DIY?–Quit Counting on Government

Though it’s diminished somewhat, at one time the “Made in Montana” promotion was incredibly effective because it had a lot of support by local manufacturers and the public in general. When it comes to labeling meat products with the same message one has to wonder why its advocates need the government to make it happen. Just do it! Let consumers know. There are funds being collected with the sale of livestock to promote the beef industry, what better way to spend it? And, if that’s not enough or doable for some political reason, go at it another way. There are certainly no laws against promoting Montana produced meat and as many people know, you are up- a –creek if you find yourself dependent on government to achieve much of anything. Come to think of it, we need to regenerate the entire “Made in Montana” program as we work to regenerate the state’s economy. It worked.

Actually seeing the guns…

As bizarre as it is, it is undoubtedly so that many citizens are fearful of guns (among a lot of other things) and believe that every anti-gun law is going to protect them from a very great threat. By every measure their fears are unfounded but it doesn’t seem to matter what facts are presented, the relentless mantras of the anti-gun lobby overwhelms their common sense. Maybe it would help if they could visualize  exactly how very little threat gun owners really are. In all probability (at least in Montana) they are surrounded, every day, by hoards of firearms and nothing bad happens to them. In any given neighborhood should the occupants of every household within a one block radius, bring out every gun and box of ammunition they own and stack them in front of the timid citizen’s home, that citizen would see a mountain of arms that would leave them stunned. But, they would physically see the degree to which they are surrounded by guns every day of their lives and always have been, and maybe they would realize to what degree, in their sublime ignorance, they have lived peacefully and without any harm surrounded by firearms. Perhaps they would comprehend that gun owners, are not back alley thugs in a bad part of town, they are their neighbors, family and friends. And, maybe, just maybe, it is this fact that makes neighborhood safe.

Two rules explain it all…

If it’s true that people become more conservative as they get older, it might be because they increasing understand how the economy works. So that means that the sooner young people understand economics the better their decisions will be about life and politics. With that in mind, my experience would advise there are two basic economic factors to understand, and which once understood causes everything else to fall into place.

One is the rule about supply and demand which says that when supply is high and demand low, prices are low, and that when demand is high and supply low, prices go up. And to truly believe that that is always true, and that it is true in relation to all things at all times, even in politics and human behavior, it is a significant step in understanding economics.

A profundity, just as significant, is that “incentives matter.” It’s a factor that correlates with the common advice of “follow the money” although power and prestige can often override money. Incentives cut both ways, for good and bad. The vital thing to know is that they are always at play and the simple challenge is to identify what the incentive is and who is being incentivized — explains a lot.