Monday, September 30, 2013

Clueless Robert Reich Doesn't Realize He Was Protected by the Private Sector

Robert Reich, who has never seen a government intervention he doesn't like, tells this story on his blog:
As a child I was bullied by bigger boys who threatened to beat me up if I didn’t give them what they wanted. But every time I gave in to their demands their subsequent demands grew larger. First they wanted the change in my pocket. Next it was the dessert in my lunchbox. Then my new Davy Crockett cap. Then the softball and bat I got for my birthday.

Finally I stopped giving in. When the bullies began roughing me up on the playground some older boys came to my rescue and threatened my tormenters with black eyes if they ever touched me again. That ended their extortion racket.
Where was the government? Where were the public school administrators?  He was protected by the private sector.

8 comments:

  1. As an employer I was bullied by bigger employers (the biggest, actually, being run at the time by a mealy mouthed dwarf on behalf of a serial cheat and liar) who threatened to throw me in jail if I didn’t give them what they wanted. But every time I gave in to their demands their subsequent demands grew larger. First they wanted me to give them an extra 7.65% on top of each of my employees' annual compensation. Next it was 12 weeks' mandatory unpaid leave per year for any employee who thought they had a qualifying exigency (plus I had to keep paying their healthcare premiums while they were "on leave"). Then I had to pay them more per hour than I could afford and still make a decent return on my investment. Then I was forced to let them join a trade union.

    Finally in 1996 I stopped giving in. When the bullies began harrassing me in my workplace, no one came to my rescue to threaten my tormenters with black eyes if they ever touched me again. Instead I just closed shop and laid everybody off. That ended the dwarf's DC extortion racket for me.

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    1. Bully for you, Chris!

      I'm not a huge Ayn Rand fan- her dogmatism is just too much- but the crux of "Atlas Shrugged" was spot on. I have a feeling that you are not alone, and that your ranks

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    2. Damn ipad! Chris, I am certain many more people like you will do the same thing over the next few years- doctors, manufacturers, etc.- and the government will just try to squeeze the rest even more.

      Fitz

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  2. As usual, bullying is the norm with govt institutions. Luckily the free market saved him. Great point, wenzel! Those bullies grew up to be congressmen, cops, IRS employees, DMV employees, and various other dc thugs.

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  3. But for the compulsory government schools*, he might have attended bully-free private schools and only associated with people of which he and his parents approved.

    *which involves real bullying in forcing you to go and forcing you to pay for it.

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  4. This proves we can completely eliminate law enforcement. If someone beats up a little old lady, the big kids who rescued Reich will come to her rescue.

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    1. Just like on clockwork orange, the bullies in this story became law enforcement. And yes, we would be better off without cops and protecting ourselves.

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    2. No, Jerry you idiot, either the little old lady is still going to be beat up because there are only so many cops around and they can only come in after the fact, or we would have private security and there would me more manpower allocated to it due to our not going after vices and there would a security/ peacekeeper agent at most malls, shopping centers and developments thus creating a greater deterring factor of aggression against people.

      BTW, if you're going to present a fallacy, such as the above false choice, at least use a little imagination.

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