Essential Liberty

Columnist John Stossel: “Some things ought to be done by government: things like running courts, policing pollution and protecting the border. But most everything else should be left to private actors. Government offers guarantees on paper and promises in speeches. But government rarely delivers. Private companies did brilliant Internet work for President Obama’s election campaign. But when it came to his health insurance website, the president put government in charge. We saw the result. Markets aren’t perfect, but they allow for a world where prudence is rewarded and sloth punished, a world in which more people take risks and innovate. That’s a world where people prosper. Some prosper instead of waiting – and sometimes dying – while hoping government will eventually get things right.”