How The World Works

Category: Libertarian Leanings Libertarian Leanings
Published: 02 June 2016 02 June 2016

by Peter Burrows

For the most part, Democrats, progressives, and socialists, the liberals of the world, don't know how the world works. No clue. That's one reason Carly Fiorina was my favorite of the Republican nominee hopefuls.

Ms. Fiorina had risen through the ranks to become CEO of one of our greatest tech companies, Hewlett Packard. That is a remarkable achievement, one that takes brains, grit, common sense and great people skills. When she said, "I know how the world works," she was referring to the real world where she had excelled, not the make-believe world so many politicians live in.

Let me give you a perfect example. The three candidates remaining in the primaries, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, are all in favor of a legally mandated minimum wage of some level. They think this will reduce poverty. To quote one of my favorite economists, Walter Williams, this is "breathtakingly stupid." As an employer for many years, Trump should know better, proving he's not nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

Between Bernie and Hillary, the only question is how fast to get to a $15 minimum. Bernie says right now; Hillary says faze it in over a couple of years. Trump? Who knows. They're all wrong because in the real world THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND DETERMINES WAGES, not some feel-good BS law passed by a bunch of clueless morons. A $15 minimum means jobs disappear and unemployment goes up. It's how the world works.

Pass a law to fix a problem is the typical liberal solution, but that's not how the world works. In fact, more often than not, passing a law creates a problem. Once again, minimum wage laws are a good example. Until the minimum wage began to be hiked into real-world levels some 50 years ago, black teenage employment was less than white teenage employment. Now it's twice as high.

Why don't the Republicans make the long-known inherent racism of minimum wage laws a big issue? Because they don't know how the political world works, something I'll get into in my next article.

Another of my favorite examples of liberal-stupid laws are those designating certain places as "gun-free zones," as if that would deter sociopaths. Just the opposite, of course. This is because CRAZY PEOPLE ARE CRAZY, NOT STUPID. Liberals just don't get that.

Bernie Sanders, more than Hillary Clinton, is very anti-corporation, seeing in corporations all sorts of evil. He frequently says corporations should be made to pay their "fair share" of taxes, whatever "fair" is. That's not how the world works, Bernie: CORPORATIONS DON'T PAY TAXES.

Taxes are a cost of doing business for profitable enterprises. Raise that tax-cost high enough, Bernie, and the evil corporation will not be able to compete against foreign competitors with lower tax costs. If the company can't move to a lower tax country, it goes out of business. Serves G

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.