Almost Classical

Tonight, someone generalized so broadly about libertarianism that I was shaking in anger. The notion that libertarians do not care about other people is beyond insulting. It is precisely because we do care about human rights that we want government powers and government intrusions limited. People trusting the government any more than they trust corporations will either be disappointed or choose to willfully ignore the failures of government. And government fails spectacularly on a constant basis. It scares me that an increasing number of people are okay with "socialism" or "communism" and have nothing but contempt for classical liberalism. They blindly associate libertarian ideals with crony capitalism and a lack of compassion. Most of us in the "classical liberal" school of thought are not Libertarians with a capital-L as in the Libertarian Party. The party, for one thing, does not reflect the Austrian economists much less Adam Smith. The Libertar

Watching Senator Bernie Sanders on CNBC last week, I was reminded of why I like him as a person and worry that such an earnest, nice politician (a true rarity) could have such misguided ideas about economics. If only I felt the same about the men and women who tend support more classically liberal policies. I do not trust the politicians with whom I agree on economics, and I adamantly oppose the policies of the few politicians I might trust. Yes, another lousy election season begins, not that they ever end. Here is what Sen. Sanders said that troubles me. It proves he doesn't get market economics or how the areas in which government is most involved are least responsive to customers. 10 questions with Bernie Sanders John Harwood Tuesday, 26 May 2015 | 6:10 AM ET The whole size of the economy and the GDP doesn't matter if people continue to work longer hours for low wages and you have 45 million people living in poverty. You can't just continue growth for the sake