A character in George Bernard Shaw’s play “Man and Superman” utters a sentence most of us have heard: “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” That statement, of course, is not true. However, an adaptation of that statement is perhaps much more accurate: Those who can produce values, do; those who can’t, become a criminal or enter politics.
Criminals produce no values. Instead, they seize the values they need and desire from those who have produced those values.
Similarly, politicians produce no values. While the only proper purpose of government is protecting our freedom to produce and trade, politicians increasingly seize the values produced by some to redistribute to those who have not produced.
Government today, and particularly at the federal level, is dominated by life-long politicians. As an example, between them, President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have a grand total of zero experience in the private sector. None of them has produced a single value. Each has spent his life of seizing and redistributing values rather than producing values. Each has made a career of telling producers what and how to produce.
In America today, those who can’t produce values are imposing a growing list of controls on those who can and do produce values.
As one example, consider the regulations imposed on energy companies. Politicians dictate where and how oil wells can be drilled, they determine where pipelines can be built, they require specific formulations for gasoline, along with a countless list of other edicts.
As another example, consider the regulations imposed on housing producers. Politicians determine what may be built and where it can be built. They impose price caps on the rents that landlords may charge. They prohibit property owners from properly screening applicants.
Each of these regulations is enacted by those who can’t for the express purpose of controlling those who can. Indeed, this is true of all regulations.