True Witness or False Witness?

"It should be noted that people in the free market rarely bare false witness; integrity is the rule. The morning milk, phone calls, planes the airlines buy, autos by the millions - no one could list the instances - are as represented. We have daily, eloquent, enormous testimony that the Ten Commandments can be and are observed by fallible human beings. Contemporary politics is the most glaring of all exceptions.

Leonard E. Read (1898 - 1983)

And all the recent talk of civility and not attacking the person but engaging the idea, is all so much fluff! Those who talk about "civility" are the most "glaring exceptions" to the body of those trying to conform themselves to the Ten Commandments!

But what's this about false witness in the free market place?

He is right! There is none!

Well, in the FREE market place that is. The controlled, contrived, compelled market place is FULL, FULL, FULL of false witness!

Such control, contrivance and compulsion is the source of subsidy, and skews the market toward things that are not efficient or profitably viable. Green energy comes to mind. Things that are subsidized for decades and yet still cannot be profitable are not good uses of market efforts. They represent a false witness because the market is controlled, contrived or compelled.

Some forms of "subsidy" really are not. Encouraging home ownership by offering a mortgage interest tax write off is not really a subsidy. Encouraging oil development in certain locations by offering incentives to do so is not really a subsidy. Encouraging the planting of one crop over another by offering incentives to do so is not really a subsidy. Encouraging someone not to work by offering incentives not to do so is not really a subsidy.

But all of these activities skew the market that would otherwise develop more efficiently and profitably. This includes not only things - such as goods and services - but also PEOPLE!

But, under normal conditions, people will respond with their money to something in which they find integrity. And profits will always result. The so-called Better Mousetrap. Money will always flow toward that which is most desired.

And that shows integrity and is TRUE witness!

When gubment money flows toward that which gubment most desires, there is always inefficiency and never profit.

And that lacks integrity and is FALSE witness!