole Lexington/Concord thing that like…started the country… and he said:
We now go through the whole house and COUNT YOUR LIGHT BULBS to pass your final inspection!
Pretty sad, considering they still have a recreation of the Battle of Lexington on PATRIOTS DAY.
Safe to say none of the liberal pukes who live there have anything to do with it and I bet it really
pisses many of them off. : ) yay!
Welcome to the USSA
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,–
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere:
The communists are coming!!
Could I recommend a slight modification to your ending, NO_MO_BAMA??
…
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere:
The communists are coming!!
The Communists are HERE!
Actually, I can handle the problems created by the Federal Government. It’s their solutions that are really frightening. (see the demotivational posters)