Perfection is the enemy of good enough. There will always be a need for government. The real question is what is the function of government? What is our objective, equality of outcome or equal opportunity? Do you want the assumptions of Adam Smith and the founding fathers, or the assumptions of Marx, Paul Samuelson and the socialists?
**Let us face it. Rules and laws do not work. Even the SEC agrees with me on that point. **
My favorite law is the law of unintended consequences. I believe in plan A, B, C, etc. I always had a planed route when I was an outside salesman, but I was quick to change when I had to.
I, like many other entrepreneurs, hate stupidity. I have no patience for stupidity in organizations. We entrepreneurs are movers and shakers. Rules and laws are guides in the planning process. When our rules do not lead to our goals, we are quick to abandon the rules. I detest organizations that worship rules and laws. (It’s the law!) These organizations have no common sense. These organizations lose my respect. Additionally, an unjust law is no law at all.
I purposely differentiate between people and organizations. It is my belief that everyone has common sense. Not everyone’s elevator goes to the top floor. I work with some of these people, and I admire them because they give 100%. Public universities are another matter. I classify these institutions of higher learning as stupid (ineffective and inefficient) organizations. It is my belief that no one can improve a stupid organization if there is no incentive for improvement. There is nothing more stupid than enforcing rules and laws that are unworkable.
Language is imprecise. Therefore, many laws are an effort to limit and restrict more than one variable. Extremely long sentences are the end-result! Tax Court judges also have to read the incomprehensible. Research shows that the Tax Court could not discern the intent of Congress in one-third of the cases reaching them. The Tax Court judges did not rewrite the law, however, even when the statues were unworkable. Their attitude was that the statue always comes first (Kirkpatrick and Pollard).
I only know of ten laws that are written in stone, the Ten Commandments. However, we may have as many as 200,000 laws to interpret the Ten Commandments. I would say that the planning process is out of control. When the baby is Rosemary’s baby, I am in favor of throwing the baby out with the bath water.