Monthly Archives: August 2012

Evangelical review of the question: “Was Ayn Rand right?” (Part 2)

August 10, 2012 – 6:57 am

 

Ayn Rand Mike Wallace Interview 1959 part 2

Was Ayn Rand Right?

Article ID: JAF1324

By: Jay W. Richards

Synopsis

In response to the critics of capitalism, many conservative Christians turn to philosopher Ayn Rand for ammunition. Rand was a staunch defender of capitalism, but also an anti-Christian atheist who argued that capitalism was based on greed. Greed, for Rand, is good. But if Rand is right, then Christians can’t be capitalists, because greed is a sin. Fortunately, Rand was wrong. She missed the subtleties of capitalism. First, we should distinguish self-interest from selfishness. Adam Smith, the father of capitalism, famously wrote, “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.” True enough; but that alone isn’t a problem. Every time you wash your hands or look both ways before you cross the street, you’re pursuing your self-interest—but neither activity is selfish. Second, Smith never argued that the more selfish we are, the better a market works. His point, rather, is that in a free market, each of us can pursue ends within our narrow sphere of competence and concern—our “self-interest”—and yet an order will emerge that vastly exceeds anyone’s deliberations. Finally, Smith argued that capitalism channels greed, which is a good thing. The point is that even if the butcher is selfish, he can’t make you buy his meat. He has to offer you meat at a price you’ll willingly buy. So capitalism doesn’t need greed. What it does need is rule of law, freedom, and human creativity and initiative. And we can point that out without any help from Ayn Rand.

_________

SELFISHNESS AND SELF-INTEREST

Some thirty million books by Rand have been sold, and more than five-hundred thousand copies of her books are still sold every year. In a poll conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club in the 1990s, Atlas Shrugged came in second behind the Bible as the most influential book. Although her work is best known in the U.S., it’s read around the world.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that many conservatives, including many Christians, embrace her: they think they have nowhere else to go. Who but Rand made industrialists the heroes of novels? Whatever the reasons for her popularity, however, she completely missed the subtleties of capitalism. Her hatred of Marxism and collectivism led her to defend a caricature of capitalism more grotesque than anything Marx imagined.

Her praise of “greed” is the reduction to the absurd of a bad interpretation of Adam Smith’s concept of self-interest. Smith, a moral philosopher, didn’t goad butchers, brewers, and bakers to be more selfish.10 He believed that normal adults aren’t self-absorbed monads but have a natural sympathy for their fellow human beings. His point about self-interest is that, in a rightly ordered market economy, you’re usually better off appealing to someone’s self-love than to their kindness. The butcher is more likely to give you meat if it’s a win-win trade, for example, than if you’re reduced to begging. Smith isn’t suggesting that butchers should never help beggars.11

Smith was a realist. He wasn’t naïve about the motives of merchants and everyone else. In fact, like most academics, he harbored snobbish prejudices against business. He knew the difference, however, between self-interest and mere selfishness.12 Smith believed humans are a mixed breed. We are pulled to and fro by our whims and passions, but we’re not a slave to them, since our passions can be checked by the “impartial spectator” of reason. We are capable of vices such as greed and virtues such as sympathy.

Unlike Mandeville, moreover, Smith didn’t view all our passions as vicious. We may be passionately committed to a just cause, for instance. At the same time, he saw greed as a vice. So while he agreed with Mandeville that private vices could lead to public goods, he was an ardent critic of the Dutchman. “There is,” he said, “another system which seems to take away altogether the distinction between vice and virtue, and of which the tendency is, upon that account, wholly pernicious: I mean the system of Dr. Mandeville.”13 You’d never catch Smith endorsing Ayn Rand.

For Smith, pursuing your self-interest was not in itself immoral. Every second of the day, you act in your own interest. Every time you take a breath, wash your hands, eat your fiber, take your vitamins, look both ways before crossing the street, take a shower, pay your bills, go to the doctor, read a book, and pray for God’s forgiveness, you’re pursuing your self-interest. That’s not just okay. In most cases, you ought to do these things.

In fact, proper self-interest is the basis for the “Golden Rule,” which Jesus called the second greatest commandment, after the command to love God: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12 NIV). I’m supposed to use my rightful concern for myself as a guide in how I treat others. This makes sense, since I know best what I need. “Every man is, no doubt, by nature,” Smith said, “first and principally recommended to his own care; and as he is fitter to take care of himself than of any other person, it is fit and right that it should be so.”14

Self-interest isn’t just looking out for number one at everyone else’s expense. Since we’re social beings, our self-interest includes our friends, families, communities, coworkers, coreligionists, and others.15 When I pay my bills, I’m not just pursuing my narrow interest, but the interests of my family, my bank, my community, and whomever I’m paying. I chose my church and my neighborhood and my car not just for myself, but for my children. (Mostly for them, in fact. If I were childless, do you think I’d drive a grey Honda Accord?)

Most of your choices involve the interests of others, too. Self-interest has to do with those things we know, value, and have some control over. I’m most responsible for what I do. Smith’s point was not that the more selfish we are, the better a market works. His point, rather, is that in a free market, each of us can pursue ends within our narrow sphere of competence and concern—our “self-interest”—and yet an order will emerge that vastly exceeds anyone’s deliberations.16 The same would be true, even if we did everything with godly rather than mixed motives. The central point is not our greed, but the limits to our knowledge. The market is a higher-level order that exceeds the knowledge of any and all of us.

10 See the excellent article on this point by Robert A. Black, “What Did Adam Smith Say about Self-Love?” Journal of Markets and Morality 9, 1 (Spring 2006): 7–34.

11 The “butcher, brewer, baker” quote is notoriously misinterpreted when pulled out of context. For context, see Wealth of Nations, 15.

12 So Smith, in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, says: “It is the great fallacy of Dr. Mandeville’s book to represent every passion as wholly vicious which is so in any degree and in any direction.” Quoted in F. B. Kaye’s commentary to Bernard Mandeville, Fable of the Bees, vol. 2 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1924; repr. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1988), 414.

13 Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, ed. D. D. Raphael and A. L. Macfie (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976; reprint Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1981). Quoted in P. J. O’Rourke, On the Wealth of Nations (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007), 157.

14 Smith, Theory of Moral Sentiments.

15 Smith understood this, but he is often misinterpreted by later economists working in a more thoroughgoing utilitarian and individualistic mindset. As James Halterman puts it, “Clearly Smith’s notion of self-interest is not expressed as the isolated preference of an independent economic agent, but, rather, as the conditioned response of an interdependent participant in a social process.” In “Is Adam Smith’s Moral Philosophy an Adequate Foundation for the Market Economy?” Journal of Markets and Morality 6, 2 (Fall 2003): 459.

16 Robin Klay and John Lunn develop this idea in their excellent article, “The Relationship of God’s Providence to Market Economies and Economic Theory,” Journal of Markets and Morality 6, 2 (Fall 2003): 547–59.

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Christian view versus Ayn Rand on altruism (Part 4)

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Christians welcome nonbelievers like Dan Mitchell in their criticism of Ayn Rand’s view of altruism

Nonbelievers like Rand really do not have an answer to the question “What is the meaning of life?” Ayn Rand on the Purpose of Life Christians are commanded to help others by Christ. However, many Christians do believe in the free market and think that system best suits the ideas that flow from Christianity. (Doug […]

Christian view versus Ayn Rand on altruism (Part 3)

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Christian view versus Ayn Rand on altruism (Part 1)

Uploaded by LibertyPen on Oct 26, 2009 Ayn Rand makes the case that altruism is evil. ___________________  I ran across a fine article that takes a look at Ayn Rand’s view of capitalism and selfishness and compares it to the Christian view found in the Bible. I have decided to start a series on this […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Edit | Comments (0)
By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

“Friedman Friday” : Jewish tradition is so akin to capitalism but many Jews are socialists, what a paradox (Part 2)

August 10, 2012 – 6:53 am

Milton Friedman on the American Economy (5 of 6)

Uploaded by on Aug 9, 2009

THE OPEN MIND
Host: Richard D. Heffner
Guest: Milton Friedman
Title: A Nobel Laureate on the American Economy VTR: 5/31/77

__________________

Below is a part of the series on an article by Milton Friedman called “Capitalism and the Jews” published in 1972. 

Capitalism and the Jews

October 1988 • Volume: 38 • Issue: 10 • Print This Post • 11 comments

Milton Friedman, recipient of the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, is a Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. This article is reprinted with the permission of Encounter and The Fraser Institute.

“Capitalism and the Jews” was originally presented as a lecture before the Mont Pelerin Society in 1972. It subsequently was published in England and Canada and appears here without significant revision.

________

I.       Paradox Exposed 

Postwar Collectivism in the West 

Immediately after the Second World War, the prospects for freedom looked bleak. The war had produced an unprecedented centralization of economic controls in every belligerent country. The “socialists of all parties,” to whom F. A. Hayek dedicated his brilliant polemic The Road to Serfdom, seemed well on their way to establishing central planning as the standard for peace as for war, pointing triumphantly to the full employment that had been produced by inflationary war finance as decisive evidence for the superiority of central planning over capitalist chaos. And, if that occurred, there seemed little hope of halting the slide toward full-fledged collectivism. 

Fortunately, those fears have not been realized over the intervening years. On the contrary, government inefficiency together with the clear conflict between central planning and individual freedom served to check the trend towards collectivism. In Britain, in France, in the U.S., war-time controls were dismantled and market mechanisms were given greater play. In West Germany, the courageous action of Ludwig Erhard in ending controls in the summer of 1948 triggered the so-called German economic miracle. Even behind the Iron Cur- rain, Yugoslavia broke with its Soviet masters, rejected detailed control of the economy, and treated us to the surprising vision of creeping capitalism in an avowedly communist society. 

Unfortunately, these checks to collectivism did not check the growth of government. Rather, they diverted that growth from central direction of the economy to central control of the distribution of the product, to the wholesale transfer of income from some members of the community to others. 

The Collectivist Trend in Ideas

Much more important and much more relevant to our society, the favorable trends in the world of affairs were not paralleled in the world of ideas. For a time, there was an intellectual reaction against governmental intervention. Some of us optimistically envisioned a resurgence of liberal values, the emergence of a new trend of opinion favorable to a free society. But any such resurgence was spotty and short-lived. Intellectual opinion in the West has again started moving in a collectivist direction. Many of the slogans are individualist—participatory democracy, down with the establishment, “do your own thing,” “power to the people.” But the slogans are accompanied by attacks on private property and free enterprise—the only institutions capable of achieving the individualistic objectives. They are accompanied by a demand for centralized political power—but with “good” people instead of “bad” people exercising the power. 

West Germany is perhaps the most striking example of the paradoxical developments in the world of affairs and the world of ideas. Who could ask for a better comparison of two sets of institutions than East and West Germany have provided in the past two decades? Here are people of the same blood, the same civilization, the same level of technical skill and knowledge, torn asunder by the accidents of warfare. The one adopts central direction; the other adopts a social market economy. Which has to build a wall to keep its citizens from leaving? On which side of the wall is there tyranny and misery; on which side, freedom and affluence? Yet despite this dramatic demonstration, despite the Nazi experience—which alone might be expected to immunize a society for a century against collectivism—the intellectual climate in Germany, I am told, is overwhelmingly collectivist—in the schools, the universities, the mass media alike.

This paradox is a major challenge to those of us who believe in freedom. Why have we been so unsuccessful in persuading intellectuals everywhere of our views? Our opponents would give the obvious answer: because we are wrong and they are right. Until we can answer them and ourselves in some other way, we cannot reject their answer, we cannot be sure we are right. And until we find a satisfactory answer, we are not likely to succeed in changing the climate of opinion. 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Milton Friedman | Comments (0)

Past Little Rock Touchdown Club meetings (Part 2)

August 10, 2012 – 6:24 am

This year’s Little Rock Touchdown Club speakers are very exciting and I am really excited about the first one being Mark May. Below that are some of the posts about past speakers. Here is more about Mark May from Wikipedia:

Mark Eric May (born November 2, 1959) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League for thirteen seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. May played college football for the University of Pittsburgh, and earned All-American honors. He was selected in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and Arizona Cardinals of the NFL. He is currently a football analyst for ESPN.

Contents

 [hide] 

College career

May attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1977 to 1980. As a senior in 1980, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American and received the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate interior lineman. The university retired May’s jersey number (73) in 2001, and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Professional career

The Washington Redskins drafted May with the 20th pick of the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, and he played guard for the Redskins from 1981 to 1990. He was a member of the famed “Hogs” offensive line, which was instrumental in the Redskins’ victories in Super Bowl XVII and XXII (though May was injured for Super Bowl XVII). He was named one of the 70 greatest Redskins of all time.[1]

Following his tenure with the Redskins, May played for the San Diego Chargers (1991) and Phoenix Cardinals (1992–93) before his retirement in 1993.

Broadcasting career

In 1995, May was hired by TNT as a studio analyst on its Sunday Night Football broadcasts. In 1997, May became a game analyst for the Sunday Night Football broadcasts on TNT.[2] After TNT lost the broadcasting rights to Sunday Night Football following the 1997 season, May joined CBS Sports in 1998 as a game analyst for its NFL coverage from 1998–2000.

In 2001, May joined ESPN as a football analyst and commentator on college football. Along with Lou Holtz, he is currently a regular on the popular College Football Scoreboard and College Football Final as well as appearing on pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage during the season, and on College Football Live in the off-season, and offers analysis on ESPN2 and ESPNews. He was also present in the NFL Live studio throughout the entire 2007 NFL Draft. While not a regular game analyst, he does still work in the booth for games occasionally, as he did for ESPN’s coverage of the 2011 Poinsettia Bowl.

In 2005, he wrote Mark May’s Tales from the Washington Redskins, a book detailing his experiences with the Washington Redskins.

No. 73
Offensive Tackle
Personal information
Date of birth: (1959-11-02) November 2, 1959 (age 52)
Place of birth: Oneonta, New York
Career information
College: Pittsburgh
NFL Draft: 1981 / Round: 1 / Pick: 20
Debuted in 1981 for the Washington Redskins
Last played in 1993 for the Phoenix Cardinals
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Games played 158
Games started 141
Fumble recoveries 5
 

Why is this victory over the Vols so sweet? Probably because of 71 and 98!! jh85

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Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 9)jh77

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Mangino speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 1)

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Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 8)jh76

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Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 7)jh75

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Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 6)jh74

Georgia’s Herschel Walker runs over Tennessee’s Bill Bates Uploaded by GDawg34 on Jun 29, 2007 University of Georgia running back Herschel Walker announces his presence to the world on Sept. 6, 1980 as he absolutely demolishes and demoralizes All-SEC safety Bill Bates from Tennessee, and pretty much the rest of the Volunteer team. With UGA trailing 15-2 at […]

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 5)

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Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 4) jh72

Interview with Johnny Majors after 1982 Kentucky game Jim Harris wrote these words about the Arkansas/Tennessee football series in the past: THE TENNESSEE CONNECTION: Johnny Majors, who led Pittsburgh to the 1976 national championship and directed his alma mater, Tennessee, to SEC championships in 1985, 1989 and 1990, returned to the Little Rock Touchdown Club […]

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 3)

I heard Johnny Majors speak at the November 7, 2011 Little Rock Touchdown Club. He talked about his respect for Frank Broyles and the great coach he was. He also said he saw a lot of those same great qualities in Derek Dooley. Uploaded by TheMemphisSlim on Sep 3, 2010 Johnny Majors from Huntland, TN tried out for the […]

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 2) jh71

Johnny Majors broke the streak of Alabama victories over Tennessee with this victory over Bama pictured below. When Johnny Majors was introduced today at the Little Rock Touchdown Club, it was mentioned that he caused a stir back in 2005 with his previous visit to the Little Rock Touchdown Club. Here is an article from […]

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 1)jh70

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Johnny Majors to speak at Little Rock Touchdown Club: What is connection to Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long?

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News of Pat Summerall’s conversion brought a smile to Tom Landry’s face jh38

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Auburn’s Pat Dye at Little Rock Touchdown Club on Oct 3, 2011

We have had some great speakers at the Little Rock Touchdown Club and Auburn’s Pat Dye has to be included in that list. Jim Harris: No Little Rock Touchdown Club Speaker Quite Like Former Auburn Coach Pat Dye by Jim Harris 10/3/2011 at 3:22pm The last time former Auburn head football coach Pat Dye addressed […]

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

“Music Mondays” here on the www.thedailyhatch.org

August 10, 2012 – 4:19 am

Would you like to know the spirtual meaning of these words above by Coldplay or find a christian response to the song “The Last Resort” by Papa Roach? You could if you checked out “Music Monday” here every week and see all the videos and articles. Take a look at the links before that refer to these songs:

 

“Music Monday” The Monkees (Part 3)

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Otis Redding and Memphis “Music Monday”

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A Christian response to Papa Roach’s song “The Last Resort” (Part 2)

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“Music Monday” Countdown of Coldplay’s best albums (part 2)

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Insight into what Coldplay meant by “St. Peter won’t call my name” (Series on Coldplay’s spiritual search, Part 3)jh61

Coldplay seeks to corner the market on earnest and expressive rock music that currently appeals to wide audiences Here is an article I wrote a couple of years ago about Chris Martin’s view of hell. He says he does not believe in it but for some reason he writes a song that teaches that it […]

 

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Five Key Reasons to Reject Class-Warfare Tax Policy

August 10, 2012 – 12:37 am

Five Key Reasons to Reject Class-Warfare Tax Policy

Uploaded by on Jun 15, 2009

President Obama and other politicians are advocating higher taxes, with a particular emphasis on class-warfare taxes targeting the so-called rich. This Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation video explains why fiscal policy based on hate and envy is fundamentally misguided. For more information please visit our web page: www.freedomandprosperity.org.

Is soaking the rich fair?

Soaking the Rich Is Not Fair

by Jeffrey A. Miron

Jeffrey A. Miron is Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Harvard University and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. Miron blogs at JeffreyMiron.com and is the author of Libertarianism, from A to Z.

Added to cato.org on September 2, 2011

This article appeared on The Huffington Post on September 2, 2011.

What is the “fair” amount of taxation on high-income taxpayers?

To liberals, the answer is always “more.” Liberals view high income — meaning any income that exceeds their own — as the result of luck or anti-social behavior. Hence liberals believe “fairness” justifies government-imposed transfers from the rich to everyone else. Many conservatives accept this view implicitly. They oppose soak-the-rich policies because of concern over growth, but they do not dispute whether such policies are fair.

But high tax rates on the rich are not fair or desirable for any other reason; they are an expression of America’s worst instincts, and their adverse consequences go beyond their negatives for economic growth.

The liberal hatred of the rich is a minority view, not a widely shared American value.

Consider first the view that differences in income result from luck rather than hard work: some people are born with big trust funds or innate skill and talent, and these fortuitous differences explain much of why some people have higher incomes than others.

Never mind that such a characterization is grossly incomplete. Luck undoubtedly explains some income differences, but this is not the whole story. Many trust fund babies have squandered their wealth, and inborn skill or talent means little unless combined with hard work.

But even if all income differences reflect luck, why are government-imposed “corrections” fair? The fact that liberals assert this does not make it true, any more than assertions to the contrary make it false. Fairness is an ill-defined, infinitely malleable concept, readily tailored to suit the ends of those asserting fairness, independent of facts or reason.

Worse, if liberals can assert a right to the wealth of the rich, why cannot others assert the right to similar transfers, such as from blacks to whites, Catholics to Protestants, or Sunni to Shia? Government coercion based on one group’s view of fairness is a first step toward arbitrary transfers of all kinds.

Now consider the claim that income differences result from illegal, unethical, or otherwise inappropriate behavior. This claim has an element of truth: some wealth results from illegal acts, and policies that punish such acts are appropriate.

But most inappropriate wealth accumulations results from bad government policies: those that restrict competition, enable crony capitalism, and hand large tax breaks to politically connected interest groups. These differences in wealth are a social ill, but the right response is removing the policies that promote them, not targeting everyone with high income.

The claim that soaking the rich is fair, therefore, has no basis in logic or in generating desirable outcomes; instead, it represents envy and hatred.

Why do liberals hate the rich? Perhaps because liberals were the “smart” but nerdy and socially awkward kids in high school, the ones who aced the SATs but did not excel at sports and rarely got asked to the prom. Some of their “dumber” classmates, meanwhile, went on to make more money, marry better-looking spouses, and have more fun.

Liberals find all this unjust because it rekindles their emotional insecurities from long ago. They do not have the honesty to accept that those with less SAT smarts might have other skills that the marketplace values. Instead, they resent wealth and convince themselves that large financial gains are ill-gotten.

Jeffrey A. Miron is Senior Lecturer and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Harvard University and Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. Miron blogs at JeffreyMiron.com and is the author of Libertarianism, from A to Z.

More by Jeffrey A. Miron

The liberal views on fairness and redistribution are far more defensible, of course, when it comes to providing for the truly needy. Reasonable people can criticize the structure of current anti-poverty programs, or argue that the system is overly generous, or suggest that private charity would be more effective at caring for the least vulnerable.

The desire to help the poor, however, represents a generous instinct: giving to those in desperate situations, where bad luck undoubtedly plays a major role. Soaking the rich is a selfish instinct, one that undermines good will generally.

And most Americans share this perspective. They are enthusiastic about public and private attempt to help the poor, but they do not agree that soaking the rich is fair. That is why U.S. policy has rarely embraced punitive income taxation or an aggressive estate tax. Instead, Americans are happy to celebrate well-earned success. The liberal hatred of the rich is a minority view, not a widely shared American value.

For America to restore its economic greatness, it must put aside the liberal hatred of the rich and embrace anew its deeply held respect for success. If it does, America will have enough for everyone.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, Taxes | Comments (0)

Bobby Petrino’s first interview since affair and his effort to put his marriage together

August 9, 2012 – 3:52 pm

Some people have praised the way the University of Arkansas handled the firing of Bobby Petrino, and I am part of that group. However, if he puts his marriage back together I think it would be great if he returned as our head football coach at Arkansas.

He has fallen from the top. He had won 21 of the last 25 games at Arkansas and finished in the top 5 and Arkansas had not been that high in the final poll since 1978. “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36) really made me think a lot about our perspective on life. Petrino turned his back on his family when he went out and got a girlfriend. Now he is trying to win back his family.

Will he get his family back? I hope so and if he does then he might get his old job back too as John Brummett suggested today in the Arkansas Times. Chasing after women leads to an unhappy result as King Solomon noted 3000 years ago.  Time will tell if Petrino can stay on the right path.

Arkansas Sports 360 noted:

Former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino reached out to Razorback players and coaches last month. Now he’s ready to make his apology public.

Petrino granted a one-on-one interview with ESPN reporter Joe Schad that is airing throughout the day on SportsCenter. They filmed the interview in Montana, where Petrino grew up and still has family.

ESPN said the interview will air on the 5 p.m CT SportsCenter, but portions are running throughout the day.

Petrino, who has been doing consulting work for the Tennessee Titans and Cal Bears, is described by Schad (on Twitter) as “remorseful” and “apologetic.” He was fired in April after a motorcycle accident involving a female member of his football staff.

Here’s more:

How did this relationship with another woman come about?

“I’m trying to put my finger on the why. I somehow drifted away from what’s always been so important to me, what I’ve been defined as. Which is my family and we’ve got to figure it out.”

Why did you recommend that a woman you were having a relationship with be hired into the football office?

“There is no justification. There is no excuse for having her in the interview pool, hiring her, having her on the back of the motorcycle. When I look back on it there is no good answer. All I know is that I wasn’t thinking and I wasn’t acting correctly. That’s not how I was raised. That’s not how I raised my children. I take responsibility for it and I really am sorry. I have played it over in my head a million times. How could I do this? How could this happen? And not just the hiring or that day. But my actions. And my behavior. For months. It was just wrong.”

What do you think was your biggest mistake?

“It’s hard to say the biggest mistake, but it all comes back to the fact I had an affair and I cheated on my wife.”

Biggest weakness as a person?

[Pause] “That’s a tough question right there. In this situation it’s came down to how could I possible do this? How could I drift away from what is so important to me. I do know this: I made mistakes. I’m going to be a better person becuse of it. I’m going to keep my life in better balance, the balance of my family, my faith and my profession. I really feel like I’ll be a better coach because this happened. I now know that I’m going to coach the person as much as the player and help the person when he has made mistakes and help him understand that he’s not going to be defined by the mistakes he’s made and how he reacts to it and overcomes it.”

How would you describe the singular most difficult moment through all of this?

“Sitting down and telling Becky. And looking at the look in her eyes of how I possibly could do something like this to hurt her. It’s just something I guess anybody that’s ever hurt their loved ones or lost their dream job, can relate to how that is.”

How do you think the person that sits before me right now compares to the person five months ago?

“I have a better understanding of what life really is about. You keep your priorities straight you put your energy into the people that love you [breaking down] count on you. I’m working hard to save my marriage I’m working one day at a time. I want to stay married. That’s mainly my main priorities, making things right with my family.”

Related posts:

Youtube has not been too kind to Arkansas’ new football coach John L. Smith April 23, 2012 – 3:50 pm

John L. Smith new razorback coach, Who is he? April 23, 2012 – 2:19 pm

 
 

Bobby Petrino’s phone records come out April 12, 2012 – 6:50 am

Jessica Dorrell and Bobby Petrino on ESPN together in 2011 April 12, 2012 – 6:38 am

 

How about a coach swap? :Charlie Strong to Arkansas and Bobby Petrino to Louisville April 11, 2012 – 7:37 am

 

Bobby Petrino statement April 11, 2012 – 6:51 am

 

Bobby Petrino fired, but now seeking forgiveness April 11, 2012 – 6:20 am

 

Video and transcript of Jeff Long’s press conference announcing firing of Bobby Petrino April 11, 2012 – 5:53 am

 

Bobby Petrino’s arrogance led to his downfall April 10, 2012 – 3:46 pm

 

 

Petrino 911 Call – Jessica Dorrell And Bobby Petrino Refuse Help April 9, 2012 – 7:03 am

 

Earlier concerns about Petrino’s character are coming back up again April 9, 2012 – 6:24 am

 

Bobby Petrino has achieved the American Dream, but still is looking for something more April 8, 2012 – 1:46 pm

Rex Nelson speculates that Petrino may be fired because “…trust has been so broken…” April 8, 2012 – 12:06 pm

Lying about Jessica Dorrell may get Bobby Petrino in a lot of trouble April 7, 2012 – 1:38 pm

Can Bobby Petrino, Tom Brady and Coldplay all find the satisfaction they are seeking? April 6, 2012 – 2:15 pm 

Bobby Petrino to survive this wreck? April 6, 2012 – 11:08 am

Pictures of Bobby Petrino April 6, 2012 – 9:11 am

Who is Jessica Dorrell? (with pictures) April 6, 2012 – 9:06 am

Major coverage of Bobby Petrino mistake April 6, 2012 – 6:51 am

What will be Jeff Long’s decision on Bobby Petrino? April 6, 2012 – 5:36 am

Bobby Petrino admits to an affair April 6, 2012 – 4:41 am

What impact will breaking trust with Bobby Petrino’s family have? April 6, 2012 – 4:24 am

Two choices now for Bobby Petrino: Follow the path of purity or impurity

If Bobby thinks he is bruised now, then he needs to read about the guy in Proverbs 7:10-27 and what happened to him. I really am hoping that Bobby Petrino can put his marriage back together. He has a clear choice between two paths. In the sermon at Fellowship Bible Church at July 24, 2011, […]

Jessica Dorrell was taking a long ride with Bobby Petrino April 5, 2012 – 4:52 pm

Bobby Petrino hurt in wreck (picture included) April 2, 2012 – 9:31 am

Adrian Rogers’ sermon on Clinton in 98 applies to Newt in 2012

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Past Little Rock Touchdown Club meetings (Part 1)

August 9, 2012 – 2:49 pm

This year’s Little Rock Touchdown Club speakers are very exciting. Below is this year’s list followed by some of the posts about past speakers.

8-20 mmay Mark May – ESPN
ESPN College Football Analyst teaming with Lou Holtz for the popular College Football Scoreboard. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005, May was a 1st Team All-American and Outland Trophy Winner at Pittsburgh and a 1st round draft choice of the Washington Redskins winning two Super Bowls.
8-27 jrobinson Coach John Robinson – USC, LA Rams
Former USC Trojan and Los Angeles Rams head coach leading USC to four Rose Bowl wins, a national championship and two final season #2 rankings while taking the Rams to two NFC Championship games and drafting Eric Dickerson as the #1 player in the NFL draft. His UNLV team defeated the Razorbacks 31-14 in the 2000 Las Vegas Bowl then lost the 2001 season opener against the Hogs at War Memorial with 18 seconds remaining in the game. Inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame 2009.
9-4 hschnellenberger Howard Schnellenberger – Former Miami Head Coach
Former University of Miami head coach responsible for laying the groundwork for the most dominant college football program of the 1980’s. Led the Hurricanes to a National Championship behind QB Bernie Kosar in 1983. Played and coached under Bear Bryant and was credited with recruiting Joe Namath to play at Alabama. He also served as the offensive coordinator under Don Shula and the Dolphins during their undefeated 1972 season.
9-10 mjones Matt Jones – Arkansas Razorbacks, Jacksonville Jaguars
One of the most exciting players in Razorback history winning two 7 overtime games, including a victory as a freshman QB over Ole Miss and future NFL Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. He also had a 60 yard run and 100 total yards rushing in a 38-28 upset of #6 Texas in 2003. At 6’6, 237 pounds and 4.3 speed, the Jacksonville Jaguars selected Jones as the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2005 draft.
9-17 photo to come Speaker To Come
Stay Tuned
924 jlsmith John L. Smith – University of Arkansas Head Coach
Current Razorback head coach, hired in the wake of Bobby Petrino’s firing this past spring. With a career coaching record of 132-86 (.606), Smith has had previous head coaching stops at Idaho, Utah State, Louisville and Michigan State. He began his coaching career as a grad assistant at Weber State in 1971 and was an assistant seventeen years before taking his first top post in 1989 at Idaho. Was named Big 10 Coach of the Year following his first season at Michigan State in 2003.
10-1 wroaf Willie Roaf – NFL Hall of Fame Lineman
Newest member of the NFL Hall of Fame, inducted on August 4th. A Pine Bluff native that was at first offered only one college scholarship out of Pine Bluff High School, became an All-American at Louisiana Tech and a first round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints in 1993. His Hall of Fame career with the Saints and Chiefs included 11 selections to the Pro Bowl and placement on the NFL All-Decade Team for both the 1990’s and 2000’s.
10-8 pfinebaum Paul Finebaum – Sports Journalist
Polarizing sports author, columnist, television and radio personality based out of Birmingham, Alabama with a primary focus on SEC sports. Considered one of the most powerful media personalities in the South. He currently serves as the host of the Paul Finebaum Radio Network that is heard on more than 30 stations across Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina and Georgia as well as nationally on Sirius XM Radio.
10-15 jlong Jeff Long – Univeristy of Arkansas Athletic Director
University of Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Athletic Director since 2008. Received national attention and acclaim for his handling of the Bobby Petrino firing this past spring. A veteran administrator with more than two decades experience at the division one level. Replaced legendary Arkansas head coach and athletic director Frank Broyles.
10-22 mslive Mike Slive –  SEC Commissioner
Current commissioner of the SEC since 2002. Considered the premier football conference in the country, Slive has overseen six straight national champions in football and billions of dollars in TV agreements for the conference. This will be his second appearance in Little Rock, the last being in 2007.
10-29 mhenry Mark Henry – All SWC Razorback Lineman
Two time All SWC offensive lineman for the Razorbacks under Ken Hatfield, leading the Hogs to two consecutive SWC Championships and Cotton Bowls in 1988 and 1989. Henry was a standout lineman at Central High School and his son Hunter is currently one of the top rated high school tight ends in the country, verbally committing to Arkansas this past July. Mark is currently is a pastor on the staff of Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock.
11-5 cconque Clint Conque – UCA Head Coach
Universtiy of Central Arkansas head coach now in his 13th year with the Bears. The winningest coach in the 100 plus year history of the UCA football. In 2012 Conque guided UCA to the playoffs as one of the top programs in the FCS division losing in the second round to Montana. The Bears open the 2012 season against Ole Miss.
11-12 tlemming Tom Lemming – National High School Recruiting Expert
National recruiting expert and host of the “Lemming Report” on CBS Sports Network. Travels 50,000 miles per year evaluating the top high school talent in America. Publishes the Tom Lemming Prep Football Report, consider by many to be the “bible” of college football recruiting. Michael Lewis, author of the Blind Side: Evolution of a Game recognized Lemming as the only true national high school football scout in America. Lemming even had a small role as himself in the movie Blind Side
11-19 gmalzahn Gus Malzhan – Arkansas State Head Coach
New Arkansas State head coach coming off a successful career as an offensive coordinator at Arkansas, Tulsa and Auburn where he won the Broyles Award given to the top assistant coach in college football. Coached such notable college playes as Cam Newton, Darren McFadden and Felix Jones. One of the top high school coaches in Arkansas history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rex Nelson mentions “Nutt to Memphis” rumor at Little Rock Touchdown Club Meeting on 11-28-11

Yesterday at the Little Rock Touchdown Club meeting Rex Nelson during his SEC roundup mentioned the popular rumor that got started last week that Houston Nutt had been contacted by Memphis. Of course, at the time Larry Porter had not even been fired. I called someone I knew in Memphis and they told me that […]

Steve Sullivan, Wally Hall and Jim Harris talk at Little Rock Touchdown Club on 11-28-11

I enjoyed the Little Rock Touchdown Club and have posted a lot about it all fall. I have links below to earlier posts. Yesterday Wally Hall and Steve Sullivan had some good insights. Below are some of the thoughts of Jim Harris that he shared at the lunch. BUILDING THE DEFENSE: How nice it would […]

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 3)

Earlier I wrote about where I think Arkansas could win a national championship with just two more wins. Below is a portion of an article by Jim Harris of the website Arkansas 360: AND ON BOBBY: Schlabach, on Arkansas’ coach: “I said when he was hired that Bobby Petrino would make Arkansas a contender for […]

The most significant game in Arkansas razorback football history? (Part 2)

A few days ago it looked like we would not have the opportunity to play into the national championship game, but now all that has changed. Life is funny that way sometimes. The Arkansas News Bureau reported: “I think we’ll have the opportunity,” Bequette said. “That’s what I believe.” All we got to do is […]

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 2)

Earlier I wrote about where I think Arkansas could win a national championship with just two more wins. Below is a portion of an article by Jim Harris of the website Arkansas 360: STILL THERE’S LES AT LSU: Schlabach, in saying that LSU and Alabama are the two best teams in the country, had high […]

The most significant game in Arkansas razorback football history?

Wally Hall actually said on his radio program on Nov 22, 2011 that the Arkansas v. LSU game on Nov 25, 2011 is the most significant game in razorback history. I have to respectfully disagree. I will agree that it is in the top 5, but I will start a  list today of other games […]

After blowout at Arkansas, Vols coach Dooley felt like celebration after Vandy win was warrented

I saw the end of the Tennessee/Vandy game on tv and my brother-in-law went to the game (pictures from him below). I have written about the game earlier on this blog so I will not go into that again. I just wanted to comment on the video clip above. I think it is fine that […]

 

ESPN’s Mark Schlabach at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 1)

Earlier I wrote about where I think Arkansas could win a national championship with just two more wins. Below is a portion of an article by Jim Harris of the website Arkansas 360: What kind of college football polling world do we live in now that a No. 3 Arkansas could win Friday at No. […]

Mangino speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 3)

Mangino at a 2007 KU basketball game Eric Mangino is a fine coach. Here is a portion of an article by Jim Harris: Jim Harris’ Notebook: Mangino Ready To Return; Big Week For Central Arkansas by Jim Harris STRANGE YEAR: Mark Mangino noted the unusual college football season, from six more more teams being in […]

Mangino speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 2)

Mangino at a 2007 KU basketball game Eric Mangino is a very good speaker. Here is a portion of an article by Jim Harris: Jim Harris’ Notebook: Mangino Ready To Return; Big Week For Central Arkansas by Jim Harris 11/14/2011 at 3:37pm It’s easy for fans who don’t follow Kansas football closely to forget just […]

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 12)jh80

Uploaded by TheMemphisSlim on Sep 3, 2010 Johnny Majors from Huntland, TN tried out for the UT Football team weighing 150 pounds. His Father, Shirley Majors his HS Coach,encourage him and then 4 younger brothers all to be Vols. Johnny Majors was the runner-up in 1956 for the Heisman Trophy to Paul Horning, on a loosing Notre Dame […]

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 11)jh79

Interview with Johnny Majors after 1982 Kentucky game Below is a picture of Lane Kiffin with Johnny Majors. I enjoyed hearing Johnny Majors speak at the Little Rock Touchdown Club on 11-7-11. He talked a lot about the connection between the Arkansas and Tennessee football programs. It reminded me of what Frank Broyles had said […]

Will Dooley be given enough time to turn Vols around? Arkansas loss energizes foes of Dooley jh84

Photo by Amy Smotherman Burgess, ©KNS/2011 Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley reacts as Arkansas scores their seventh touchdown of the night at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Nov. 12, 2011. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL)

Johnny Majors speaks at Little Rock Touchdown Club (Part 10)jh78

FB: The Best of Johnny Majors at Iowa St I got to hear Johnny Majors talk on 11-7-11 and he talked about the connection that Arkansas and Tennessee had with their football programs. Two years ago I got to hear Frank Broyles speak at the Little Rock Touchdown Club and he said that too. As […]

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Current Events | Comments (0)

Class warfare has a hidden motive

August 9, 2012 – 7:00 am

Dan Mitchell Explaining Why “Taxing the Rich” Is a Precursor for Going after the Middle Class

Published on Apr 13, 2012 by

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How can Washington D. C. get enough money to balance the budget and not cut spending. The answer is that everyone’s taxes must go up. Don’t let anyone fool you. There is not enough money to just tax the rich. Instead, entitlements need to be reform and real spending cuts need to be made.

CBO on Income and Tax Distribution

Posted by Chris Edwards

The Washington establishment loves talking about the “distribution” of income and taxes. The CBO has issued a new report on the topic that will no doubt keep the discussion rolling on.

The mindset of many people in government is encapsulated by this sentence in the CBO report: “Market income is very unevenly distributed.” But anyone with a decent appreciation of America’s economy knows that market income is in fact earned in a decentralized fashion by 140 million people and 25 million businesses spread across this vast land. It is not ”distributed” from a big vault in the capital by central-planning czars with a god-given preemptive right to decide how much everyone gets.

Yes, the huge subsidies that the federal government hands out each year are “distributed.” But CBO statisticians seem to be so used to thinking about the entire economy as a giant government-created pie that they say market income is also distributed.

That said, the CBO report has some interesting statistics to consider. Most important are calculations of average federal tax rates, which are total federal taxes paid as a share of income. The chart shows average tax rates by quintiles, which each contain one fifth of U.S. households grouped by income level. The households at the top are hit with the largest burdens by far. Elsewhere, I’ve discussed who some of these high-earning households are and the damage done by nailing them with such high taxes. (For example, see here and here).

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Cato Institute, spending out of control, Taxes | Comments (0)

Dear Senator Pryor, why not pass the Balanced Budget Amendment? (“Thirsty Thursday”, Open letter to Senator Pryor)

August 9, 2012 – 6:10 am

Dear Senator Pryor,

Why not pass the Balanced  Budget Amendment? As you know that federal deficit is at all time high (1.6 trillion deficit with revenues of 2.2 trillion and spending at 3.8 trillion).

On my blog www.HaltingArkansasLiberalswithTruth.com I took you at your word and sent you over 100 emails with specific spending cut ideas. However, I did not see any of them in the recent debt deal that Congress adopted. Now I am trying another approach. Every week from now on I will send you an email explaining different reasons why we need the Balanced Budget Amendment. It will appear on my blog on “Thirsty Thursday” because the government is always thirsty for more money to spend.

The Case for a Balanced Budget

By Bruce Bialosky

12/20/2010

 

No objective is more important for the new Congress than putting America on course toward a balanced federal budget. We used to balance our budget regularly but, except for a short period during the late 1990’s, Congress has been unable to accomplish what should be a clear-cut mission. Americans understand that deficit spending may be unavoidable in wartime or in a Katrina-like emergency, but we also believe that in the absence of these events, there is no excuse for irresponsibly increasing our national debt.

Unfortunately, our national agenda no longer seems to include a balanced budget. President Obama established a national debt commission (whose report I will address in a future column), but that was only after cranking up federal expenditures and deficits to previously unseen levels.

We all know that the big enchiladas in the Federal budget are Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and national defense. That still leaves a lot of money to be saved elsewhere, yet even these opportunities are far too often belittled by elitists. For example, Jackie Calmes, a New York Times reporter, wrote that while there is general agreement on an earmark ban, “… [it] would hardly dent the projected annual deficits.” Paul Krugman, her colleague at the Times and the current economic guru of the left, routinely dismisses any savings at all, his most recent tantrum being Obama’s proposal for a two-year freeze on pay raises. He states “The actual savings, about $5 billion over two years, are chump change given the scale of the deficit.” These are two examples that occurred within days – and I could probably cite hundreds more, from both sides of the aisle.

The United States has a budget crisis that should be met by expenditure reductions, but our government has acted only with foolishness and cowardice. Let’s say your employer came to you and said “Look, the company is struggling, but I can keep you on if we reduce your annual salary from $80,000 to $70,000.” You would go home, sit down with your spouse, and figure out where you can start saving money. You could skip the Saturday night movies and join Netflix. You could learn to live without HBO. You could stop getting water delivered to the house. The bottom line is that you would adjust your expenditures because you have no choice; after all, you can’t print money or sell bonds to your neighbors. Not even to China.

What our government is doing has been going on for hundreds of years, ever since the Rothschilds made their fortune lending monies to the monarchies of Europe, and it has become an international problem of gargantuan proportions. Political leaders all over the world are making fiscal promises that they cannot keep, and this irresponsible practice has exploded in the past seventy-five years with the advent of left-wing, socialist governments. Overspending has become so pervasive that our society makes fun of it. In his recent HBO special, Dennis Miller spoke about not understanding the deficit. Miller said that he asked his son if he was upset that his generation would be saddled with the national debt. His son replied “Christ no Dad, I’m just going to saddle my kids with it.” It was good for a laugh – but Miller would never force his own kids to pay his credit card bills.

Virtually every parent I have ever met worries about what will be left for their children or grandchildren when they die. These people understand that it is immoral and sinful to leave their kids a pile of debt. Yet when it comes to the government – for which we are all responsible – people perceive it as some amorphous entity that can merrily spend more each year than it takes in without any consequences. They believe government, apparently, can pay for everything.

And unfortunately we do. Prodded by spineless and corrupt politicians who consider power far more important than responsibility, government has become the fixer of all our problems. People can live in a flood plain without insurance and then get paid by the government to rebuild in that same flood plain only to be wiped out again in the next flood. Every challenge that we have in this country is being discussed by a commission that lasts forever without ever solving the problem. Responsible Americans put their hand out when they hear of a government program because they rationalize they want their share, and if they don’t get it now someone else will. The sense of communal cost has disappeared.

The numbers are staggering. If the U.S. government had to employ the same accounting standards used by major corporations, it would report an annual deficit between $4 and $5 trillion. 41% of our current federal expenditures are paid for by borrowing money, and by 2015, America will be about $20 trillion in debt.

Our elected officials must face these facts, along with the immoral and pathetic aspects of their reckless behavior. Polls that say that taxpayers demand certain things need to be disregarded, and responsible leaders with some backbone must instead broadcast the simple truth: The jig is up and we need to reverse course. You cannot have everything you want. You can have Social Security, but you should expect less and start saving for yourself more. Medicare will help with your retirement healthcare, but you should have something saved for that as well. If you have a catastrophe, you’d better have an insurance policy because we cannot guarantee every one of your risks. And if your parents get ill in their old age, you’d better be prepared to take care of them just as they took care of you.

Saddling our kids with more and more debt is just plain wrong. The debt is bad enough now and we need to stop it from getting worse. The time is now and this Congress was elected to do just that thing.

Bruce Bialosky

Bruce Bialosky is the founder of the Republican Jewish Coalition of California and a former Presidential appointee.

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in spending out of control | Comments (0)

Open letter to President Obama (Part 121B) Thomas Sowell: “I talked to some social welfare people who think that in fact they were so hamstrung by the system that there was very little they could do to help people to get off welfare; that is to build up skills at jobs, do whatever was necessary to get off welfare. They felt it was the system.”

August 9, 2012 – 5:22 am

Ep. 4 – From Cradle to Grave [5/7]. Milton Friedman’s Free to Choose (1980)

President Obama c/o The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you actually read 10 of them every day. I really do respect you for trying to get a pulse on what is going on out here.

With the national debt increasing faster than ever we must make the hard decisions to balance the budget now. If we wait another decade to balance the budget then we will surely risk our economic collapse.

The first step is to remove all welfare programs and replace them with the negative income tax program that Milton Friedman first suggested.

Milton Friedman points out that though many government welfare programs are well intentioned, they tend to have pernicious side effects. In Dr. Friedman’s view, perhaps the most serious shortcoming of governmental welfare activities is their tendency to strip away individual independence and dignity. This is because bureaucrats in welfare agencies are placed in positions of tremendous power over welfare recipients, exercising great influence over their lives. In addition, welfare programs tend to be self-perpetuating because they destroy work incentives. Dr. Friedman suggests a negative income tax as a way of helping the poor. The government would pay money to people falling below a certain income level. As they obtained jobs and earned money, they would continue to receive some payments from the government until their outside income reached a certain ceiling. This system would make people better off who sought work and earned income.

Here is a  portion of the trancript of the “Free to Choose” program called “From Cradle to Grave” (program #4 in the 10 part series):

DISCUSSION

Participants: Robert McKenzie, Moderator; Milton Friedman; James R. Dumpson, Chief Administrator, Human Resources Admin., NYC; Thomas Sowell, Professor of Economics, UCLA; Robert Lampman, Professor of Economics, Institute of Poverty; Helen Bohen O’Bannon, Secretary of Welfare, State of Pennsylvania

O’BANNON: I think the other __ we have a program in Pennsylvania for essentially all of those who are not taken care of by the AFDC program. It’s called the General Assistance Program. And there less than 15 percent are on more than eighteen months. So we have a great turnover. We have essentially young males moving into the welfare system after unemployment compensation, and then moving out when a job opportunity comes along. This, you know, I think the notion of generations of people on welfare is a very small minority in the whole system. That doesn’t mean that the system as presently defined and as the set of programs that we have put together don’t often contradict each other and I’m the first to agree with Dr. Friedman that some of the programs are conflicting. However, I think it is overly broad to say that we turn people into helpless children.

SOWELL: I don’t remember talking to anyone who’s ever been on welfare who didn’t think they were being treated like children while they were on it.

DUMPSON: Of course, I think, you know, you __ one must make a difference, a distinction between a system that was set up to help people and the people who are employed in that system. Look at any public welfare system around the country and we have no, practically few trained people who to work with people. We employ them ill-trained, people who are not equipped to be helping people. We say they’re social workers. They’re not social workers, they have neither the skills, the attitudes, and some of them not even the concerns; so I think one has to separate how a conceptual framework of a system designed to help people and what the country and community puts into that system to implement those programs.

SOWELL: You mean to separate the hopes from the reality.

DUMPSON: I separate the skills that are available in order to implement what the objectives of the program are. I think we have to separate whether we are talking about program objectives, or we’re talking about how it operates. I would be the first to say that the system that I administered had ill-prepared people to do the job that we were set up to do, and I would not say that the system that we set up __

SOWELL: I talked to some social welfare people who think that in fact they were so hamstrung by the system that there was very little they could do to help people to get off welfare; that is to build up skills at jobs, do whatever was necessary to get off welfare. They felt it was the system.

MCKENZIE: Bob Lampman, your comment.

LAMPMAN: The system that we’re stereotyping is one of a great deal of paternalistic interference in individual family’s lives and in fact isn’t it true, Mr. Dumpson, that case load is so high for an individual welfare worker that they can’t do a lot of interfering in individual family lives. Moreover, in the last decade there’s been a real attempt to ease this welfare trap in AFDC by changing the take-back rate and by administering work expenses and child care expenses in such a way as to facilitate work by those who may want to do it; so it’s not quite as harsh a picture as we sometimes get that there is this omniscient welfare worker who’s right there in the living room with the family making all their decisions for them.

FRIEDMAN: I’ve never heard of a government program which was defective in which the people who ran it didn’t say, “If only we had more money to spend on what we’re not being able to accomplish with the amount we’re spending now.”

MCKENZIE: Milton, we’re going to move along now to some of your prescriptions in that film because I think it’s good ground for discussion. The most drastic one was when you said, speaking of an unemployed man, “Supposing you were cruel and took away welfare from this man, he would find a job at some wage, there’d always be a job he could get; he might need some charity on route, private charity, but he would get a job.” Now, I want you to react, those of you, before we come back to Milton on that. Is that a picture that seems plausible to you?

DUMPSON: He may get a job, and he may get a job in what we refer to as the underground economy, and that’s where a number of our youth are now going to get their jobs. Those activities that are illegal, the only opportunities they have for earning their part of a livelihood.

O’BANNON: I think the other issue is that you have a whole group of people who are the single, female head of the household; and yes, cut off welfare tomorrow: What will they do? What will be their immediate response? At what price to their small children and to their middle-aged children? Yes, they’ll get a job, in fact the statistics show that women, in fact, are the most successful through the employment program. But what has to supplement that typically is the provision of some kind of day care arrangement. Either the individual woman has to earn enough money to be able to pay privately for her day care, or in fact, she is quote “subsidized” through this insidious, corrupting program, set of programs, run by the federal government which, in fact, makes her employable and a taxpayer. It’s an interesting notion of trying to get people in a productive mode.

MCKENZIE: Tom Sowell.

SOWELL: It’s incredible the way you start the story in the middle as if there’s a predestined amount of poverty, a predestined amount of unemployment and that the welfare system is not itself in any way responsible for that __

O’BANNON: There is a predestined 20 percent of the bottom half of the population.

SOWELL: I have never __ well, that’s always been true __

(Everyone speaking at once)

O’BANNON: There’s going to be 20 percent at the bottom.

SOWELL: It’s also true that 20 percent of the bottom population doesn’t have to be living on the government and ruled by the government. You mentioned, for example, a female head of household. Many of those, in addition to the grown woman who has all the kids, are teenage pregnancies. There’s not a predestined amount of teenaged pregnancies. I grew up in an era when people, and particularly blacks, were a lot poorer than today, faced a lot more discrimination than today, and in which teenage pregnancy rate was a lot lower than today. I don’t believe there is a predestined amount of teenage pregnancy. A predestined amount of husband desertion. Gutman has done a study of a black family showing that this whole notion that the black family has always been disintegrating, that is nonsense. His studies go up to 1925, the great bulk of black families were intact two-parent families up to 1925 and going all the way back through the era of slavery, so it is now, only within our own time, that we suddenly see this inevitable tragedy which the welfare system says it’s going to rush in to solve.

O’BANNON: We’re talking to Tom about __

SOWELL: To which it is itself a point __

O’BANNON: We’re talking about a very small group. We’re talking about twelve percent of the families are not intact. Are not two-parent families at any one period __

SOWELL: Do you mean __ among welfare recipients __

O’BANNON: No.

SOWELL: __ or the public at large?

O’BANNON: Among the public at large. We’re talking about twelve percent of the families; twelve percent.

SOWELL: That’s right.

O’BANNON: That’s a small number. But __

SOWELL: We’ve got to build on welfare.

O’BANNON: We’re still talking about a significant component of the bottom twenty percent that are the bottom twenty percent. Whether they are above the poverty line or below the poverty line; they are still the bottom twenty percent. And the issue is: What is the responsibility of the other eighty percent; if any, towards those others?

SOWELL: There’s no program plan to eliminate there being a bottom twenty percent?

O’BANNON: No. But it intends to raise the bottom twenty percent so __

SOWELL: We’re raising them by having more __ by having more illegitimacy, more unemployment, by having __

O’BANNON: I’m not making them be __ have illegitimate children. I hope that’s clear.

SOWELL: Oh, I_I__ you don’t have to do that. You simply subsidize it.

FRIEDMAN: We, as human beings, don’t have a responsibility; but I hope we have a compassion and an interest in the bottom twenty percent. And I only want to say to you that the capitalist system, the private enterprise system in the 19th century did a far better job of expressing that sense of compassion than the governmental welfare programs are today. The 19th century, the period which people denigrate as the high tide of capitalism was the period of the greatest outpouring of Ella Mosner in charitable activity that the world has ever known. And one of the things I hold against the welfare system, most seriously, is that it has destroyed private charitable arrangements which are far more effective, far more compassionate, far more person-to-person in helping people who are really, for no fault of their own, in disadvantaged situations.

O’BANNON: I have to disagree with you though, because I think that the whole notion of private property was excluded, whole segments of society were excluded from the notion of private property in the 19th century; namely, women, idiots and imbeciles. And so, I don’t go back to the 19th century and hold it up as any paragon that we would want to replicate today.

MCKENZIE: Anyway. I want Milton now to come to your major prescription, which I know you don’t say is on the agenda for tomorrow, but it lies ahead; that is, the negative income tax. And I’m not sure people fully understand how it would work. We can’t, I think, go to the details of it, but I’d like to get a reaction around the panel first of all, is this a viable approach to the enduring problems of poverty? Negative income tax.

_________________

Thank you so much for your time. I know how valuable it is. I also appreciate the fine family that you have and your commitment as a father and a husband.

Sincerely,

Everette Hatcher III, 13900 Cottontail Lane, Alexander, AR 72002, ph 501-920-5733, lowcostsqueegees@yahoo.com

By Everette Hatcher III | Posted in Milton Friedman, President Obama, spending out of control | Comments (0)