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A Dangerous Obsession: Part V
Townhall.com ^ | January 1, 2007 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 01/01/2007 10:47:15 AM PST by jazusamo

Perhaps it is one of the fruits of the "self-esteem" emphasis in our schools that so many people feel confident to voice strong convictions about things they know little or nothing about -- or, worse yet, are misinformed about.

One of the hardest things for anyone to be informed about is the value of someone else's productivity. Yet there are cries from all directions that some people are being paid "too much" and others "too little."

Who can possibly be better informed about the value of what someone else produces than those who use the goods or services that the person provides and pay for it with their own money?

Things are worth it or not worth it to particular individuals. What these things might be worth to somebody else is irrelevant.

People who think that they, or the government, ought to be deciding how much income people make are in effect saying that they know the value of people's output better than those who use that output and pay for it with their own money.

(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: economics; sowell; thomassowell
Are individual decisions made by people deciding what is best for themselves to be over-ruled by ignorant busybodies, obsessed by things they do not understand?

It seems the Dem controlled 110th Congress thinks so.

1 posted on 01/01/2007 10:47:17 AM PST by jazusamo
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To: Gordongekko909; nancyvideo

Ping - Dr. Sowell


2 posted on 01/01/2007 10:49:30 AM PST by jazusamo (http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/DefendOurMarines.htm)
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To: jazusamo

I'm being paid too little.


3 posted on 01/01/2007 10:55:30 AM PST by mhx
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To: jazusamo

This is right on the mark. Unfortunately, politicians are not smart enough to think the way Dr. Sowell does. Which raises the question, "Are politicians worth the money that the government says we should pay them?" I don't think so.


4 posted on 01/01/2007 11:04:39 AM PST by FlingWingFlyer (When I was a kid, "global warming" was known as "the weather.")
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Sadly, too many politicians are promoting their socialistic agenda in pursuit of votes and sadder is the fact that many people are buying in to it.


5 posted on 01/01/2007 11:18:20 AM PST by jazusamo (http://warchronicle.com/TheyAreNotKillers/DefendOurMarines.htm)
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To: jazusamo

Right...How can anyone vote for these egotaxaholics
called Democrats? Starting with the spaghetti bender
and going through the list...it makes me sick and also
peeved at the poor turnout of the "R" guys and gals..2008 better be better...or Katie..bar the door. JK


6 posted on 01/01/2007 11:24:24 AM PST by sanjacjake
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To: jazusamo

Sowell is usually right on the mark, but I beg to differ with his example of Bill Gates in this column.

I agree completely that the government shouldn't be deciding how much Gates should earn, but that is not the main issue with Gates and Microsoft. The issue here is that Gates and his company have essentially fooled the public into accepting his proprietary standards as de facto public standards.

Think about it. Why should I be forced to buy MS software just to be able to read public government documents that are available only in MS Word format? All government entities should forthwith adopt the OpenDocument Format (ODF) for public documents. MS is perfectly free to support that format too, so they would not be excluded from that market. Howerver, they would be forced to compete based on merit rather than getting a free ride because the public was foolish enough to get locked into its proprietary formats.


7 posted on 01/01/2007 1:24:27 PM PST by RussP
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To: mhx
I'm being paid too little.

Me too! Government should do something about that!

8 posted on 01/01/2007 2:32:33 PM PST by Cymbaline (I repeat myself when under stress I repeat myself when under stress I repeat myself when under stres)
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