Look for the obvious,

I can understand why some people may tire of learning at times. Some subjects are complicated to understand and involve lots of facts and figures. Capitalism on the other hand is easy to understand if you look for the obvious facts of life. We all know that when things get difficult for us we tend to look for a way to ease our pain. If we take a lunch break to go to Mcdonald's and upon getting there discover a long waiting line with several people, we'll likely do without before spending the entire lunch break in a waiting line. The same principle applies to business in America. When businesses have to meet tons of government regulations and codes, sometimes it's easier for businesses to not open up at all until they can find a way to skirt such regulations. (often done by "outsourcing" to offshore locations) Who pays the price when businesses suffer? The American public.....consumers, employees, and owners (stockholders). Economics isn't that hard to understand, but for far too long Americans have been contented to let politicians and activists do their thinking for them.

Coming off the substance of government,

Even if you've never experimented with illegal drugs, I'm sure you're well aware of drug withdrawals. They occur every time a highly addictive drug (speed, cocaine, Etc.) is used to satisfy someone's drug craving. The drug user stands little if any chance of resisting the urge to take the next hit. Even the most simple minded person can see the destruction such a habit brings to drug users. But why do people not easily see the same destruction being done by our government welfare system? I'm 26 years old and my entire generation remembers government being involved in our lives since birth. Only my grandfather's generation remembers a time when government dependence wasn't even thought about. Since big government programs such as the New Deal and the Great Society, Americans have only increased their dependency on the government. Blogs, and other media venues such as this will hopefully encourage some Americans to come down off the addiction of government support.

Simplifying things,

Since starting this blog to educate folks about Capitalism, I've developed a strong passion for making the seemingly complex ideas of Capitalism understandable. Just last night I was leafing through Rush Limbaugh's book The Way Things Ought To Be and was reminded of the underlying Truths of Capitalism. Even I tend not to see the simple Truths (of Capitalism) that enable people to become successful. To simplify all of Capitalism's Truths into a nutshell, just know that Capitalism ( individuality) is the only way to progress in human development. Put another way Capitalism is the only system that can better the standard of living. Hard work and creativity by the individual is the only way to better one's life. The keyword is only, because that eliminates every other idea that politicians, professors and so called "experts" say is necessary to end poverty.

The best that you can hope for,

A Capitalist system is the best way to minimize human suffering, but it can't eliminate it all together. Capitalism allows resources (money, services, time, Etc.) to get to where they are best used. It would be an impossible goal to make everyone happy; Capitalism simply creates the greatest level of happiness to the greatest number of people possible. Because resources such as time and money are limited, there isn't enough to go around for everyone. So Capitalism enters as the way to distribute such resources in a way that benefits everyone. Take businesses for example; today when going on long trips you can stop at a business along the way should you need to go to the restroom. The businesses only have a restroom to make customers more comfortable, but even non-customers (the person on a long trip) benefit from the business's investment. If you want a happy society, Capitalism is the best that you can hope for.

Roger's take,

Today I heard Roger Hedgecock fill in on The Rush Limbaugh Show and he spoke about the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that gave the government permission to seize private property for public use. He mentioned that with such a ruling we are no longer living in a free-market economy. As he wisely put it, private property rights are the bedrock of a free economy. If you take away private property rights you take away a free economy. If we had more Americans educated enough to understand this; we might stand a fighting chance against an imperial government.

Being pro-active,

In a Capitalist society you have to create your own future. That future can be a very bright one, a mediocre one, or one of misery; the choice is yours. Some people may have to sell their car, their house, or other valuables in order to move forward at some point. Some people may have to move to another location in order to find a better job market. Some may even have to go a period of time without health insurance until they can get on their feet financially. None of these situations are a curse to the people who have to live through them; such situations are beneficial to the individual (by helping them realize their potential) providing the government doesn't get involved. Once the government becomes involved that individual may never know what he is capable of accomplishing all by himself.

Money isn't everything,

A very observant American has realized that more than tax money is needed to fix public education.Click here to see what I am talking about.

Watching your wallet,

Whenever you buy anything (food, gas, clothes ..Etc.) I am sure you prefer to see cheaper prices over higher prices. This is simple to understand when it comes to ourselves but whenever a employer tries to keep costs down by laying off workers and not paying more than minimum wage, that employer is seen as "selfish" or "uncompassionate". Capitalism recognizes the importance of individuals; whether they are employers, janitors, or maids. An employer has every right to cut his costs as any other individual can.

The demand factor,

As much as you hear of supply and demand you may not realize that our economy is a demand economy. The Soviet Union had a command economy where the central government controlled the economic decision making. People in America who wish to earn quick cash are forced to discover what people want. (want=demand) Once a person discovers what people are wanting/demanding then there is an opportunity to make a profit by selling a good or service. My local news paper The Tennessean has a article today about how churches are no longer providing hymnals, but instead using projection screens to provide hymnal words for the church's congregation to sing. That is a result of someone discovering what people want/demand; people like the idea of simply looking at a screen as opposed to constantly flipping pages to find words to sing to. Simply put....we (the people) demand happiness and therefore the Capitalists provide it!

A good quote for fellow Capitalists,

I don't have much time to blog today, so I'll leave you with this quote by Will Rogers:

"The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has."-Will Rogers

Illegal immigration and Capitalism,

I for one am not fond of illegal immigration. But the welfare programs in this country have created a market for it. Thanks to government welfare many Americans aren't going to work long hours in the sun harvesting tobacco, when they can sit on their butt and get money from the government. As a result there is a market in this country for illegal immigration. Illegals are said to be taking jobs that "Americans don't want" but during the Great Depression do you think there were jobs that Americans didn't want? Of course not; people at that time accepted the fact that you had to work and work hard for a living. A good cure for the illegal immigration problem, would be for Americans to recognize opportunity; even when it comes in the form of a low paying job.

A fool and his money,

Capitalism respects effort and ability. If you can put forth the effort to satisfy people's wants; you'll reap the rewards of doing so. But should we also stop our own efforts to help those who aren't prospering? I say no. My reasoning is that in a Capitalist society you live and die by the consequences of your actions. The old adage is true that a fool and his money are soon to part. That saying goes a long ways in understanding economics; it explains why there is no reason to dole out welfare or provide higher wages for people who aren't putting forth effort.

Of what use is money in the hand of a fool, since he has no desire to get wisdom? Proverbs 17:16

Joy to the world,

In America we have come to realize since our birth as a nation that man was meant to be free. That's why we associate the word freedom with being American. The anti-Capitalists only use the term "freedom of choice" when it comes to abortion but throw away the same logic when it comes for a person's "right to choose" what to do with their personal property. (their business, their money, their land, and their home. Etc...Etc) But if you think about it you'll agree that we are only happy as humans when we are living for our own inner peace. Are women who unfortunately get tied up in an abusive relationship happy? Are people who have a nightmare boss happy? The obvious answer is no; so what is the remedy to such scenarios? Freedom. Leaving an abusive relationship or a nightmare job for a more pleasant one is illustrative of the beauty of freedom. That is what Capitalists cherish more than any other group of economic thinkers--freedom. Freedom is what brings joy to the human heart and breeds healthy decision making. If you still aren't convinced of this fact, talk with someone who lived in Soviet Russia and ask them how joyful life was without Capitalism.

Economics in more places than you realize,

A lot of people who knock Capitalism are hypocritical in their criticisms. For instance most of them insist that the government should be in the business of helping people do things more efficiently and safely. (speed limits, FDA restrictions on medications, and building codes) Upon making such claims, the anti-Capitalists insist that the cost of government intervention is well worth it. I think it would be a safe bet to book, that the same people who say such nonsense would not make a habit of running a red light every time they get the chance on the road. Obviously because taking such a risk could result in bad results including death. However taking such a risk could result in good things including getting to places on time, less stress from waiting in traffic, and getting to places before a crowd forms. But these people in one instance say that costs aren't important, and yet make daily decisions that show that they know costs are important. Economic decisions are made everyday; often some forget what they already know to be true because they think the people in Washington know better.

Explaining the ignorance,

All pro-Capitalists will agree that a lot of Americans misunderstand Capitalism. The question is: why are so many people ignorant of free-market Capitalism? The answer is in a word: tradition. By this I mean the traditional catch phrases that parents have told their children since the New Deal era. For instance, Democrats are for the poor and Republicans are for the rich. It's not as easy to get away with those lies today since there are many resources available today to debunk them. (cable news, talk radio, and the blogosphere) The reason such people believe that Democrats are for helping the poor is because Democrats support government welfare to "help the poor". Anyone who uses logic knows that government welfare causes individuals to not take action to improve their own lives since the government can give them money for nothing. So is that really "helping the poor"? Of course it isn't. Republicans are accused of being "for the rich" because they believe people who work for their money ought to be able to keep more of it. You never get called "greedy" for wanting other people's money; (government welfare) only if you wish to keep more of your own money are you called "greedy".
Talk show host Rusty Humphries says that in his opinion FDR's New Deal brought Socialism to this country. I have to agree with him.

Speaking for myself,

Part of the credit for my understanding of Capitalism goes to my father, Clyde Mathes. He's still alive and kicking at age 59 and is a living testament to living the American dream. He was born into poverty and spent all of his childhood years in it. He only achieved an 8th grade education, (he later obtained his GED) and didn't marry until his late 20's. My father was the exception of his day, his living conditions during his childhood were some of the worst even among the poor of his day. No indoor plumbing, a shack for a house, no clothes except some scraps of cloth, no electricity, and his mother couldn't read or write. He had more in common with people who lived 500 years ago than people today. He isn't rich today, but he is fairly well off and the father of two children (me and my brother Jeremy Mathes) who will graduate from college within a year. He kept working at a job for over 12 years (where he still works) and started his own landscaping business. I'm very proud of him, and without saying a word his life shows that no amount of hardship can hold back a man who wants to make it in a Capitalist society!

"Every person carves his spot - and fills the hole with life. And I pray someday I might - light as bright as he." - Conway Twitty

Making it work,

It continues to amaze me to see the number of people who think throwing money around can "end poverty". If you want to end poverty I got two words for you: teach Capitalism. No amount of money given to someone for being unproductive will ever help them to become productive. On the other hand if you show them that they have power within themselves to create wealth, they will set out to do just that and thus eliminate any "poverty" that may exist in their life. To really fight poverty in a society you must do everything possible to get people to rely on themselves to solve their problems. Until that happens the people will continue to live in fear and look to Uncle Sam for handouts to ease that fear.

Capitalism and equality,

Equality is a word often used by anti-Capitalists. They try to sell the notion that Capitalism isn't fair because it doesn't offer "equality" between the rich man and the poor man. But "equality" isn't the same thing as freedom, which is the root of Capitalism. Everyone seems to grasp this concept when it pertains to other things; for instance when someone wins a state lottery nobody expects the state to give all lottery players a million dollars to achieve "equality" between the winners and losers. Nor should anyone expect the government to reward anyone for not offering goods and services that the public wants. If you are creative enough to offer goods and services that the public demands, Capitalism will always be kind to you. Unfortunately some people today believe that achievers and non-achievers should all be treated "equal". Let's pray that Capitalism survives such nonsense.

Long live competition,

In today's media liberals often trash certain corporations as being a "monopoly" (Microsoft) or holding "too big a share"(Wal-Mart) in the free market. But is such competition really a bad thing? No. Competition is what makes the market attractive to customers like me and you; you might even say that we control the market. We are the one's who made Wal-Mart as big as it is by buying their products. Microsoft also gave us something we wanted in return for us giving Microsoft our money; that's how markets work.

If the Republicans failed to run a candidate in the 2008 presidential election, do you not think that the lesser known parties (Constitutional Party, libertarian Party) would take advantage and run their candidate? Of course they would, otherwise the Democrats would have a monopoly on the race. That's why the free market doesn't favor monopolies contrary to what the anti-Capitalists tell you, because when any company tries to become a monopoly competitors enter the market.

More than money,

I often warn people about government welfare programs. Most often I explain the injustice of taking money away from one American and giving it to another one. But aside from that injustice there is another.....and that is robbing an individual of their potential. You can give a person a welfare check that will pay for their immediate needs (food, shelter, clothing. etc..) but at the same time that keeps them looking to the government for answers instead of looking within themselves. A person is better served working for $100 a week, than sitting at home and receiving $400 a week in government welfare; they are better off working because only then do they develop their potential. That's why past generations of Americans were happy with far less than Americans have today. They were forced to develop their full potential without government help; they knew that a good work ethic is worth more than money.

The whole equation,

When it comes to basic economics most people are in the dark. Union leaders, politicians, and activists often seek out "bargains" in any way they can. Some complaints you hear from such people are outsourcing of jobs, high gas prices, and a low minimum wage. Rarely do such people understand the whole part of the equation of those things. They look for ways to save jobs and money, and often they do just the opposite. They confuse cost with price. High gas prices doesn't necessarily mean the cost of gas is high. In the 1970's price controls made the price of gas drop, while the cost of it went up. Time and travel are not free and a lot of that occurred in the 1970's, as people hunted for a gas station that had a shorter waiting line. What people fail to see when they are critical of "outsourcing" is that the consumer benefits from lower prices and as a result more benefits are created for everyone. When the idea of minimum wage comes around a lot of its backers think of it as the moral thing to do. But they fail to see that as a result of minimum wage, people with little or no skills (including mentally handicapped people) get priced out off the job market. We should see past our emotions in order to see the whole equation.

Consider the source,

Most of today's (and yesterday's) anti-Capitalists are unique. You'll find upon research that most of the people who demand government programs for "the poor" are fairly wealthy! For instance if Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Michael Moore, and Al Franken are so concerned for the poor they shouldn't wait on George Bush to "end poverty"; they should be out there using their amassed wealth to help the poor. The same was true for the Marxists of yesterday who often raised their voice to help the poor; the one's who were activists and politicians were wealthy from the get go; they used the help the poor slogan to achieve more wealth for themselves with little genuine concern for the poor. Karl Marx himself was wealthy at the time he wrote The Communist Manifesto. I am glad to see more people these days question the legitimacy of those who claim to be "for the little guy". The next time you hear a do-gooder's sermon on poverty in America, consider the source.

Why tax cuts work, (every time)

Some people believe that when the government raises taxes, the government actually takes in more money. That is not the way it happens. When the government lowers the tax rate, it takes in more money, than when it raises the tax rate. Why is this so? Because more taxpayers enter the market when the tax rate is low. Conversely more taxpayers leave the market via "tax shelter" accounts and offshore accounts whenever the tax rate is raised. Whenever the tax rate is lowered, people pull their money out of such shelters and use it in the free market. Believe it or not a Democrat president understood this a few decades ago; his name was John F. Kennedy.
If only his party today would understand Capitalism's Truths as well as he did!

Can solving economic problems be expensive?

Words such as "affordable" and "free" get used often by liberal politicians who demand some form of government welfare for the poor. That covers everything from "free healthcare" to "affordable housing". Now the question you should ask yourself concerning such ideas is, will more problems be created by the use of government intervention? So-called "free healthcare" is a good example. What happens to a doctor's office when they offer "free" services? They get clogged with so many people that you could wait months at a time to get to see the doctor; not to mention the fact that if you are a taxpayer the services aren't "free" at all. As for "affordable housing" you need not look further than our government housing projects. Ask the people who live there if they feel delighted to live in their environment. So we need to ask ourselves whenever a politician promises help from the government: " Could this eliminate one problem and create ten others?"

Excessive force,

Whenever I hear a charge of "excessive force" being leveled against a policeman in the media I am puzzled. Why do we never hear of "excessive force" when it comes to the government taking away money from some Americans by threat of force, and giving it to other Americans? But you may wonder what I mean by threat of force. If I refuse to pay taxes to the government, what happens? I will of course be arrested eventually for tax evasion; arrest would of course carry with it, the use of force by the government to put me in jail.

Taxes will always be with us, but how do we know what to tax for? The Constitution gives the government specific duties for which it can tax. There was never supposed to be taxes to pay for a Senator's garage, or to pay for health care for the less fortunate. Since FDR's New Deal, the American people have been looking to Washington for answers to their problems.

Free trade,

A lot of folks who don't grasp the concept of free trade often attack it. To them it is seen as shipping jobs overseas or unpatriotic. One thing that such people tend to overlook is the role of the individual in free trade. If you purchase a Japanese made car, isn't that well within your rights to do so? Of course it is; so you see that free trade in that instance isn't between the American government and the Japanese government. It is between individuals, such as yourself and the CEO of a Japanese automobile company. If you stifle free trade, you stifle the freedom of the individual. Remember the individual is the basic unit of a free nation.

To learn more about free trade click here!