Polar Bear Threatened

With the listing of the polar bear by the Interior Department as a “ threatened” species, here’s the current state of the Stupidity Index:

• Polar bear threatened
  
• No oil drilling in ANWR
  
• No oil drilling on continental shelf
  
• No refineries built in last 30 years
  
• No nuclear plants built in last 30 years
  
• No reform of education in 100 years
  
• Huge subsidies for health care
  
• Huge subsidies for homeownership
  
• Huge subsidies for higher education
  

And so on. Of course, this is nothing new, or even extraordinary. The whole point of government is to use power to short-circuit the operation of the market and its tendency to deliver products and services that the consumers want and at the price they are willing to pay. When you go to government to get some privilege or subsidy, you are trying to do an end run on people without access to power, and do a little “rent-seeking” courtesy of your friendly local politician.

Maybe it’s just as well that Republicans are getting flushed down the toilet this year. When all these problems and stupidities back up, we wouldn’t want it to be on the Republicans’ watch, now would we?