You meet a lot of people when you ski, especially on a crowded holiday weekend like this last one. We shared a chair with two brothers from Vermont who were none-too-pleased with Bernie Sanders. “He’ll give the whole state away if he can,” said one of the brothers. The other nodded, “Yup.”
There was an excellent essay in Saturday’s WSJ: “Boomer Socialism Led to Bernie Sanders: Government policies limit millennials’ prosperity, Harvard economist Edward Glaeser argues. Will they realize more of the same isn’t the answer?” Mene Ukueberuwa wrote:
Mr. Glaeser, 52, argues that young people have radicalized politically because “there are a number of ways in which the modern American economy isn’t working all that well for them.” Many public policies make it harder to get a job, save money or find an affordable home, leaving young idealists thinking, “Why not try socialism?” But that cure would merely worsen the disease.
Mr. Glaeser decries policies that constrain the job market and increase the cost of living compared with what the economy would produce if left alone. “In many cases,” he says, “there seems to be a sense in which insiders have managed to stack the deck against outsiders.” People who have secured a foothold in one way or another—homeowners, union laborers, retirees—have advocated policies that make it harder for “newcomers,” including immigrants and young people, to advance.
Here is the quote I want you to tape to your refrigerator. It’s what could be the key to the future well-being of your family. You want to live where your money (your success) is respected:
Barring a national crisis, “competition among states and cities offers the best hope.” He supports “automatic sunset provisions on new regulations. I also think it would be really valuable if more states passed rules saying, before you do a regulation, you actually need to do some cost-benefit analysis on it.”
Read more here.
