Insanity we trust

In the aftermath of the killings in Newtown there have been many calls on the Republican side for control not of guns but of people who might be shooters: people with mental health problems, bad guys with guns; and particularly bad people with mental health problems who are guys with guns. People with mental health problems are not well-treated, we are told, and should never been allowed the freedom they had. Not “well-treated”? – welcome to the US health care morass, encouraged by Republicans.
How do we know who has mental problems? – it all depends upon where you start. In the US public theatre, the same behaviour might be considered quirky, eccentric, around the bend, crazy, deranged, insane, or socialist – or perfectly acceptable and normal.

Economic faith, economic reason

It is far more difficult to combat faith than it is to combat reason and knowledge. A faith that there can be such a thing as a “free” market, or unambiguously “private” property, is difficult to shake.

Take the notion of a free market: there is no exact definition, but try “An economic system where prices, wages and trade are unregulated and prices are determined by competition between businesses”.  There has never been a truly free market because a “free market” is an ideal and interesting idea but, unfortunately, it is an ideal lodged in faith. The free market article of faith cannot cope with a complex society, because regulations exist at all levels of society protecting private property and public speech, enforcing contracts, plus a myriad of other things.

The rites of job creators

In June 1993, shortly after Bill Clinton became US President, the US unemployment rate was 7.0%. Under Clinton the unemployment rate dropped dramatically to 3.9% in December 2000, and the top rate of taxation had increased from 31% when he entered office to 39.6%. 

In June 2001, shortly after George W Bush became US President, the US unemployment rate was 4.5% and the first of the Bush tax cuts were enacted (to create jobs). One year after the tax cuts became the law of the land, June 2002, the unemployment rate had already increased to 5.8%, and at the end of the Bush administration (and another set of income tax cuts) the unemployment rate was 2.8% higher at 7.3% together with many other problems. (BLS figures.)  Unemployment might have increased because of the tax cuts, or there might be other reasons, but there does not seem to be any support for the Republican rite that tax increases suppress job creation or – the reverse – tax cuts create jobs.