Encouraging Productive Behavior

Today's Object of Praise and Admiration is Nicholas Kristof, of the New York Times. I had to pound two shots of vodka just so that I could physically type that.

Kristof uses this week's column to take a look at poverty in central Africa. Far from advocating throwing money at the problem, Kristof actually had the guts to take a look at the spending habits of the impoverished. Heavy drinking and expensive cell phones out-prioritize mosquito nets, school tuition, and rent. This is, of course, a tragedy of the first order, and emblematic of a culture that has lost faith in itself.

Sadly, Kristof falls short of expanding the lessons of this article: subsidies promote inefficient behavior the world over. Clearly the self-perpetuation of poverty in the Congo is not unique to Central Africa. Poverty is more often the result of poor spending choices than insufficient income (for those who work). We see poor spending decisions every day in the United States by subsidized citizens. Not only are the Welfare and Food Stamp systems rife with fraud and inefficient spending, but they routinely give cover for the poor to make poor financial choices and sidestep the consequences.

I wonder, will Kristof be so stridently critical of poor fiscal responsibility when he gets back to the States?

At No Point Have You Kicked Enough Ass

Today's Object of Praise and Admiration is Thomas Sowell, who would, if such a thing existed, be in the OPA Hall of Fame.

This is an exceptionally articulated argument centered around Obama's socialism-masquerading-as-modesty that "at some point, you've made enough money." Thomas Sowell's clarity of thought and sound historical perspective are on full display here. A lesser writer (ahem...) would say "eh...I've kicked enough ass. I'll let this one slide with a snide remark or two." Not Sowell. Sowell understands this comment for what it is: a telling window into the dangerous mind of a far-left radical.

Ayn Rand mused in Atlas Shrugged that a American perspective is responsible for the phrasing of the term "making money." Think about the literal meaning of the idiom as you work your way through Sowell's economic argument, and ask yourself:

Can anyone really make enough money?

Fun with Contemptuous Indignation

Sweet baby Jesus, it's glorious! This post is going to kick off another EtD feature, "Object of Praise and Admiration."

This article by Quin Hillyer at The American Spectator makes me just a little more giddy than I'm comfortable with. Hillyer absolutely skewers the President with a rare concoction of precise writing and genuine ire. It's the type of forceful articulation that lesser writers (ahem...) dream of.