Ron Paul on corporatization: Prevention not protection!

On September 29th 2009 John Stewart interviewed Ron Paul on the Daily Show.  They discussed Ron Pauls newest book “End the Fed“  Please check out this book, if you haven’t already.  If you haven’t seen the interview on The Daily Show, here is the clip:

Ron Paul’s message deserves full attention and I’m glad John Stewart gave him some time on the show.   That said, something stuck out to me and is gnawing at me because I really wish there had been more time to address this particular idea.   It’s something that seems to puzzle many Americans and unfortunately most of the nation has a warped perception of what is happening so they assume we need big brother to protect us from the monster.  Let me try to address it here.

John Stewart asked Ron Paul if he agreed that even from a libertarian perspective, we need a government to protect the country from enemies.  Dr. Paul nodded.  Fair enough, that does fall in the scope of the governments place according to our Constitution.  Then, Mr. Stewart continued and asked “but what about protection from corporatization?”   Hmmm….

Now I understand what John was asking, and I think that a large number of Americans wonder about the same issue.  We see companies become inflated and corrupt, shifting the balance of economical power and destroying local economies.   We see Haliburton and big Pharma and banks reeking havoc on the middle class.  We see Walmart setting up in the middle of small town USA and putting hundreds of local entrepreneurs out of business.

Our first reaciton is to scream out “there should be a law!  protect us! help us!  stop them!”    Right….

There seems to be this mass mal-understanding that the goverment needs to intervene in order to stop the big corporate monsters from chowing down on the American family.

So in his response, Ron Paul tried to explain that the way to protect the people is through prevention, and not to try and correct the problem after it already became a problem.  It has to start at the begining.    This is absolutely correct, but unfortunately Dr. Paul was not given enough time to truly answer that concern, and it is unfortunate because I think it is a very legitimate concern that should really be addressed.

Here’s the thing folks…. Walmart and companies like it ARE very much indeed “the corporate monster” that the average entrepreneur should not have to be devoured by.   But more government intervention is NOT the answer!   Why? Because it is government intervention that created the monster in the first place!  Don’t you see?

These companies receive government subsidizing in order to operate and become the fat carnivores they are.   They do not stand on the quality of their product or service!  Not a chance!  They offer crap and their practices are corrupt and unethical.   Their brick is held together by the mortar of government financing (which ofcourse is money printed out of thin air thanks to the Federal Reserve, but that’s another - albeit related - story).

The preventative care here friends, is to prevent the government from intervening in the first place.  Stop the handouts, stop the subsidizing!  Walmart can not put an entire town out of business with cheaply made polyester flip flops and plastic dishes.  They could not afford to give you that can of peas for 19 cents without being awarded millions of YOUR tax dollars.   And yes, Walmart is but a mere example.

Here’s a story…

Joe owns a local hardware store.   He gets up every morning and goes to work at his store.  He has worked hard for many years.  Business is good because service is good. He treats his customers well, he treats his employees well, and he offers products of quality.   Out of his profit, he pays a percentage of that to the government in taxes because he thinks that it makes him a good American.

The government uses some of that money to subsidize Walmart.  Walmart opens a store a few miles down the road from Joe and offers similar products at half the price.   Within 6 months Joe is out of business.  His family begins to suffer.  His oldest daughter gets a job at Walmart.   A year later, she gets sick from a virus she caught at work and their government provided health care plan doesn’t cover the good doctor that she usually goes to.

I think you get the point here.

Folks, the answer is NEVER bigger government.   This is how the scale works Big Gov = Less liberty.   That is the law of physics in Freedom.

Lets not ask more more intervention, lets prevent any intervention to begin with.

Lets expect companies to provide quality goods and services in order to stay afloat.  Lets have a free-market system within which a business must compete to survive and not just simply coast by on gov’t favor, providing crap to its customers.   How far do we think the cheap garbage we get at these monster shopping centers will go?  Think!

And for the love of grapes!  Let us stop consuming this stuff like it’s our heroin!   Shop for quality, chose to support your local businesses and try to comprehend that the answer is not more fingers from the government, but less… far less!