The press tends to treat foreign countries as a sort of “freak show.” ”Look at all the bizarre things going on in China!” Or Japan, or Saudi Arabia, or Zimbabwe, or Turkmenistan.
But they have a blind spot for bizarre activities closer to home. Imagine a country where:
1. Gambling is illegal in many states, because it’s harmful, and yet the government of most of those states run enormous numbers rackets.
2. Prostitution is illegal, allegedly because it exploits women. But the police then imprison the victim and let the villains go scot-free.
3. The public is so horrified by the thought of people getting high that they imprison hundreds of thousands of drug users, but then turn around and elect three consecutive former dope-smokers as president.
4. A 20 year old soldier who has returned from Afghanistan cannot legally walk into a bar and drink a 3% alcohol beer. A couple of 20 year olds can’t legally drink a glass of champaign at their wedding. But a 16 year old boy can legally drive a 2 ton SUV down the highway at 110 kilometers per hour
5. Many people have to pay stiff penalties for being married, sometimes as much as $10,000 per year. But the penalties don’t apply to people “living in sin.” Or gay married people in 2010, 2011, 2012.
6. Landlords face severe penalties for renting apartments with lead paint to families with children, yet neighbors in single family homes face no penalty for raising their own kids in a high lead environment.
7. Farmers are paid to not grow food.
8. Unlicensed economists are allowed to run the central bank, and yet you need a license to be an interior designer or a hair dresser.
9. One of the two major parties thinks monetary policy is wildly inflationary, despite the fact that inflation is running at the lowest level in decades.
10. And it’s a country where most economists don’t know how to debase a fiat currency
Americans should take heart from the fact that all countries are freak shows. But people generally can only see the freakishness of other places, not their own.
PS. Of course no one can compete with this country.