Categories
ideological culture media and media people moral hazard nannyism national politics & policies

Austan Antic, Hey!

The other day, Fox News Network’s Bill O’Reilly asked University of Chicago economist Austan Goolsbee a question.  The subject was the socialistic gimme-​gimme attitude of youthful Bernie Sanders supporters. The previous segment, “Watters’ World,” had paraded interviews with a handful of college students, asking them to clarify just how much free stuff they wanted.

It was a funny segment, if you think young people talking foolishly about government is funny.

Calling Sanders “the Giveaway King,” O’Reilly asked Goolsbee his general impression of the gimme-​gimme attitude. It was the softest of softball questions. “What do you think about that?”

Talk about open-​ended. Any response given thus says a lot about the interviewee, seeing how broad he may answer.

“Well, look, I’ve told you I’ve never been a big fan of socialism,” spake President Obama’s famed advisor. “I’m an economics professor.” Chuckling, he went on. “I’ve got the sense you don’t want these people getting free air to breathe. You’d like them to mail in their checks to make sure they work for it.”

Goolsbee could have started off as sensibly as he ended: “I’m against free stuff. Socialism doesn’t work.…

He didn’t. He immediately reduced O’Reilly’s position to that of a straw man, using the reductio ad absurdum.

Why? For levity’s sake? Well, both O’Reilly and Goolsbee were jovial.…

But his nasty quip fulfilled a purpose, making sure that ideologues on the left continued to have license to think the worst about their opponents.

Thus Austan Goolsbee, despite his protests, carried water for crazed socialism.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.


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Austan Goolsbee , Bill O’Reilly, Bernie Sanders, free stuff

 


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Categories
general freedom ideological culture meme moral hazard nannyism too much government

1 Statement… 5 Witless Assumptions

Bernie manages to pack quite a lot into one statement…


Click below for a high resolution version of this image:

Bernie Sanders, 1 statement, 5 witless assumptions, free, ordinary, rich

 

Categories
folly general freedom moral hazard nannyism

A More Perfect Turkey

Let’s talk Turkey. Not the bird, the country. America has fallen behind in yet another category: preposterous promises by politicians.

It’s becoming clear that Bernie Sanders, Vermont’s independent “democratic socialist” U.S. Senator and now Democratic Party presidential contender, is a piker, a penny pincher, a cheapskate, a tightwad, a Scrooge. At least, by comparison.

It’s one thing to promise free stuff — say, zero-​priced college for everyone! — but is the generous senator willing to give entrepreneurs $100,000 to start a business?

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is.

Well, 100,000 Liras anyway.

In the run-​up to Sunday’s Turkish election, the fearless leader of the Justice and Development Party announced his plan to subsidize new businesses.

And so much more. And why not? “Once you have a job, salary and food. What is left?” Davutoğlu rhetorically asked last week, answering, “A wife.” He told male citizens: “first consult your parents and, God willing, they will find you a suitable one. If they don’t, you can come to us.”

Meanwhile, no U.S. candidate proposes any government support whatsoever for men seeking wives. Or women seeking husbands … or wives. Or men seeking husbands. Etcetera.

No dating subsidy, either, or help with high wedding costs — not even a Costanza regulation to protect brides from the dangers of deadly wedding invitation envelopes.

Of course, government big enough to give folks everything they desire is also big enough to take everything — including free speech — away. This week, Turkish police stormed two “opposition” TV stations taking them off the air days before the vote.

That could never happen here, though … could it?

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.


Printable PDF

turkey, Ahmet Davutoğlu, free stuff, Bernie Sanders, illustration, Paul Jacob, Common Sense

 

Categories
ideological culture meme national politics & policies

FREE!

Don’t worry comrades!


Click here for a high resolution version of the image (suitable for sharing and using as a screensaver):

meme, free stuff, free, don't worry, collage, photomontage, Jim Gill, Paul Jacob, illustration, Common Sense

socialism, free, stuff, don't worry, comrades, it will all be free, collage, photomontage, illustration, meme, Jim Gill, Paul Jacob, Common Sense