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Admittedly I have not read this book you recommend. However, my experience with such arguments is that they never persuade me "big government" is suddenly intr

Admittedly I have not read this book you recommend. However, my experience with such arguments is that they never persuade me "big government" is suddenly intruding into places it didn't previously, since the truth is more often that government was suddenly being deployed in support of people it was traditionally deployed against, and against people it was traditionally deployed in support of.

dmix 10y ago
Even if the government power is smaller than previous authoritarian states/monarchies, the simple fact is that the scope and scale of government has massively grown. We're fortunate to be in the only(?) major industry that isn't heavily regulated. Where you can build a sizable business without having to wrangle with regulations at every step (outside of HR and financial regulations). The best example in the book is how interior designers need a required 4 yr bachelor diploma, pass a difficult test, and buy a licence, in order to choose what furniture and paint colors will look best in a persons living in Florida. Similar regulations exist for cutting/styling hair. Or cutting nails professionally. Or look at the 'Burkini' ban happening in France right now. This wasn't some partisan blanket criticism of 'the welfare state' that US republicans take while simultaneously supporting the 100 different agencies and offices that are now involved in fighting terrorism. It was a serious analysis of how far we've come from being able to solve issues society faces without creating another administrative blackhole. 21 million people are working for the US government alone. That's 16% of employed people and not counting the massive amount of private industry that works directly off of gov contracts (particularily significant in the defense industry). So it's probably closer to ~20%. More than all Fortune 500 companies combined. How many people do you think worked for the crown in France/England in the 1800s?
- ubernostrum 10y ago
  The best example in the book is how interior designers need a required 4 yr bachelor diploma, pass a difficult test, and buy a licence, in order to choose what furniture and paint colors will look best in a persons living in Florida. Similar regulations exist for cutting/styling hair. Or cutting nails professionally. So, would you like to compare to how long an apprenticeship you'd have to serve, or what hoops you'd have to jump through and payments you'd have to make, to get into a skilled-trade guild in the golden old days? Or look at the 'Burkini' ban happening in France right now. Sumptuary laws and other regulations on clothing are millennia old. 21 million people are working for the US government alone. That's 16% of employed people and not counting the massive amount of private industry that works directly off of gov contracts (particularily significant in the defense industry). So it's probably closer to ~20%. More than all Fortune 500 companies combined. In a feudal society 100% of people worked for either the government or the church. 16% is a nice downsize from that.

dmix 10y ago

Even if the government power is smaller than previous authoritarian states/monarchies, the simple fact is that the scope and scale of government has massively grown. We're fortunate to be in the only(?) major industry that isn't heavily regulated. Where you can build a sizable business without having to wrangle with regulations at every step (outside of HR and financial regulations). The best example in the book is how interior designers need a required 4 yr bachelor diploma, pass a difficult test, and buy a licence, in order to choose what furniture and paint colors will look best in a persons living in Florida. Similar regulations exist for cutting/styling hair. Or cutting nails professionally. Or look at the 'Burkini' ban happening in France right now. This wasn't some partisan blanket criticism of 'the welfare state' that US republicans take while simultaneously supporting the 100 different agencies and offices that are now involved in fighting terrorism. It was a serious analysis of how far we've come from being able to solve issues society faces without creating another administrative blackhole. 21 million people are working for the US government alone. That's 16% of employed people and not counting the massive amount of private industry that works directly off of gov contracts (particularily significant in the defense industry). So it's probably closer to ~20%. More than all Fortune 500 companies combined. How many people do you think worked for the crown in France/England in the 1800s?

ubernostrum 10y ago
The best example in the book is how interior designers need a required 4 yr bachelor diploma, pass a difficult test, and buy a licence, in order to choose what furniture and paint colors will look best in a persons living in Florida. Similar regulations exist for cutting/styling hair. Or cutting nails professionally. So, would you like to compare to how long an apprenticeship you'd have to serve, or what hoops you'd have to jump through and payments you'd have to make, to get into a skilled-trade guild in the golden old days? Or look at the 'Burkini' ban happening in France right now. Sumptuary laws and other regulations on clothing are millennia old. 21 million people are working for the US government alone. That's 16% of employed people and not counting the massive amount of private industry that works directly off of gov contracts (particularily significant in the defense industry). So it's probably closer to ~20%. More than all Fortune 500 companies combined. In a feudal society 100% of people worked for either the government or the church. 16% is a nice downsize from that.