Email to Steven Pearlstein

Email sent in response to this column in today's Washington Post:

Mr. Pearlstein,

In today's column you call for increased taxes on the rich, stating that their money is needed to bankroll infrastructure investments. However, non-security discretionary spending in FY 2010 was $553 billion. The idea that the federal government can't get by on over a half-trillion dollars in spending and needs to tax its citizens even more is outrageous. The logic at work on tax increases simply seems to be, "They've got it and we want it."

Furthermore, why should any money be spent on high-speed rail, clean energy or air traffic control? Air traffic control should simply be privatized, as has been done to good effect in Canada. High-speed rail makes little sense in a country with low population density and vast distances such as ours, and there is no obvious reason why this is a government function anyhow. The government doesn't operate airlines or car manufacturers (well, until recently at least) -- why does passenger rail operation make sense?

As for clean energy, how would government allocate money to this hobby horse more effectively than markets? If these investments make sense, shouldn't the private sector be rushing to fund it with their own money? The fact that they aren't perhaps suggests this isn't worth doing.

Lastly, I have no idea no idea how the federal government promoting various types of energy use comports at all with our constitution, which seems to be an increasingly overlooked document.

Regards,

Colin

I forgot to also take issue with his statement that, "Over the years, this idea [of a National Infrastructure Bank] has won bipartisan support from business groups, labor unions, governors and big-city mayors." Why Pearlstein thinks it is noteworthy that corporate interest groups, labor unions and politicians (governors and big-city mayors, gotta love that) all want funds from the public trough is beyond me.

Reading the column and Pearlstein's recommendations for how hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money should be spent reminded me of this interview with Nick Gillespie:

[Los Angeles and DC] have nothing in common, other than they are packed with conniving bastards who are convinced of their own genius and want to finance everything with other people's money.

Spot on.