My fellow liberty broadcaster Alan Mosely put out a humorous tweet that read, "Who knew Omicron would be such a hero?" He was retweeting an announcement that the World Economic Forum in Davos had been called off
due to the Omicron variant.
Certainly, no good ever comes from a bunch of billionaires hobnobbing with the heads of national governments. Ditto the Bilderberg Group, The Council on Foreign Relations or any of several other such elitist gatherings.
But here's the part most people miss: No bad really comes from them either. Sure, the Federal Reserve was cooked up at a secret meeting of elites on Jekyll Island. But it only became reality because of overwhelming support from the public after it was pitched as a way to protect them
from the "elites."
Now, there was plenty of opportunity to hear opposition to the Act from the minority of Congressmen and Senators who voted against it. But the public ignored their warnings and supported the Act anyway.
Ditto the 16th Amendment. This was also pitched as a way to shift the burden of taxation away from the middle and poorer classes to the rich, the "elites." The public swallowed this bait and switch hook, line, and sinker, and today clamor for the so-called elites to pay even more income
taxes.
But whom do income taxes really hurt the most? The super-rich, making millions or billions in income? No. It's those middle-income earners, especially those who work the hardest to get ahead, for whom that extra $10,000 - $20,000 paid in income taxes could represent significant capital
accumulation over a period of years.
Maybe it's just a coincidence that this provides a barrier to competition for those above. Does it really matter if it's intentional or not, since it does?
Right down the line, the public overwhelmingly supports policies that hurt them the most, always pitched to them as protection from the elites. The god-awful Teddy Roosevelt styled himself the "Trust Buster." His even more awful cousin sold the New Deal to protect the public from the "greed" of
the rich.
Everyone was outraged by the EpiPen scandal a few years ago. This was the direct result of the FDA having the power to legislate, acquired during the New Deal without any amendment to the Constitution, and using this power to keep competitors of the EpiPen
off the market.
That's one little product protected by just one of scores of federal agencies but it's representative of how the entire New Deal regulatory structure works. And the public not only approves of it but constantly clamors for more.
I don't care how many private jets Elon Musk or Bill Gates owns. Their getting richer doesn't make me poorer. Quite the opposite, in fact. But here's what does make me poorer: government intervention that purports to protect me from "the elites." That the elites overwhelmingly support it should tell you something.
No system in the past has ever resulted in economic equality; nor will any system in the future. But here is one thing history should have taught you by now: If you set up a system where the property of the elites and yours is subject to distribution my majority vote, you shouldn't be surprised when the elites end up with all of yours.
Most people on my e-mail list get this. For all your friends who don't, I offer these thoughts as some you can pass on to counter so-called "populist" arguments for further "regulating" or plundering the elites. It's a sucker's game.
Don't forget my new e-book, An
Anti-State Christmas, is also available in paperback here. It'll cost you less than a fiver and makes a great stocking stuffer!
Get a few copies for family or friends who need deprogramming - or even just a few laughs.