Mommy likes small governments

This is a response to a comment left on yesterday's post:

Dear Mr.Zilber,
If you are writing a book and is out in the public domain, it is subject to criticism, both good and bad. This is not a personal attack on you, but a frank opinion of the book. Please don't make it personal. I have never said Jeremy Zilber is bad. I am sure you are a wonderful person. I do have problems with your book though, just as I have problems with other books and movies and newspaper articles. I believe in small governments. I have experienced the inefficacy of large governments and planned economies first hand- I am originally from India- and yes, I do favor smaller governments, less taxation, more private entrepreneurship. I am all for the public good and giving the needy, I just don’t think it’s the government’s job. That’s what charities are for to which good citizens like you and I contribute. Inspecting air and regulating airplanes or insuring private money-those are not for the government either. I am sure private enterprise can handle all that. That's my political view and I am willing to have a sensible debate over it.

I really don’t think it’s the government’s business to subsidize anything, including student loans. I am sure there are plenty of private banks from whom we can borrow, if a need arises to borrow for my son’s student loans. I live in VA, where many, many roads are privately owned and maintained. The fire department in our town is a 100% volunteer company and has the fastest response time in the area. We do make a yearly contribution to this fantastic crew.

This is not a question of pride. It’s a question of morals and ethics. There is a reason why the US has most immigrants. It’s because it is the freest nation. (There is a nice graph here) It takes on the average of 89 days to acquire all permits and licenses to incorporate a company in India. It takes less than 2 days in the US. I would highly recommend this wonderful parable by Fredric Bastiat (if you haven’t already read it). Hopefully, you will see what I see.

Why Mommy is a Democrat

No, I am NOT divulging my own political leanings here, but this is the name of a children’s book. It has been out for a couple of years now and is targeted to enrich young minds with the Democratic philosophy (wasn’t this called propaganda in the good old days?) I have a problem with this book on many levels. Too simplistic. Polarized. It wants to draw a clean line between good and evil, Democrat and Republican. Kids are good at creating a narrow view of the world: superheroes and villains. Do we need to add to it? True, it’s targeted towards the young but – “Democrats make sure we all share our toys just like Mommy does”. Seriously? Is this what it boils down to? Mommy certainly won’t hold a jail term over your head if you don’t share your toys. "Democrats make sure we are always safe, just like Mommy does." Really? and the Republicans don't care about National safety?I am not surprised that even the Dems themselves gave a lukewarm response to the book and the Republicans went right out and lampooned it. (scroll down to see sample pages from the book)

Jokes apart, I don’t think you need books to present political views to children. They learn as they pick lessons from every day interactions with you. For example, Chip knows he has to be responsible for his own actions. Mommy won’t always help. I will warn him – the tea is hot, the chutney is spicy, he will fall if he decides to climb out of the highchair onto the table then to another chair to climb on the kitchen counter. He doesn’t always listen, and I always let him figure it out himself. He has had a few falls and bruises but has always learnt in the process.

He has to be independent, as much as he can be at the ripe age of 2. He eats by himself, will throw his clothes in the wash basket, cleans up his own messes and puts away his books. He helps himself to milk and juice when I keep them on the counter for him. He is learning to be on his own. Hopefully, many many years later, he won’t expect the government to fund his artistic pursuits, or even his retirement.

He is still quite young for me to drive other lessons into him. And I don’t know how many of these lessons will be really learnt by him. But if he grows up to be a rational, fair, responsible, independent, productive and respectful of other’s people right to have opinions, no matter how much he disagrees, I’ll be a happy and proud mom.







Edited to Add this link: Mommy-Daddy, go away!