Responses To My Essay “Chicago Shootings, Deaths,” Part II.
January 2, 2017
Here are some more responses to my essay on the murder rate in Chicago: https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/responses-essay-chicago-shootings-deaths/, along with my reaction to them. For the latest news on this sorry episode, see this: “1 of Chicago’s bloodiest years ends with 762 homicides” http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/1-of-chicagos-bloodiest-years-ends-with-762-homicides/ar-BBxN8Z9?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=iehp
—–Original Message—–
From:
Sent: Sun 1/1/2017 8:12 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject:
All the points that you raised are as painfully obvious as they have been ignored in the media. I have long been aware of them, as I’m sure many others have, and that sets the bar pretty low. Now, will any of your societal cures be implemented? The earth would sooner stop revolving around the sun. The vested interests of the various criminal cartels and gangs together with those whose self-interests are legal—the DEA, prisons, etc.—are too powerful to overcome. And yet . . . Haven’t we recently witnessed just an occurrence with the election of Trump over another criminal cartel—the Clinton crime family?
Thank you, Dr. Block, yours, BS
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Dear BS: Good points. A similar occurrence was the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the unraveling of the USSR. No one predicted these things either. Well, very few. These came as a bolt from the blue, too. So, there’s always hope.
—–Original Message—–
From: DW
Sent: Sun 1/1/2017 9:28 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Chicago Shootings
Dr. Block, Kudos for your 12/31/16 essay on LRC! I’ve suspected for years that government action is behind just about ANY societal ill you can think of, and you excellently put my thoughts into words. I sure hope a ton of people read it. One other factor you left out: TAXES. It’s difficult to get incentivized to work hard and succeed in life knowing that the government will take a sizable chunk of your hard-earned pay and squander it on stupid programs. DW, Houston, TX
Dear DW: Thanks for your kind words. Yes, yes, government is responsible for virtually ALL the ills of humanity. For example, cancer. If the state didn’t take half our GDP away from us, and waste it, maybe, possibly, we would already have cured that dread disease. Worse, if they merely wasted it, that would be relatively ok. But, to add insult to injury, they use a lot of “their” half of our wealth to reduce our productivity with regulations, restrictions on entry, etc. However, I part company with your suggestion that taxes play an important role in the Chicago shootings. Taxes are everywhere, even relatively peaceful places, not just in Chicago.
Who is the Godfather of Libertarianism? Me? Murray Rothbard?