Lawrence Summers Channels Gary North

Gary North has written extensively on the coming loss of faith in federal government due to failure to deliver on various promises – Social Security and Medicare being two of the larger looming failures. He has also noted that the very visible catastrophe that has been the Obamacare roll-out could very well be the final nail in the coffin of both faith in the state and the state centralization of society through grand legislation – with the state failing as healer, and causing havoc for millions who previously had satisfactory insurance.

Lawrence Summers agrees with Dr. North, albeit not with the same glee:

There is a danger here that goes far beyond delays in access to health insurance. The risk is of a vicious cycle developing in which poor government performance leads on the one hand to overly bold promises of repair, and on the other to reduced funding and support for those doing the work. This then leads to unmet expectations and disappointment, setting off the cycle again. In the end, government loses the ability to deliver for citizens and citizens lose respect for government. Our democracy is the loser.

“Our democracy” may be the loser, and countless millions of Americans will have their lives disrupted, some quite miserably.  But decentralization will be the winner, slowly but surely.

It seems reasonable to suggest that the Obamacare website will not be functional on December 1.  What comes next will be of interest: will the republicans work with the democrats to ensure a relatively smooth transition, or will republican talk be matched with action, and ensure Obama and the democrats live in the sewage of their creation? 

While this will be of interest from a political theater standpoint, it will be relatively irrelevant to the bigger picture and the longer term.  It has been easy to focus on the financial convulsions of the last several years – the visible manifestation of a century of monetary central planning in the United States, and by extension globally (the extension of the US government as the primary tool of continued attempts to create global government).

But many forces are coming to a head, all tied to centralization and the ultimate failure of central planning – a failure that is certain to come.  Throughout the west, governments have greatly increased intervention into markets, distorting prices and ignoring the benefit of profit and loss.  Obamacare is only one more grand reach into this abyss.

Profit and loss ensures resources are only utilized in manners that market participants (meaning all of humanity) deem efficient.  Prices ensure that those who value resources most will be successful in securing these resources.  Every single government intervention distorts this process.

The destruction has been easy to see in the economy due to the events since 2007 / 2008.  It is coming as well in all forms of government interventions.

This concerns Summers.  It gives Dr. North glee.

I am with Dr. North.  Hip hip hooray!