By Nathan Barton

How incompetent IS government?  Gee, that is hard to quantify:  100%?  99%? 90%?  Every day in the news we see examples of it.  Here are a few.

The incompetence of government is revealed in high tech and energy applications. The Wall Street Journal explains how taxpayers are footing costs for solar-thermal technology failures. High-tech solar power projects are not living up to promises their backers made about how much electricity they could generate…  Note that this is despite claims by a lot of people that solar power is “finally” maturing and is now better than coal, even natural gas and other petroleum fuels.  Well, most of that “maturity” and its ability to “beat out” other forms is due to the insane levels of government regulation and the abuse given to industry (and therefore to consumers) by courts.  An example of that abuse of coal-fired, consumer-owned power plants is found in northwestern Colorado, where needed expansion of several coal mines to supply EXISTING power plants on which a million or more consumers depend (in rural electric cooperatives), is being delayed by environist groups working with the courts to require a 120-day rewrite of an environmental assessment. This was reported back a month ago in the Herald-Times, but reverses decisions made 8 and 9 years ago: decisions that apparently were wrong because of… government incompetence.

Need more proof of how poorly government does everything?  A Heritage Foundation report explains how Americans see the value of a free-market due to corporate welfare waste: the evils of crony capitalism in big government are obvious to more and more people. Americans recognize the federal government does too many things that would be done better by individuals or businesses in the private sector…  Of course, the REASON for big government (and its incompetence) is to make it easier for big, bloated, money-wasting businesses (their cronies) to go on sticking it to small business, which would otherwise eat their lunches.  Take away government, and big business loses much of the advantage of “economy of scale” since that is based on their ability to respond to (and influence) government regulations and political pressures.

FedGov medicine is as competent as anything else the FedGov (or governments in general) does: Real Clear Policy discusses a “Lament for Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate”  President Obama has signed a law that will increase federal control of medicine and add $141 billion in deficits through 2025…  This is, of course, just the latest in the series of stupid actions – mostly laws and regulations – that have destroyed the health care industry, usually with big health care and insurance businesses benefiting.  (The Abominable Act – ObummerCare – is just the biggest of so many, going back to the 1930s.) Thanks to Steve for this discussion about states opting out: Dick Morris is a highly-suspect source but claims that federalism will be the undoing of ObummerCare.  Me?  I have my doubts.  This outcome predicted by Morris assumes that DC will not use force to make the states comply and submit.  And that the red states have enough spine to refuse even the six years of free money.  I point out that state governments are just as incompetent as the FedGov, in all that matters.

I’ll save more discussion of this for a later commentary. One last reminder of government incompetence: today is the 800th Anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, that foundation document of English liberty.  It was necessary due to the incompetence of Richard the Lion-Hearted, and his piggish brother Prince (later King) John, who could not keep his nobles OR anyone else happy.  But it reminds us that even in the most severe trouble, we CAN find and regain liberty.

Mama’s Note: Non voluntary government has exactly one goal: control of everything. The only tools they have for this are force and lies. Thanks be to God that there are no “competent” governments on earth. If they were effective at what they do, no human would be left alive…