OWS: Return of the Useful Idiots

It was a little rocky last night (November 4th) here in DC. The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) people were out in force, surrounding the convention center where Americans for Prosperity (AFP) held their two-day summit. There was some excitement in the building, as well.

In the opening moments of Judge Andrew Napolitano’s speech during the Reagan Dinner, one of the OWS protesters who had paid admission, stood up and began to scream something unintelligible about Jefferson. I’ll be kind and assume he meant Thomas and not George. Besides, I’m fairly certain he doesn’t believe in the concept of “movin’ on up”.

As the protester was peacefully escorted from the room, Judge Napolitano loudly quoted Voltaire, “I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.” It’s too bad the protester didn’t stick around for the entire speech; he might have learned something. Except that he could have not learned a thing because he wasn’t there to learn.

The OWS people, as a whole, are not interested in understanding. They are interested in transforming our current system, which they do not understand to a system they cannot describe for reasons they cannot properly communicate through demands they cannot enumerate. Do you see the beginnings of a problem here? - Ken Carroll, Below the Gnat Line

In Defense of Capitalism

I hate to tell the Occupy Wall Street group (OWS) this, but not only do they not understand capitalism, they aren’t even the trendsetters of anti-capitalism. For years, American culture and tax policy has been at odds with the values of capitalism. It’s a pity, but it’s true and one can trace the majority of our current economic problems to that fact.

Wall Street, 1867
Image via Wikipedia

The basis of capitalism is self-denial; the intentional delay of gratification for the chance of a greater reward later. If you think this is still the core of our country’s values, then you haven’t been paying attention.

In order to generate capital, individuals have to consume fewer resources than they have available, meaning that they save rather than consume. Then those individuals must be willing to risk those savings to acquire the tools necessary to provide desired goods. If the individuals make poor decisions, or as our Commander-in-Chief calls them “bets”, then they will lose their investments. This means that their sacrifices were in vain, except for some new knowledge of what fails.

Capitalism is what people do when left alone. Anything other than capitalism is because of a government that restricts what people freely do. Even simple barter requires a saving of resources and an investment to obtain other goods. Simple farming was also capitalism long before tractors and center-pivot irrigation systems. Early farmers sacrificed the consumption of seeds in order to invest them in next year’s crop.

Is capitalism good? It rewards innovation and efficiency. It creates job opportunities and allows families to