Capitalism, Edwards & Huckabee

(Reposted from the myspace blog)

The brilliant Mark Steyn does it again. Talking up capitalism and sticking it to John Edwards and others like him. God, I wish I could write a tenth as good.

Edwards and Huckabee both seem to think that there is a vast miserable middle out there who will put them over the top. I don't think Americans are as angst-filled as the "drive-by media" wants us to believe. To listen to them speak about how miserable people are in this "horrible" economy reminds me of something Newt Gingrich said many years ago. He basically stated that if most modern Democrats (and now Huckabee) were around at the time of the invention of the light bulb, they would have tried to subsidized the candle making industry and to limit the spread of electricity so that all those poor candle workers could adjust to the change. Same for wagon painters when Ford started putting out cars off of the assembly line.

The undisputable fact is that the days of keeping the same job in the manufacturing industry for the duration of your working life are over. Actually this is true for any industry that will be significantly affected by technological innovation. Trying to hold back the future is like resisting a landslide with a broom. If you are not preparing yourself for the changes that WILL come; i.e. educating yourself, setting up your own retirement planning that you control OUTSIDE of your current employer, or not having children you can't afford, you are setting you and your family up for a very hard time.

No president can stop the dynamism of the global economy. The huge corporations are dinosaurs, plodding and unable to adapt, and can't guarantee the jobs that they use to provide. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are the movers and shakers of the next century. Your wages will be directly tied to how good your company does every quarter. Does this mean the 40 hour work week is a thing of the past, Yes! Good! Work is a blessing, not a curse. It is the idle who do the most complaining and engage in the worst mischief. I believe that in general, the people who work the hardest are the happiest folks you'll ever meet.

Not waiting for God or politicians to do something and doing it yourself is liberating. No president or politician has nearly has much power as you have to change the basic circumstances of your life. Now get out there and rock!