Personal Responsibility and Accountability

I am a firm believer in personal responsibility and accountability.  Yet many of us grew up in a public school system that teaches us to learn by memorization and not to challenge authority.  That mentality stays with us into adulthood and we passively receive our news in quick worthless sound bites and from politicians who will say anything to stay in power.

Too often conventional wisdom is wrong.  Up until the 19th century bloodletting was one of the most common medical procedures.  What conventional wisdom, both medical and other, do we believe today that will seem laughable to future generations?

Critically thinking about our current economy leads immediately to questions that challenge our current approach.

Am I really supposed to believe I need more government intervention in my life in a country founded on principals of limited government?  How is it possible that additional debt and easy credit is going to solve problems created by too much debt and easy credit?   Do we have a free market if companies are bailed out when they would otherwise fail and other companies are given loan guarantees for ventures that might never have gotten off the ground to begin with or the plug pulled much sooner?

How can any of us believe that those in power that caused many of our troubles are the same people best positioned to "fix" the system?  Why do the "fixes" always result less freedom and more government regulation and intervention?  Why are those who generate economic wealth so often demonized while wealth destroyers run rampant?

Unfortunately I have to confess that more times than I want to admit I blindly follow, I don't challenge.  However, enough is enough.  I cannot stand ideal while our freedoms are trampled and those in power pervert policies to suit their own ends (and wallets).

With that pessimistic backdrop we do have much to celebrate - there are champions of liberty and freedom, we see innovation coming out of companies large and small, and we can educate ourselves on how the economy would really work under a true free market system.  Furthermore there are many other likeminded people all over the world and countless wonderful resources to help arm ourselves as we are buffeted by mainstream sentiment.

Onward to business, politics, investing and more...from a different perspective.