The opening of my latest column at EveryJoe:
“schiz•o•phren•ic, adjective: Of, relating to, or characterized by the coexistence of disparate or antagonistic elements.
“Let’s talk about one reason why politics makes us all a little crazy — its incoherent mix of laws and regulations. (Warning: overcharged metaphor ahead.) Not only does the left hand of government often not know what the right hand is doing, the two are often pointing in opposite directions and independently smacking and caressing us.
“What should governments do? Here is one principled answer. ‘The purpose of government is to manage the nation’s health.’ We might take that principle and reflect on the fact that there are too many fat people in America. And we might then propose a number of policies to address the problem. …” [Read more here.]
Last week’s column: Does Money Buy Elections? When Billionaires Court Voters.
Brilliant. The fact is once we start on the path of regulating personal choices there can never be enough of it. Today the American Federal Register stands at over 80,000 and counting pages of fine print rules, regulations and notices written and passed by unelected bureaucrats behind closed doors unvetted by the systemic checks and balances of constitutional government (this just at the federal level). Life is a risky business and always has been. This type of thinking attempts the impossible: to foresee and preempt every conceivable hazard of living, making politicians and bureaucrats instead of the individuals directly affected responsible for their safety and wellbeing. And state prescriptions have often proved in error. Bad enough to make one’s own mistakes, but worse to be forced to make others’.