“A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it … gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself.”
– Milton Friedman
“The fostering of full economic freedom lies at the base of our liberties. Only in perpetuating economic freedom can our social, political and religious liberties be preserved.”
– David O. McKay
“Public servants say, always with the best of intentions, ‘What greater service we could render if only we had a little more money and a little more power.’ But the truth is that outside of its legitimate function, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector.”
– Ronald Reagan
Rightsizing the Functions of Orem’s Government
As an Orem city councilor, I want to focus my attention on defending your God-given (or natural) rights, and to minimize distractions that may result from serving as co-CEO of an unwieldy array of city-run businesses. This requires privatizing public agencies that provide services other than rights-defense to be overseen by businesspeople not politicians.
As a rule with rare-and-fleeting exceptions, private-sector businesses serve their customers better than their public-sector counterparts—they are less likely to exercise unfair statutory advantages over their competitors, they enjoy greater innovation, efficiency, effectiveness, and customization, and they respond without political middlemen directly to customers.
I’m glad that Orem isn’t nearly as overloaded with responsibility as our federal government, or even as some other cities nearby, but it could still use improvement. I’d most like to privatize Orem’s redevelopment agency, its fitness center, and its swimming pool—not recklessly but carefully so that these agencies will thrive as readily as possible.
Some people might worry that I want to privatize even roads or sewers, but I’m alright with maintaining such infrastructure and utilities for now until advancing technology renders them obsolete. But, to facilitate such progress, I want to ensure that Orem’s city code allows private competition with public services, rather than maintains monopolies.
On UTOPIA Waste
In 2004, Provo sold its residents into financial bondage to build its iProvo fiberoptic network, which bled money for years until Provo finally sold it for $1 to Google Fiber, which replaced much of its shoddy workmanship and rendered it profitable. Orem made a similar mistake with UTOPIA and (as such) should apply a similar remedy ASAP.
David for Liberty 