“Laws and taxes are for us little folk, not the big fellas who run things. They’re too busy firing the heads of public corporations and expropriating more of your and your children’s wealth to bother with little stuff like that.”
I’ve noticed. Laws and ethical behavior are for little people.
Here’s an interesting article on public policy making and the public’s “rational ignorance” of that policy making:
While the theory of public choice can be broadly applied, it is the ideas of "special interests" and "rational ignorance" that are useful in understanding last week's tea parties.
Here's an example of public choice at work. Let's say teachers could benefit by $2,000 each per year (in higher pay or benefits, smaller classes, etc.) from a piece of legislation currently under debate. But the cost per taxpayer averages just $15 per year.
The "special interests" (teachers and politicians) have substantial personal incentive to see that the bill is passed. Teachers, who benefit directly, will use time and money to lobby for the bill. And lawmakers will expect campaign contributions, votes or both, in exchange for their support.
But the taxpayer will remain "rationally ignorant" of the whole process. Why spend time even thinking about an issue when the cost is only $15 per year?
This is why government will tend to grow in excess of what a true democracy really wants. At least, it will grow until those $15 hits accumulate to such a level that people have finally had enough, and in a seemingly spontaneous eruption, the average voter finds the energy to fight back.
In the end, the Tax Day Tea Parties are a very interesting case study for public choice theory. Whether or not they suggest a shift in the political landscape is another issue. If government continues to grow and cost more, we would expect to see more spontaneous voter response.
I suspect that the public has awakened. I’ve spoken with a number of party-goers whose primary concern seemed to be the debt that will be left to their children (and grandchildren).
“A research vessel for the federal agency charged with protecting the endangered right whale hit one of the animals off the Massachusetts coast this weekend, cutting into the animal's left tail fluke with its propeller. Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the lacerations suffered by the animal in Sunday's accident did not appear to be life-threatening.”
Yes. We’re from the government and we’re here to protect you.
One reporter, Susan Roesgen, who "covered" the Chicago tea party for CNN, was downright confrontational with attendees she interviewed, challenging a protestor who referenced Abraham Lincoln with "What does this have to do with taxes?" The man attempted to explain. But the reporter interrupted him. "Did you know that you are eligible for a $400 rebate? Did you know that your state, the state of Lincoln, gets $50 billion out of the stimulus? That's $50 billion for your state." She then tossed back to the anchor noting that "This is really not family viewing."
Founding Bloggers attended the Chicago tea party and shot its own footage of Rosegen continuing to argue with the protesters, which it posted in a YouTube video, preceded by the footage aired by CNN.
It was later reported that CNN forced YouTube to take down the version of Rosegen's performance and also removed at least one version of the Founding Bloggers video, even though it included footage shot by Founding Bloggers in which CNN obviously could have no copyright.
It is hard to avoid the inference that in this case, CNN was motivated not by a desire to protect its intellectual property but by a desire to avoid embarrassment caused by the unprofessional performance of its reporter. In today's world, though, it just isn't possible to track down all copies of a video and suppress them, when the video relates to a matter of broad and legitimate public interest. That CNN is willing to make the attempt reveals something, perhaps, about its attitude toward the public's right to be informed.
CNN: “You have the right to be informed of anything we approve of.”
