Posted on Tuesday, 22nd December 2009 by admin
What the Christmas story tells us about big government.
The story of the virgin birth–Joseph, Mary and Jesus–is told often at this time of the year. The book of Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because Caesar Augustus decreed that a census should be taken. Mary delivered the baby after arriving in Bethlehem and “placed [baby Jesus] in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Conventional wisdom assumes that Mary and Joseph were somehow mistreated by a greedy, evil capitalist innkeeper. This hearsay is repeated in just about every play, skit or sermon on the subject, with nothing to back it up.
The Bible does not name an innkeeper. There is no record of anyone complaining at the time, nor apparently were Mary and Joseph charged for the use of the stable. The town was overflowing because of the census, which was ordered for the purposes of taxation. Small towns all over were packed as people returned to their ancestral homes. In other words, the problem, if you can call it that, was caused by the unintended consequences of government policy.
The fact that this narrative about the greedy innkeeper has become conventional wisdom is a testament to how successful government has been in tarnishing the reputation of businesspeople. But one could easily argue that the innkeeper was generous to a fault. Faced with an overbooked hotel, he offered his stable to a young, pregnant, road-weary couple–possibly free of charge. The stable existed because he had built it and accumulated the assets in it, including the manger.
If you listen to the politicians, today’s innkeepers are insurance companies making “obscene profits,” doctors who “make a lot more money if [they] take this kid’s tonsils out” and “fat cat” bankers. Add oil company executives to the mix and we have the makings of a Charles Dickens novel on a grand scale–with Ebenezer Scrooges everywhere.
All this perceived evil is supposedly done by people who somehow find themselves in a position to mistreat others at will. The fact that they work for banks or insurance companies doesn’t change the fact that it is people who do evil, if it is being done, not institutions. And this brings up an important point. If you run into an evil person–whether they are on their own, or they work at a for-profit or a not-for-profit organization, or if they work for government, they are still evil.
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Many seem to believe that government is necessary to protect people from all this evil. Few stop and wonder if this line of thought makes any sense. After all, if it is people who are evil, then we should want to make sure no one has absolute power and authority over others.
In a capitalist system, free market competition does that. No business can force you to buy their service or product. You have choices. But government is a different story. It has the power of the law behind its demands. Whether you want to or not, you must pay into Social Security. And the new health care bill says you must have insurance or face punishment.
Pure undemocratic socialism forces people to follow the will of the state; that’s why there are guards at the borders of North Korea and the shores of Cuba to keep people from leaving. But the writers of the U.S. Constitution made sure there were checks and balances in the system. That’s why the U.S. has three branches of government and elections. So if enough people believe national health care will increase the odds that every new child will eventually be born in a manger, they can always throw the bums out and start over again. To some, this may not be as good as having a savior, but it sure gives those who are fearful of big government some real hope at this time of the year.
Brian S. Wesbury is chief economist and Robert Stein senior economist at First Trust Advisors in Wheaton, Ill. They write a weekly column for Forbes. Brian S. Wesbury is the author ofIt’s Not As Bad As You Think: Why Capitalism Trumps Fear and the Economy Will Thrive.
Read more Forbes Opinions here.
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