Why we value capitalism

Many think that capitalism is simply a form of government that favors business. It is not. Adam Smith favored free market capitalism as the best way for an economy to operate because the people (individuals) make the decisions. When you read the book Wealth of Nations you will be struck by how little regard for business Smith actually has.

We are not in favor of government bailouts any more than we are government intervention in business. The free market is you, not General Motors or Citibank. If the market decides these businesses should fail, they should fail.

We value capitalism that gets out of the way. A government should not burden an individual or any business. The money you earn, belongs to you. If you want to buy a boat, you should be able to buy a boat, and not have your money go to someone who doesn't work as hard as you do, or support a cause you don't believe in.

Capitalism puts you in charge of the economy. If you don't like a specific model of car, you shouldn't be forced to buy it, and the auto maker shouldn't be forced by government to build it.

We value capitalism because it is the heart of freedom. If I choose to be a plumber who drives a Rolls Royce, I can do that by starting my own plumbing company. I cannot appeal to the government to tax the earnings of more productive plumbers to buy my Rolls Royce.

Free market capitalism always works. If you believe heatlh care is expensive because of the free market, you need to think a little harder. How much would health care cost, if it were based on how healthy you were? If you had a 52 inch waist, your premiums would be very high. This would lower the cost of insurance for healthy people, and incent the man with the 52 inch waist to cut back on unhealthy food and start exercising.

If schools operated in a real free market environment, the cost of a college education would be going down. They would be forced to use technologies like distance learning, and on-line learning giving students the best possible teachers, at the lowest price. The really good teachers would be paid like professional athletes, because there would be fewer of them and their service would be in great demand.

Artists would not be subsidized by the government, so only the good ones would be able to enter the profession. They would be paid well, because fewer people would enter the field. Those with no talent, would be put to more productive use in the economy at large, instead of building sculputures for government buildings.

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