Double double, toil and trouble. Famous words by famous witches who entice Macbeth into a world of riches. Round about the cauldron go, in the poison’d entrails go. Next come words of toads and days and night, snakes and newts and frogs and dogs. If you think you’ve heard it all, just wait and yee shall see. For all things old that ought to die, come ’round and ’round till we see them nye.
In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” there are three sisters. Witches really, who portend the future but who also represent political greed. They are the summation of the desire for power as they tempt Macbeth to “do whatever it takes to get to the top.” Not least of all because of their ability to appeal to his hubris and his pride. They convince Macbeth that he alone has the power to rule. As is the case with many politicians, one need only show them the juicy apple and they’ll say the magic words.
American politics is full of it. On so many levels. And politicians are failing miserably to help Americans gain relief from higher prices. Inflation especially hurts those most vulnerable and most unable to pay for goods and services. Former President Donald Trump wants to help by imposing a straight 10% tariff on all foreign goods. That is terrible policy and it’s a terrible idea. Not only does it smack of isolationism, but it will also raise the cost of the goods you and I buy daily.
Worse yet is Vice President Kamala Harris’ communist approach to economics. If you think I’m being alarmist or exaggerating the devastating similarities between these ideologies, think again.
On the economic surface, keeping prices low sounds like a good idea. Making goods and services affordable to more people means our standard of living can improve and we can buy more. The idea that government should put a cap on the price of things like beef, however, is so harmful and so scary that it must be called out.
Politicians are enticed by advice-givers to keep prices low through government intervention. What they don’t get about economics is that it doesn’t work and many regimes have proven that through Marxist failure over and over again during the last 100 years.
Bread lines proliferated when government controls took place. Why? Because price limits on things like bread, beef or housing do not control the cost of the inputs.
Let’s say the government came in and said the most anyone can charge for a loaf of bread is $1. What is the government going to do about the cost of wheat? Or electricity? Or the labor it takes to produce it? Is the government going to control those prices too? What do you think will happen when businesses can’t make a profit on $1 bread? They will close their doors — leaving you and me stranded. Then maybe this government that knows better will step in and make bread for us.
And thus begins the communist circle of doom. Eventually, everyone will work for the state to make the bread that businesses no longer are willing to produce because of government regulation. Until, of course, the state runs out of money without the businesses and people to pay the taxes that support it. That’s why big government is a bad thing.
Instead, maybe we should look at government spending among other things. Current U.S. spending represents about 7% of GDP. Some of the highest levels ever attained and usually only seen during times of war. Why are we spending so much? And why are we promising to spend more by giving $25,000 to new home buyers or wiping out debts? These were initiatives Ms. Harris proposed in her speech in South Carolina last week. Giving people money to buy a home will actually increase housing prices!
Double double toil and trouble. Beware politicians trying to do one thing with feel good policies that produce the oppositive effect.
Are they purposely cooking the cauldron for your vote? Or is this another example of government action having opposite effects to intended policies? The cauldron of fuzzy math they shall boil and bake and unintended consequences shall us make.
Javier Sanchez is a former Española mayor and investor in El Rito Media.