By Darren Mcvey
How downtrodden must those poor souls who, with their Obama stickers affixed so closely to their racing hearts, boldly stepped into the voting booth and cast their ballot for change. With unwavering hope, they cast their burdens on the alter of the only man who could usher in an age of previously unknown glories.
Alas, Barack Obama has shown his true colors within only a month of taking the oath heard ‘round the world. Barack Obama is anti-Change.
This charge may confound those still basking in the radiant glory of the election of Hope personified, but the fact that Mr. Obama is anti-Change is the only conclusion to which one could possibly come. Mr. Obama has waged war on one of the few mechanisms in human history to have brought about substantial change, the free market.
Mr. Obama has joined the throngs of mourners tearing their garments and crying out in lamentation over the present state of our economy. What these mourners fail to see however, is that these are the birth-pangs of an new economic age. Of course, this is not to disparage the real suffering brought on by this recent down-turn. Every lost job and every lost investment is a crisis to those who have lost them and they deserve our sympathy and compassion, but our compassion should manifest in personal charity, not federal intervention.
This recession is a blazing forest fire turning a great deal of money, resources, and institutions into a dissipating plume of smoke. The flames destroy ancient oaks and devour established nests and boroughs. The fire will blaze for a time, but when the smoke clears the ground will be laid for new life. In the ashes of the fire, new trees make their way toward the sky that was blocked for so long by the oppressive and obsolete trees who’s time had long come and gone.
This is exactly what happens in economies. A great forest flourishes with vegetation both productive and parasitic, but the fire rips through and removes the ill-suited leaving the best suited to thrive in new light. Of course we fight the fire, but not without losing sight of the larger purpose.
The economic history of America is littered with companies that came and went and, although tears may have been shed for their departure, there were no bail-outs or efforts to keep unprofitable companies alive. General Motors and Chrysler, however, must be saved. No matter that they are out-dated, the status quo must persist and we must never lost one union job.
By using government power to save these dinosaur companies, government stalls progress. GM is failing because they make unattractive products on an out-dated business model. As the anti-thesis, Toyota is flourishing because they make appealing, cost-efficient, quality products with a progressive business model.
It is obvious that GM is just now realizing the importance of making fuel-efficient vehicles and investing in alternative energy. They are probably a decade behind Toyota in this respect. And that is the reason they are losing money.
The same principle applies to banking and energy every other field. By preserving out-dated institutions, new institutions, those more likely to be suited for the future, are being starved.
If Mr. Obama is serious about Change, the first thing he should do is let failures fail and lay the groundwork for potential successes to thrive.
