This morning, on the anniversary of our nation's independence, I walked down to the National Mall to observe the celebrations taking place. Little Richard is scheduled to play this evening (which was a surprise to me since I thought he was dead).
By the looks of it the federal government is awash in money, because there appears to be no scaling back in 4th of July festivities from previous years. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is taking place, which means the USG has set up a series of booths hawking handicrafts and foods from places around the world, while enlightening us masses as to the value of various international folklife customs. I am a little unsure how this fits in with Independence Day celebrations, but regardless, the event (and the Independence Day celebrations in general) seemed well-planned and supported. No place was this more evident than in law enforcement. Between the Capital and the Lincoln Memorial I counted no less than a dozen law enforcement agencies at work (Washington Metro PD, DC Police, Virginia State Police, Arlington County Police, Arlington County Sheriffs, US Park Police, US Secret Service, National Institute of Health Police, Capital Police, US Coast Guard, FBI, and Smithsonian Protection Services). On top of that, the US Public Health Service had set up a decontamination station just outside of Arlington Cemetery, fire departments and EMS of all stripes were present, and the Red Cross was handing out water. All this while an officious little man in an unidentifiable uniform rode about the World War II Memorial in a golf cart, telling people where not to walk and ordering assistants to check the links in the endless line of fences- a small part in a massive effort to secure a perimeter.
I am all for security and even though the federal government is essentially insolvent, I am not going to complain about funding a modest 4th of July celebration and the police services which are critical to support a safe event. What irked me, oddly, was the private sector's involvement in the effort.
As I walked by the Washington Monument someone handed me a t shirt. For free.
What the heck, I thought, could this be? Who is paying to handout shirts? Hopefully not the USG.
Well, not directly.
The t shirt was part of a PR campaign from the Trust for the National Mall.
At first blush The Trust for the National Mall sounds like a very liberty oriented idea. Various members of the private sector have united to raise funds to repair the National Mall, which has not had a real refurbishing since 1976. The problem is, and I have the tag on my t shirt which reads "Boeing" to prove it, the companies partaking in this endeavor are part of the growing problem of corporatism in America, a bastardization of the idea that the federal government has certain responsibilities and business has its own.
Be suspicious of any company that wants to help. Businesses, as they should, seek profit. It is no coincidence that some of the corporate members of The Trust for the National Mall are major government contractors who enjoy political benefits from dancing closely with the USG. Boeing is joined by USG loving companies like Lockheed Martin and BGR Group in their effort to rehabilitate the Mall. To be fair, these businesses and others might really just want to help (and enjoy the public relations and tax break benefits such convenient altruism allows). But we must always be cautious that such kindness is part of an effort to ingratiate a company with the USG movers and shakers needed to secure generous federal contracts. We will leave that to the Washington Post to investigate.
The larger problem, and it seems odd that a libertarian would take this view but I strongly believe it is correct, is that the federal government is shirking its duty here. There are some things the feds are supposed to do. Taking care of the National Mall is certainly one of them. The growing idea that we are all in this together and that there is no separation between the USG and businesses and that with competent leadership in Washington we can all find our bright, utopian future and march forward together, arm in arm like young pioneers, scares the heck out of me.
The overextension of the USG's authority is what allows such a dangerous idea. The reasoning is similar to the "it is hard to enforce all existing SEC regulations, so we need to nationalize the banks" argument. The fact that presently the USG is unable to fix a problem might suggest that less and not more action is needed from the state in that area.
The USG needs to concentrate on doing the finite number of things it is supposed to do and the private sector should focus on making money in an open, fair marketplace. That does not mean corrupting the political process to secure monopolies or advantages other enterprises do not enjoy.
Maybe Boeing just wanted to do something nice. If I were a shareholder, that would infuriate me. It is not that I am opposed to doing nice things, but if Boeing has extra money sitting around, kick it back to me in a dividend so I can invest it as I see fit. Maybe I would prefer to give it to cancer research rather than the National Mall. They are both sensible causes, but my democratic tendencies suggest I should be able to choose where to donate.
Maybe Boeing wanted some good PR. If that is the case, the USG's neglect of a federal obligation should not be the avenue to promote a private agenda. There are limited areas in which the feds should operate- but where they exist we should demand competent and effective service. Going hat in hand to the private sector means that the USG has either bit off more than it can chew or it is simply neglecting its responsibilities. Do not mistake the government seeking out private sector partners as a sign of some pro-capitalism development in the USG. It is simply an attempt to disguise big government under the cloak of the equally odious corporatism. If a project is not funded, than the federal government should not be in operating in that area. If Congress, that is the people, select not to allot funds for a program it is not up to federal bureaucrats to go out and beg for cash, utilizing the good name of the USG for their efforts. The decision has already been made that this is not a priority. (For the record, I firmly believe that the National Mall should be a federal priority- the problem is that Congress has already spent, borrowed, printed, created so much money for other unnecessary programs, they have a hard time finding the scratch needed to clean up the duck feces clogging the reflecting pool in front of the Capitol. Maybe we can sell the guano rights to a mining firm. It would be a first for this Congress- actually creating some manufacturing jobs in the US).
Most disturbingly about this whole affair though, maybe my t shirt was part of a campaign to schmooze with the feds to gain more contracts, almost certainly wasteful and unnecessary.
No matter what their motivation though, we need to reject the idea that the USG and business need to unite. I can buy my own t shirts, just like I can make my own donations, and I do not need a fusion of the private sector and the federal government to direct me how to do it.
Sensible libertarian views on nearly everything- except foreign affairs.