Ethics: Out with the Old

In a recent CNN.com article Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate discuss our culture's moral bankruptcy within a world of technological riches.

I love this angle of demonstrating that we need a moral revolution in this country - in fact in the entire world - by showing the numerous significant benefits mankind has reaped through the advancement of science and political philosophy, while our ethics remain stuck in the ancient past.

By contrasting the state of the world's ethics against science, technology and politics the authors make a relatively abstract and difficult subject much more tangible and relevant for those that may find philosophical discussions of little interest. As one recognizes the importance of advanced theories in science and political philosophy it is hard not to ignore the possibility that the world's ethics may deserve a second look.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/09/16/brook.moral.code.outdated/index.html?eref=ie8slice_topstories

New York Cart Guy Shows Free Market Capitalism at its Finest

On this dark day for America (i.e. signing of monstrous Health Care Expansion bill into law), here's some inspiring counter balance: a real American success story, that shows how a true free market operates, distilled to its simplest form. One guy operating a food cart in Manhattan demonstrates so clearly what true demand and supply look like and how offering a quality product can sky rocket even the smallest of small businesses to success. And this is all the more inspiring as the 'cart guy' has risen to fame all on word and mouth and thanks to another one of the incredible examples of free markets at work, the Internet.

I just love this story:

‘Halal cart guy’ a New York original

After you are done reading the article, ask yourself what would happen if the government stepped in and started running this guy's cart, b/c the prices were too high and some "couldn't afford" the lamb platter. How long before the lines were sooo long it became impossible to serve everyone w/o rationing the portions, shortening the prep time (i.e. lowering the quality). Eventually they would force expansion of the cart's around the city, with mediocre copy cat carts attempting, but failing, to replicate the food quality. By forcing prices lower, and mandating availability for all, the government would have to start subsidizing the cart owners so they could still make a profit (see every utility, every transit company in every city, and countless other government subsidized industries that have a government sanctioned monopoly yet can't make money b/c the rules of operation force the company to operate in an unprofitable way - which is what is coming for our insurance companies as they are forced to insure the uninsurable). The next step is to raise taxes to pay for the additional subsidies. This is the vicious circle of death that is government intervention in the economy, government meddling in what should be private, free and voluntary exchanges among individuals.

How long would it take self righteous bureaucrats to essentially ruin a good thing? Voila, you've got a good image of where this country is heading, not only in health care, but generally speaking thanks to the socialist ideologies of our current administration.