Big Government in the Age of the iPod

DrewMcKissick.com ^ | 9/1/11 | Drew McKissick

[Drew McKissick]

As every element of modern life moves towards more customization and individual empowerment, government stands alone as the only major entity moving in the opposite direction.  And liberals, (i.e., Democrats and some Republicans), are its only salesmen.

Innovation and new technologies have led to increasingly rapid advances in products and services that are centered around consumers and their personal preferences.  These changes in turn have upended existing industries and business models and created new ones, the result being that many of today’s biggest and most innovative companies or services, (such as Facebook, Google, i-Tunes, YouTube, etc.), didn’t even exist (or just barely) when the War on Terror began in 2001.

Computers continue to get better, smaller, faster and cheaper, with multitudes of customizable options.  Phones have evolved into a combination of phone, stereo, camera, camcorder, TV and hand-held computer – all at a fraction of what only one of those individual devices used to cost, much less all of them.

The winner in this sea change is of course the consumer, who gains access to more choice and better quality at a lower cost.

But then there’s government, which continues to become more expensive, bloated and uniform, rather than innovative, primarily because it has what it doesn’t allow businesses to have: a monopoly.

Granted, there are many things that, due to finances, can’t be customized for everyone.  Roads come to mind, (despite the delusions of some drivers).  But the point is that choice benefits consumers and weakens any monopoly.  If your services are no longer the only game in town, and if people don’t need what you’re selling, then they don’t need you – which is why government tends to outlaw its competition. ...