A Free Market Economy

A Free Market Economy

The free market is wonderful. It gives us options and those options are called freedom. We don’t have to buy from a company we don’t like. We have choices and those choices are called freedom. Beware of the politician that wants to "help" by giving the government more control over the products and services we need. Government doesn’t create anything, it can only regulate and create scarcity. Government always limits choices. Government can create equality, but that equality is guaranteed to provide products and services that are inferior.

Only government creates monopolies. AT&T had a monopoly on long distance telephone services until MCI broke their monopoly by going to court. Professional sports teams pay players millions and millions of dollars per year. Why? Because local governments subsidize these sports and because the US Government gives these sports monopolies. Every attempt to set up a monopoly by a big corporation always turns to ashes in the end because of the freedom the marketplace gives to other individuals to create a better product or service.

Politicians love government regulations and control. They love the monopolies they set up which give them more power. A politician’s overriding goal is getting re-elected and gaining more power over our lives. The more people that are obligated to government for their livelihood, their retirement or for their health care, the more votes politicians can control.

The Founders of our nation feared such politicians. Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry spoke forcefully on the danger of a powerful centralized government. They understood that politicians would be tempted to use the power of taxation and government regulation to perpetuate themselves in power.

We are enjoying wonderful prosperity in a thriving, powerful economy. Our standard of living is the envy of the world. If you doubt it, go to the US Border with Mexico and watch which direction people are crossing the border. The Berlin Wall was built to keep people in who wanted to flee to freedom. We don’t have that problem because people want to come here to enjoy our freedom.

The free market isn’t perfect, but it is far, far better than any other attempt at generating universal prosperity. It is, in fact, the lynch pin, of all our freedoms. Without economic freedom, all the other freedom we enjoy will quickly diminish.