Issue 195 You've been had! October 30, 2013

Wondering what I mean by the title? Well, the reason that you have been had is because the politicians are limiting our choices and we do not even realize it. Let’s go over a few examples.

Candidates: Political parties nominate candidates and then we are supposed to vote for which one to run in the general election. Problem, those candidates are generally chosen by the party leadership. So when you had Ron Paul on stage with Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and the like, you did not realize that there were other viable candidates running within the same party. For instance have you heard of former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson? He, like Ron Paul is a libertarian. But unlike Ron Paul, he believes in abortion and the full legalization of drugs. However, we could not hear him speak as he was shut out of the debates because the Republican leadership did not like him and his ideas. It had nothing to do with the electorate within the Republican Party saying they did not want him, but the party leaders. It happens at the local level to. Those in charge restrict those who are running to a select few and make rules that hinder or prevent other candidates from running for office. This was the case with Democrat Jack Mcloy in my district. The Democrats wanted Mrs. Currian over him, and prevented him from running by bringing him all the way up to the New York State of Appeals Court. He was disallowed to run because his petition to run and compete in the primary against Currian was not stapled in the way stipulated by law. Yes, a simple error in where to place the staple is what kept him from running for office. This is how choice is limited in politics.

Food: We are being limited here too. They took salt off the tables in New York City even though only 30% of the people in NYC should not ingest salt. Everyone else was fine. Trans fats were removed even though the majority of people health wise were unaffected by it. Genetically modified crops are banned in some places, but should it not be up to the individual to choose if they should eat a GMO crop or not. Heck they arrest people for eating and selling raw milk even though the risk of any sort of bacterial infection is negligible. People have the right to choose what they want to eat.

Products: Again we become limited by government. In this case, products like toys, games and such face bans for silly things. One silly thing is lead on the drive shaft of an ATV. One problem, the reason it was banned was because they feared people ingesting the lead. If you or your kid was liking a drive shaft from an ATV or any product in general then you may have a problem. What’s more, patent laws also hinder our choices. Do not get me wrong, I am all for patents, but not when they are abused. They let companies like Mattel or Hasbro take out patents, but when a competitor with a similar product comes out they get to sue and shut that company down. The products may be similar, but they are not the same, nor do they have the same brand. Again, choices become limited.

Licensing: Here too choices are limited. By having to be licensed to be a florist, a framer or other job, it limits the market of competitors. Thus it secures the positions of those already in the business with higher pay by making it near impossible to get a job in the field you want (and that's just framing pictures). Same goes for law and medical schools. Instead of being an undergraduate degree, it is a masters or a doctorates degree which is obviously much more money. As such it shuts out many talented students who would excel in those fields if it the education was more affordable.

Conclusion: Choice is one of our essential freedoms, but everything government and their crony capitalist buddies do limits those choices. There is a point in which we are over protected (such as from a florist who sells you a dead plant). Change is needed to be rid of many of our useless and harmful laws that do nothing but harm us. Time to change the system and stop having our freedoms reduced.