Just-Do-It liberalism

Here's an article that reminds readers why just spending more money on a social problem often makes the situation worse rather than ameliorating it. Despite undeniable proof to the contrary, well-meaning but wrongheaded activists still adhere to what the author refers to as "Just-Do-It Liberalism", where when confronted with an issue, options and consequences are not thoroughly considered. Instead, the reflex to just throw around even more public money is the only one that seems to win the day, often to the detriment of those who need help the most. Wouldn't it be nice to hear a politician say for once that there are limits to the effectiveness of government?

Just-Do-It Liberalism is indeed the synaptic tic that rules show business, the intellectual slop served up in thousands of faculty lounges and university classrooms, the spirit of the 1960s to which good hearted people everywhere are supposed to genuflect. It is simply beyond the depth of just-do-it liberals to recognize that the obvious thing to do is often precisely the worst thing to do. Funneling billions in cash to Third World countries sounds humane; the problem is that substantial percentages of the money are certain to be skimmed off the top by repressive regimes, thereby solidifying their genocidal grip on their people. Recall, in this regard, that abject poverty -- the fly-on-the-baby's-cheek variety -- is almost always due to governmental policies and civil unrest. Lack of food and medicine is an effect, not a cause.

Just-do-it liberals, in other words, cannot come to grips with the idea that opposing a program intended to help poor people is not the same as opposing helping poor people. The textbook example of this, of course, is the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program enacted during the 1960s as part of the Johnson Administration's Great Society. The intention -- to provide a cash benefit to unwed mothers struggling to support their children -- was undeniably noble. The outcome, however, was the dramatic rise in out-of-wedlock births among African Americans, which soared from 26% in 1965 to its current level of 68%. Good intentions resulted in the greatest setback to black progress in America since slavery.

The next fiasco of Just-Do-It Liberalism seems certain to be the effort to rebuild New Orleans. Overlooked will be the fact that, long before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, the city was in deep decline, languishing under incompetent local government and corrupt law enforcement, plagued by high crime rates, high drop out rates, high unemployment rates and high out-of-wedlock birthrates. The fix for New Orleans is not hundreds of billions of dollars--which is the only fix just-do-it liberals ever seem to understand. Rather, the fix is individual and collective discipline; it must come from the citizens themselves, or else no amount of money will make the city livable again.

As always, just-do-it won't get it done.