George McGovern was quite a liberal US Senator from South Dakota and who was also the Democratic candidate for President in 1972 against Richard Nixon. During most of his life he felt people could do much better or even thrive by relying upon the government. However, after he purchased a hotel in Connecticut, he wrote a column that was published in the Wall Street Journal on October 21, 2012 entitled “A Politician’s Dream is a Businessman’s Nightmare” in which he showed he had been converted away from so much Government interference in the marketplace. His words should be heard and understood by all voters – and politicians. Particularly as the important elections in 2020 are fast approaching. Here are direct quotes of what Senator McGovern said:
“I … wish that during the years I was in public office, I had had this firsthand experience about the difficulties business people face every day. That knowledge would have made me a better U.S. senator and a more understanding presidential contender.
“Today we are much closer to a general acknowledgment that government must encourage business to expand and grow. We intuitively know that to create job opportunities we need entrepreneurs who will risk their capital against an expected payoff. Too often, however, public policy does not consider whether we are choking off those opportunities.
“My own business perspective has been limited to that small hotel and restaurant in Stratford, Conn., with an especially difficult lease and a severe recession. But my business associates and I also lived with federal, state and local rules that were all passed with the objective of helping employees, protecting the environment, raising tax dollars for schools, protecting our customers from fire hazards, etc.
“While I never have doubted the worthiness of any of these goals, the concept that most often eludes legislators is: ‘Can we make consumers pay the higher prices for the increased operating costs that accompany public regulation and government reporting requirements with reams of red tape?’
“It is a simple concern that is nonetheless often ignored by legislators. For example, the papers today are filled with stories about businesses dropping health coverage for employees. We provided a substantial package for our staff at the Stratford Inn. However, were we operating today, those costs would exceed $150,000 a year for health care on top of salaries and other benefits. There would have been no reasonable way for us to absorb or pass on these costs.”
To my knowledge, one of Senator McGovern’s last public quotes before he died in 2012 was “Far too often, public policy chokes off the opportunities businesses need to create jobs and grow.” That comment alone shows me that, at the end, he agreed with Dr. Milton Friedman’s comment that “We should judge government programs by their results, not their good intentions.” If someone like liberal Senator George McGovern could finally come to these realizations, maybe it’s not too late for that understanding to spread. I’m trying to spread it, please join me.
Recently heard from a friend: “Day 2 of no sports on tv, and I saw a lady sitting on my couch at home who said she was my wife. She seemed nice. . ”
Judge Jim Gray (Ret.)
2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President, along with
Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President
Please listen to our weekly radio show entitled “All Rise! The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray” as we discuss timely issues, and show how they will be addressed more beneficially by employing Libertarian values and approaches. You can hear it every Friday morning at 7 Pacific/10 Eastern by going to www.VoiceAmerica.com, clicking on the Variety Channel and then upon the word “live.” You can also hear past shows on demand as well. And, by the way, these 2 Paragraph columns are now on my website at www.JudgeJImGray.com, Facebook and LinkedIn at judgejimgray, Twitter at judgejamesgray, and wordpress at judgejimgray.wordpress.com Please visit these sites for past editions, and do your part to spread the word about the importance of Liberty. In addition, my new book entitled “2 Paragraphs 4 Liberty: Solutions that are Practical, Effective, Responsible, Libertarian, is now available at Amazon.com. Please read and discuss it with friends, and send in a review.
+a.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment