SWCAMBORNE

Here is an implementation plan for the idea of using the American Idol model for selecting political candidates. I have promoted the American Idol Model for selecting the presidential candidates a couple of times but it is hard to get something this different started on a national scale.  The idea could first be tried in a medium sized city with an active civic community.  The first test would be in the selection process of candidates for Mayor or city council.

The benefits that would accrue to the local politicians would be national attention to a new idea and if it worked more people active in the political process.

The run off events could be filmed and shown on the public access channel so most of the infrastructure already exists.  The events could be things like talking to students, visiting neighborhoods, town hall meetings, entertaining friends and working at the homeless shelter.   There would still be a general election between the finalists.  Now this has a homer ring but Pasadena would be the perfect city to try this idea.  It is a creative city with lots of media savy people and access to production types from the LA film and TV industry.

Thanks to Dave Szamet a brilliant young film maker for this implementation enhancement of the original idea.

“This is the dawning of the age of Obamarus”

With apologies to the artists of The Fifth Dimension and Hair the age of Obamarus is as ephemeral as Aquarius.  I wish that I had the ability to add music or at least some notes.  I hope that not to many people are disappointed.  Let the sun shine…..

What a great country.  The election of Barack Obama (I just added Barack and Obama to my on-line dictionary) and the gracious acceptance of defeat by John McCain are evidence how great it is.  Although in the margin I supported McCain I understand the desire of so many people to vote for Obama.  We are making history.

If President Obama can govern half as well as he could campaign, he will be a great President.

I am almost always optimistic and now is no different.  The financial markets are not finished finding a new level yet and in terms of overall prosperity we may go backwards for another five years.  But the trend line for the US and the world is very good.

• The growth of population is slowing rapidly (see Fewer by Ben Wattenberg)
• Prosperity is increasing around the world
• Starvation and disease are being conquered
• Technology continues to making living less brutal and short
• Freedom is increasing and despotic regimes are more beleaguered than ever

It is hard to see these trends through the fog of the crisis of the day news reporting.  There is a way to confirm that I am right.  All you have to do is the hundred year test.  Ask this question: How many people alive today would trade places with someone in their current occupation 100 years ago?  Would you?

We are making remarkable progress in improving the human condition and there is every reason to believe the progress will continue.  Of course there is lots more to be done.  Lets keep working at it.

John McCain in his concession letter that I received this morning said:

“We urge you to join us in not just congratulating Senator Obama, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together as a nation. Whatever our differences may be, we are all fellow Americans.
We are truly blessed to live in this great country and call ourselves Americans, and we will forever be her loyal servants.
Today, let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.”

Democracy works and progress continues.  What a great country!

As the returns are starting to come in the probable election of Barack Obama to the presidency and the concurrent control of both houses of the Congress by the liberal wing of the Democrat party makes me sad.  As my readers know I am a generally a Libertarian.  I agree with George Washington that, “government, like fire, is a dangerous servant.”

I didn’t like President Bush because he has expanded the Federal Government like a Democrat.  In my eyes his worst mistakes were not the Patriot Act and the Iraq war.  His worst mistakes were No Child Left Behind and subsidized drugs for seniors.
I expect that I won’t like an Obama Presidency very much. 

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I had a discussion with a friend at the Temple the other day about Obama, taxes and helping the poor.  Both Obama and my friend want to increase taxes on the wealthy to pay for more help for the poor.  I disagreed not because I don’t want to help the poor but because I do want to help the poor.  I contend that history has shown that the best way to help the poor has always been to grow the economy.  I want to low tax pro growth policies that will stimulate growth.  Growth is the magic bullet that helps the poor the most.

There is a great line from the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” Christ addressing his disciples sings: “There will be poor always pathetically struggling.  Look at the good things you’ve got.”  There are going to be some poor people.  How can we manage the number to minimize it without destroying the growth machine that has gone so far to end poverty for so many?  England experimented with high tax socialism from the 1950’s to the 70’s and it didn’t work.  The US in the same period stayed with relatively low tax free market capitalism and our poverty rate dropped dramatically.

The question is no longer simply “should the government help the poor?”  We all agree it should.  The questions now are: How should we help?  How much can we afford?  And what level should the help come from?  These are political questions that are affected by peoples world views, self interest and experience.

Ramesh Ponnura the National Review columnist asked his uncle from India why he wanted to live in America.  The Uncle answered: “I want to live live in a country where even the poor people are fat.”

Redistribution doesn’t work.  It causes cheating. It saps the will to work and the will to take risk.  It causes capital and human flight. Any short term gains from redistribution will be lost by stunted future growth that starves the economy of capital and resources to feed the poor.

I’ll end with a quote from Winston Churchill:

“For a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”