Careful what you wish for ...

This morning, the bank sign across from the Farmers Market read 50 degrees. Crisp is good. The vegetables, the bright reds and yellows of the flowers. Jacket weather, windbreaker with these gusts.

The kids here start school Tuesday; state law being they can't start before the 1st. They got gypped of a summer really -- weatherwise -- but then really, do children notice things like daily weather? Maybe there were less beachday trips, and more long-sleeved t-shirts playing outside, but I'm going to guess a good lot of them won't remember summer 2009 for it's lack of hot, dogdays because of the cool spell.

Speaking of,
are you thankful that the next generation of Kennedy offspring -- those touting the perils of global warming, the vaccine/autism link, and pushing for costly "green" regulations -- are working privately to work those causes, instead of devoting their time and money to pursuing public service?

I am. If there's no 'laboratory of ideas' state by state to test how well these policies actually correct perceived social problems, it's probably best that they're tested privately via the marketplace of ideas to see how well they might hold up nationally.

Afterall, most everybody in their right mind would agree with "good health care for all!", catholic or not. It's in the fine study of what actually works in the distribution where we might respectfully disagree.

Some of Sen. Kennedy's triumped legislation today -- the ADA, school lunch program, voting redistricting -- actually took the decisionmaking away from local resources, presumably with the presumption that the Massachusetts-style legislation and policy compromises crafted for the nation ... "know better".

Isn't that what the whole "public service" p.r. campaign is built on -- afterall? That the Kennedy family and that type of elite, northeast liberal "knows better" (because they are wealthy? because the older brothers were 'slain'?). I don't doubt the sincerity of their dedication for helping the little people.

Sometimes though, we ought to admit that those working closer to local problems can help craft a better solution than those expert politicians and legislators only peripherally involved: those determined to "do good" far away from daily details like budgeting, incentives, implementation, and measuring the results and costs to the group as a whole.

The Kennedy style of politicking and solving the nation's pressing problems doesn't hold up over time. It's built on this idea of passivity -- that the all knowing (or the "know better" crowd, at least) will solve the problems for all of us, via expert predictions and solutions. But when you follow the directions -- "the law" -- and the solutions don't emerge so neatly everywhere in the end?

Take a look around at how well our country, under such passive policies, is being provided for. Is it best to give up such local control, confident in the expert policymaker economist class, who operate mostly in an elite world of theory removed from risk and consequence?

Like I said,
I'm glad the next generation is going private.
Only wish they might also learn to grieve so...