Bad business fails, bad government thrives

The report by Municipal Resources Inc. on the Exeter government’s attempts at economic direction is available online through ENL.

At first, this bad report card seems like good news. It should cause more people to realize the futility of government planning, even at the local level. The Exeter government cannot and should not allocate capital goods to their most strongly demanded ends. It is logically impossible for bureaucracy to do this, as Mises pointed out years ago. The report should signal that the Exeter government should be relieved of its powers, duties, and responsibilities. All “public” property that is currently (not) maintained by the Exeter government could be ceded as shares to taxpayers, who can buy and sell their shares voluntarily.  

Unfortunately, whereas failing marks for a business leads to its bankruptcy, failing marks for a government increases its expropriation and control. The report itself pretends that the Exeter government is a business, with voluntarily paying customers rather than mulcted taxpayers. Its recommendations, at its mildest, do nothing but rearrange the deck chairs. Worse, of course, is their recommendation to centralize government power even further, a “written economic development plan,” “more consolidated management and coordination of various activities,” etc. Only in a perverse society would a history of wasteful capital spending and suspect motives would be promoted. The report even offers one right over the plate for Dan “beautify my storefront” Chartrand, with the introduction describing a “tattered” downtown in Exeter (which, according to the report, is home of Phillips Andover Academy).

The report goes on to say that there is a lack of a “cohesive vision.” Why should there be a cohesive vision? There are 14000 people within the political entity called Exeter. Every individual has different valuations, goals, and demands. What the statement really means is that the Exeter government cannot make us taxpayers more pliable and obedient. This does not happen on the market. People buy and sell voluntarily. A cohesive vision, if you can use such an idealistic and empty phrase, occurs naturally as producers align their supply with consumer demand. The beauty of the market is well-described in Leonard Read’s “I, Pencil.”  

How much was MRI paid to do this review?