Richard J Grant

Published in The Tennessean , Sunday, November 27, 2011 by Richard J. Grant The progressives among us often insist that we need stronger laws and greater regulation. But they don't really mean it – at least not in any consistent sense. While happy to load us up with regulations at all levels of government, they do so only by either ignoring or defining away any limitations on government at the constitutional level. If we are now dogged by a flourishing pack of sharp-toothed regulators, it is because the constitutional leash intended to limit the range of politicians’ powers has been loosened from its anchor. The U.S. Constitution was intended as a conservative document that would give the national government a few defined powers and no more. Government was constitutionally limited to protect citizens from the whim of the aspiring oligarch and the appetites of the mob. The Orwellian phrase, “living constitution,” really describes a constitution that is moribund. Any constitution tha...

Published in The Tennessean , Sunday, November 20, 2011 by Richard J. Grant During the past week, the total debt of the U.S. government surpassed $15 trillion. This brings the total debt up to about 99 percent of the annual production of the U.S. economy. Given that the debt has been growing more than four times faster than the economy, it should cross the 100 percent barrier by the end of the year. Meanwhile, in Washington, the congressional “supercommittee” is supposedly working on proposals to reduce, if not eliminate, the annual budget deficit. We know for sure that they have no intention of eliminating the deficit. Their assigned task is to reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. This leaves two big questions: What is the benchmark from which the cuts will be made, and why will it take 10 years to reduce the deficit by an amount that is less than the last annual deficit? As for the benchmark, the usual trick is to use projected spending, rather than actual curr...

Published in The Tennessean , Sunday, November 13, 2011 by Richard J. Grant Of those people that I have met who express an aversion to the welfare state, those who express the strongest feelings are often those who grew up in the system but worked their way out and escaped. They recognize the perverse incentives that separate sustenance from any thought of production. Charity without thought is unlikely to edify the recipient; and this describes the destination, if not the beginnings, of governmental welfare systems. When charity is transformed into entitlement, any moral obligation to lift oneself up is no longer enforceable by those who pay. To call such payments “a gift” is to insult both parties to the transaction. Society has lost something. There are those who, like Blanche DuBois, are content to depend on “the kindness of strangers.” But someone must do the world’s work, and societies that understand this are those that survive and prosper. Welfare states throughout history have...

Published in The Tennessean , Sunday, November 6, 2011 by Richard J. Grant At a young age I was taught that, were a fire to break out in the stables, I should first cover a horse's eyes with a blanket before leading it to safety. A horse, like other animals and humans, will in a time of trauma have an urge to flee to the familiar, to the formerly safe. Such human behavior is evident at the time of economic crises. There is a tendency to run to the apparent safety of the very institutions that caused the crisis, some of which continue to burn. It should be no surprise that Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) is asking taxpayers for another $6 billion in bailout money to cover its losses in the July-September quarter. Since the beginning of the 2008 financial crisis, Freddie Mac and its older sister Fanny Mae have burned through at least $169 billion of bailout money. It is estimated that they will come begging for at least another $51 billion in the next three years...