The danger of government and business collusion

Recently, an Oak Island resident wrote to the Wilmington StarNews supporting the U. S. Government/auto industry bailouts. She also chose to buy a Chevy Volt as a “second car” and praises its fuel efficiency at “2,713 miles on 5.7 gallons “(she didn’t mention the cost of electricity to charge the batteries). This car was part of the deal between the Obama administration and General Motors. (link)

It was a cute anecdotal story, but also insidiously disturbing. The writer believes it’s “good citizenship” to buy this “Go Green” product promoted by the government.

I’m reminded that “good” German citizens approved of products promoted by the National Socialist Party in collusion with German industrialists in the ‘30s and ‘40s. Gleichschaltung meant coordination.

Jonah Goldberg in his book “Liberal Fascism” documents “the fascist bargain” where “all civil society was supposed to operate like a military unit.” Under Furhrerprinzip, business leaders reported all the way up to Hitler. Thus, “German business culture contributed to the rise of Nazism,” writes Goldberg.

For the good of the people, undesirable products were purged and everything from cider (Volksgetrank) to cars (Volkswagen) became officially promoted by the state and its corporate partners. Business people became the “transmission belts for Nazi propaganda and values,” as Goldberg notes.

All this has frighteningly begun to happen in America. Propagandists and politicians put fascistic pressure on American businesses, coercing their leaders into collusion on restricting our choices of health care, food, energy; and even what our business people should believe.

Too many of our citizens today have been duped by government propaganda. The first step in accomplishing their goals is for liberal fascists to dumb down our education processes. Without solid, objective learning of history, economics, science and civics by our citizens this Republic cannot survive the assaults on our freedom and liberties.

Portly politics

Much of America’s economic life-blood pumps by shipping on our waterways and land transport over them—major obstacles to progress since colonial times. Here in River City, stuck between a large navigable river and the Atlantic Ocean, we’re reminded of it daily.

Scientists and engineers have sensible solutions, but nonsensical politics often intervenes. Politicians, government bureaucrats and “stakeholders” create dollars and sense problems—too much of the former and too little of the later.

A McClatchy Newspapers article in the Wilmington Sunday StarNews reminded me of these facts. (link)

North Carolina state government officials have launched themselves into the East Coast War of Merchant Ships; essentially a battle over which state can capture the big new container vessels soon to be able to pass through an upgraded Panama Canal.

Although, even with the ability of bigger ships to come up the East Coast, it’s questionable whether the trip is worth it: it takes a week longer than docking on the West Coast; California and Washington state ports can currently handle the bigger ships; tolls on the Panama Canal will probably increase; and the Suez Canal can accommodate any size ship coming from Asia to North America.

None of this reality deters North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida bureaucrats from planning to expand their existing inadequate facilities—compliments of the U. S. taxpayers. At Charleston, S. C., the most likely contender, it will cost $300 million to deepen its harbor an additional 5 feet. Even increased volume may not generate enough to offset costs.

Here in Wilmington it’s a long, slow journey up the shallow, winding Cape Fear River for ocean-going ships. When they get to the port large ships don’t have enough room to turn around. So, what to do?

Former N. C. Ports Authority CEO Tom Eagar had the answer. He would build a new port closer to the ocean based on his “economic development mission” and his irrational anger at “what neighboring states are doing to us.” In 2006 the Authority borrowed $30 million to buy 600-acres of farmland and swamps near Southport, N. C. Then Eagar spent another $10 million on studies.

Finally, Caswell Beach resident Toby Bronstein and others said enough! They initiated major opposition to Eagar’s North Carolina International Terminal project under ‘No-Port Southport.’ Of course, the usual government and nonprofit environmental suspects jumped on a ‘Save the Cape’ campaign. However, Bronstein’s mission seems to have economics and taxpayer’s interest on its side. (link)

Don Carrington reports on this entire sordid tale of another government bureaucratic project run amok in the August 2012 issue of the Carolina Journal. (link)

Fortunately, our new state legislators have pulled the cash flow on this misguided spending—but not before the Ports Authority bureaucrats have wasted probably $50 million of taxpayer’s money.