Man is so made that whenever anything fires his soul,
impossibilities vanish.
Jean de la Fontaine
What Obama REALLY Should Be Worried About: Dumb Arbitrary Unpaid-for Spending
Come Again: Why Did Obama Threaten, On Camera, to Veto A Measure Getting Rid of Those 'Brutal Cuts'?
The Government Built That--Not Very Well
Government Spending, Science and Hype/Propaganda
Dr. Peter Klein looks at some of the urban legends hyped by statist apologists asserting the commercial benefits accruing from "government investment". You know a number of these, frequently raised by progressives, e.g., the Interstate Highway system, the Internet, radar, and even Tang, a breakfast drink mix initially developed for the astronaut use. I've discussed the first 2 items in past posts.I would like to have heard Klein debunk each of these more directly. He does talk about opportunity costs: the commercial, better-designed alternative was inevitable. (Sometimes early adoption of a functional, but limited protocol can sidetrack development of more elegant, general solutions. Project criteria for the Pentagon are not the same as for the private sector.)
I just want to want to close by pointing to an interesting bonus chapter on the much hyped road to abundant cheap fusion energy. The author's main work:
In this new book, journalist Kennedy Maize takes an edgy look at some of the lesser-known corners of U.S. atomic energy history. He demonstrates the United State's obsession with atoms and how the government's technological and political arrogance has wasted billions of dollars, millions of hours of effort and much of the public's confidence, all in the pursuit of the unattainable.
The book draws a comprehensive picture of the misguided and mismanaged projects created in the name of fostering uses for atomic energy in the post-World War II era from the 1940s to today. Maize makes it clear that these poorly constructed projects demonstrated the government's incompetence at being able to create marketplace technology that could be valuable and useful.
The book also explores the intersection of science and public policy, particularly in relation to the U.S. government's energy industry. Maize explores the creation of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, showing how the program undertaken by these institutions failed under the overall direction of the federal government.Finally, consider this excerpt from a 2008 GAO report:
OMB and federal agencies have identified approximately 413 IT projects—totaling at least $25.2 billion in expenditures for fiscal year 2008—as being poorly planned, poorly performing, or both. Specifically, through the Management Watch List process, OMB determined that 352 projects (totaling about $23.4 billion) are poorly planned.In addition, agencies reported that 87 of their high risk projects (totaling about $4.8 billion) were poorly performing. Twenty-six projects (totaling about $3 billion) are considered both poorly planned and poorly performing
New Learn Liberty Video:
Short History of Oil in the 20th Century
I love the way Dr. Carden closes his commentary: if only policymakers would get out of the way of the free market. The first part of his series is below, where he addresses the misplaced populist attacks of energy companies, the need for policymakers to refrain from trying to manipulate the market, e.g., barriers to natural resource development, subsidies and tariffs to various alternative fuels, etc.
Political Humor
Welcome sequestration survivors. Congress did not reach an agreement and Congresswoman Maxine Waters said 170 million jobs could be lost. There are only 155 million workers in America. Are you beginning to understand why we're in this situation in the first place? - Jay Leno
[Some workers need to take on second or third jobs to make ends meet in the Obama Recovery.]
The cuts have already begun. Just yesterday, the Pope got laid off. - Jay Leno
[The White House has even had to deliver pink slips to some of its staffers at MSNBC.]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Journey, "Lights". The Bay Area, as any former California resident knows is the San Francisco metro area, home to Journey, although Perry initially wrote an earlier version in and about LA. One thing about the videos--what was this thing about musicians showing off bare skinny chests? I've had to wear athletic build suits (ironic because I was never a school athlete); for those who don't know, it means broader, deeper chest and shoulders, hard to buy off the racks (I hate shopping for suits; if I find anything it still requires significant alterations.) Not that I would bare my chest on video, but at least there's more to show (not that the ladies would notice anyway)...
