Thomas Sowell Must Read: High Cost of Busybodies: Part IV

Townhall ^ | Dec. 6, 2003 | Dr. Thomas Sowell

[laredo44]

The fatal attraction of government is that it allows busybodies to impose decisions on others without paying any price themselves.

Actually, the busybodies pay as the success of one busybody encourages others resulting in decreased liberty for all. The thing about busybodies is they are willing to sacrifice their own (as well, of course, as others') liberty to achieve that perverse "high" associated with controlling others that appeals to some who seek power.

[feedback doctor]

I remeber the day he Reagan removed the price controls on gas. On the ABC evening news that night, Frank Reynolds first words were, "President Reagan guaranteed that the price of gas would be going UP when he removed price controls today."

He was wrong!. All the experts said that prices would rise. I have never heard any one of them say"We were wrong."

[Publius6961]

He was wrong!. All the experts said that prices would rise. I have never heard any one of them say"We were wrong."

They all do that. Part of being a controlling twit is amnesia-on-demand.
That, and the "let them eat cake" thing. If they don't like asinine rules and self-defeating planning programs, they can go live somewhere else.

[Live free or die]

bump for the archive

[TheOtherOne]

Yikes, I did not really mean to say none. I know that is not his position.

[TheOtherOne]

As knowledgeable people are aware, rules were already in place when the busibodies took over, and if he criticized those I would be grateful if you would point them out for me.

I was talking about the traffic thing. I mis-spoke, so to speak, when I wrote none. What I was talking about was his nonsense about traffic being an issue of regulations rather than the fact 1/8th of the country lives in CA.

[Publius6961]

It will cost you 10 times more to get a corvette too, whose fault is that?

Do you work at missing the point? or does it come naturally?
First of all, a corvette is not a basic necessity, as housing is.

Price of homes in certain areas have increased 30-fold, and all of the increases are due to laws that have provided no added value to real planning, or real quality of life.

Even Corvettes have not increased in price 30X.

As for traffic, you are evidently not familiar with Governor moonbeam, and his genius approach to traffic: don't maintain or build roads and Voila! no traffic problems!

[TheOtherOne]

All of the increase? C'mon, that makes it too easy.

[goodnesswins]

Let me explain what I think"the greater glory of those with the mantra of 'open space'" means.... he's talking about the "professional bureaucrats" who want to live in the city and VISIT the "forest" or something on weekends. They want to define who can live where and how. It's happened in OREGON, around Portland, RE: Urban Growth Boundary...the birkenstockers work downtown, and then drive to the "country" on weekends to visit places where others COULD be living, FOR LOTS LESS.....instead of forcing EVERYONE to live WITHIN an artificially defined border around the greater Portland area.

[ReagansShinyHair]

I myself left my native California in 1993 and it was the smartest thing I ever did. I came to the realization that, like all socialist societies, California had become a good place to BE rich, but an impossible place to BECOME rich.

My husband and I left recently, and we're incredibly better off.

Nobody's mentioned how they stopped work on widening the 101 fwy through the San Fernando Valley, all because a few people didn't want it. John and Ken threw fits over that for a while.

[William Tell]

TheOtherOne said: "... I live in a grandfathered rent control apartment (which is a concept I am glad they got rid of, and which I am happy to benefit from)."

I don't understand. What is the benefit you are receiving? Who is providing the benefit? What motivates the provider of the benefit?