Fiscal Myth

Myth #1:  The U.S. federal debt level is currently at about 16 trillion dollars.
Fact #1:  The debt level is actually a slightly lower, because that 16 trillion counts some social security payments we haven't actually paid out yet.  But even after this reduction, the debt is something like $40k per person, averaged over all the people in the U.S.  Imagine trying to pay this off, on top of all your home debt, education debt, credit card debt, and local and state government debt.

Myth #2:  The U.S. economy is intrinsically capable of growing at 3% a year or more forever, provided that politicians don't raise taxes.
Fact Opinion #2:  That just ain't so.  There are lots of reasons for this ain't being so.  One thing is limited natural resources.  Another thing is the growth of virtual reality, in which people have become content to watch TV, blog, chat, or simply surf the web instead of doing something materially productive.  Another thing is that people don't want to work as hard as they used to.  Gone are the 14-hour days picking strawberries or assembling cars - few Americans will entertain the notion.  Our older generations are protected by social security, prompting early exit from the workforce, while our younger generations have never experienced truly hard work (on average).  Left to the free market, the economy very well might "need" to sit stagnant for a good 20 years before people and technology conspire to make it grow again.

Myth #3:  Twenty years from now, the U.S. will be a place of poverty unless Obamongress cooperates to avert the fiscal cliff.
Opinion #3:  The fiscal cliff will be the best thing the U.S. went over in a long time, the good Lord willing/Inshallah.  Without raising taxes and cutting spending, U.S. might seem richer five years from now, but the prosperity will be an illusion.  The federal debt will haunt us as long as we avoid it, and if we avoid it long enough, the fiscal cliff will look like child's play compared to ... drum roll ... the collapse of the Union.

The Right to Work: A Definitive Ruling

The Freakwenter often finds herself uncertain on public policy matters.  The issue of the Right to Work legislation is not one of them.  FYI, a Right to Work law is a law that prevents employers from requiring employees to pay union dues.

Many arguments and counterarguments exist regarding Right to Work laws.  Pundits debate the effects of the law for employees, for corporations, and for the economy as a whole.  Some say workers will suffer without union representation.  Others say that jobs will be more plentiful if union power is limited.  Both sides ignore what the Freakwenter sees as the fundamental issue:  that Right to Work laws are an invasion of big government, taking away the freedom of people to write contracts of employment as they see fit.

A private company should have the freedom to decide who it will hire, and a worker should have the freedom to decide whether or not to work for a company.  The Freakwenter authorizes government infringement on personal and corporate freedoms only when economic actors (people or corporations) exercise active harm against others, as in the case of air pollution or robbery.

Oh, but wait, there is one gray area:  What if the corporation in question is not a private corporation but a tax-funded entity, such as the department of education?  In the humble opinion of the Frequenter, government agencies have no business privately negotiating with special interest groups (including teachers' unions) over tax-payer dollars.  If teachers demand a raise, this issue should be taken to the public in a referendum.  Requiring teachers to pay unions as a condition of working in public schools is equivalent to requiring taxpayers to fund teacher unions, a clear taxpayer loss.  Therefore, Right to Work laws should be firmly applied in organizations that accept taxpayer dollars.