Prosperity Depends Upon Competition

Fred Thompson, the soon to be announced candidate for President, once said, “you can’t tax your way to prosperity.” That’s generally a true statement, but there are some folks who prosper pretty well as a result of taxes. Naturally, politicians, bureaucrats and government-directed beneficiaries love taxes, but did you know that Big Business also prospers from high taxes?

The Tennessee State Legislature recently passed a new tax on tobacco. The bill raises the tax on a pack of cigarettes 220%, from 20 cents to 62 cents. It’s still below the national average of 80 cents, but why in the world would our representatives in Nashville be raising any taxes at all when we’re experiencing a $300 million state surplus? The answer could be: there are prosperous advantages to be obtained by both Big Government and Big Tobacco.

In a new book written by Timothy Carney, “The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money,” the deceptively clever stratagem is revealed.

The name of the game is Monopoly. Centralizing power and control enables the “Royal Elites” in both our economy and our government to prosper. By eliminating the competition through government-created obstacles like taxes and regulations, Big Business- who can withstand such obstacles- obtains a greater market share for itself.

But, what do government officials receive for going to the trouble of instituting such state-sponsored franchises, or “syndicates?”

It’s been said that money is the mother’s milk of politics. Politicians are always in need of more cash. The 2008 presidential race will likely be the first billion dollar campaign in history. Top candidates are facing the proposition of raising a quarter of a million dollars a day! Even local races are getting expensive. A small district seat in the Tennessee Legislature will run you about six figures today. This system of campaign finance and lobbying is nothing new, but increasingly, our government seems to be “for sale” to the highest bidder. But, how is it that those bidding the highest amounts are curiously the very ones who would SEEM to suffer the most from the political results they are buying?

One of the biggest lies ever produced is the populist idealism underlying Socialism. Socialism began as a Big Business ruse in the 19th century and continues to this day as a monumental ploy to enrich those already rich while creating the impression that its purposes are all for the benefit of the poor and “the working class.”

“Old Money” Industrialists discovered a way in the late 1800s to begin engineering government regulations that were ultimately favorable to their monopolistic concerns. The preferential allowances these “Malefactors of Great Wealth” wanted to create presupposed the existence of certain established restrictions. Therefore, they arrived at a simple solution- first erect government restrictions, then bribe the authorities for granted allowances that could be exploited for competitive advantage. So, these allowances permitted by the power of law, helped “rig the game” with exclusive privileges that resulted in protecting the profits of Big Business. It’s a massive con game of loopholes, backroom deals and special exemptions all aimed at destroying fair competition.

So, why do they consider competition so bad? Competition means never slowing down and never resting from having to earn the customer’s business. John D. Rockefeller famously remarked, “competition is a sin.” He, like other power-brokers, resented the constant and humble service that’s required to maintain market share in an open and free environment.

Naturally, Big Business couldn’t overtly dictate their desires within the traditional, capitalist framework- so they got government to do it for them via the ingenious construct of Socialism. Big Business and Big Government were presented to the people as mortal enemies, but the Robber Barons and Politicians remained very cozy behind the scenes- carving up the economic pie like Mafia Godfathers.

As Carney points out in his book, Philip Morris lobbies for more regulation over tobacco because they know the resulting policies will hurt their small competitors the most! Raising the price of cigarettes can benefit Big Tobacco in a number of ways. It enhances the underground, smuggler’s market that they control with certain government acquiescence around the world. In addition, the higher price makes the “cheap” cigarette brands “cheap” only in content, and thus, less preferred. The lucrative duty-free market, is another instance, where it becomes more profitable for the name brands when taxes go up. Also, the tax increase creates a convenient “pay off” opportunity to the politicians who get their hands on more money to buy votes and fund campaign war chests. A well-paid politician then becomes a more faithful and pliable commodity for future purposes of fine-tuning “the game.”

The so-called “war on tobacco” is another example of this “now you see it, now you don’t” skullduggery. What this charade amounts to is a sophisticated racket for the prosperity of trial lawyers and Philip Morris.

The losers in this game are: taxpayers, consumers, less established businesses and small entrepreneurial competitors who create the most new wealth and jobs in our economy. The majority of the people- who operate without these inside connections- wind-up paying more and receiving less as a natural result of the inherent inefficiencies of a more centralized and monopolized economy. Once someone is free from competition and no longer has to “earn” the customer’s dollar fairly - the quality necessarily goes down.

Carney points out other examples: Big Oil actually profits from Environmental Laws; Enron- who is still receiving tax subsidies by the way- worked to keep laissez-faire officials off the commission that regulates the energy industry; Liberal Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer receives more contributions from Wall Street than any other senator; Warren Buffett is an advocate for higher Estate Taxes; and finally, KYOTO- the international environmental treaty restricting industry- is favored by most multi-national corporations.

Prosperity, ultimately, should be defined by what’s best for the people. Working a scam of higher taxes and more regulation that enable the wealthiest members of our society to escape the discipline of the market place- is NOT a prosperous philosophy with populist benefits. On the contrary, it’s a deception that will lead to greater bondage. We must one day free our minds of this mirage, or else, we will never be able to free our pocket books- and find true prosperity for all.

Finally, in the words of Howard Armstrong who so often quoted the motto of Hawaii: “Ua mau ke ea o ka aina I ka pono, the prosperity of the land is established upon Righteousness.”
(send comments to: WFC83197@aol.com)