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Nanny State cannot keep us all in check



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Published Date: 27 March 2008
By BRYAN WEBSTER
Governments have become too large for their own good and are now interfering in each and every aspect of our daily lives, BRYAN WEBSTER says, and we should remember the lessons of economist Adam Smith
IF YOU are not concerned that Alex Salmond is said to be thinking of banning pies at the Commonwealth Games then you should be. It demonstrates just how far we have gone in surrendering to what Adam Smith called "men of system".

He describes such...



The full article contains 1003 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

 
1

yockel,

27/03/2008 07:06:23
Jings, somebody noticed at last!!
Please republish this article every day for the next five years until a few more folk notice.
2

Richardinho,

27/03/2008 07:40:52
Yeah, but you're not really against the nanny state are you? Just the things you want to do, everything else can stay banned.

Marijuana?
3

yockel,

27/03/2008 07:51:09
They surely didn't ban marijuana did they? There still seems to be plenty of it about. I did a quick survey involving a few random samples and would you believe, as many folk smoke scunk in the pubs these days as smoke fags.
4

Neil,

Glasgow 27/03/2008 10:31:46
A very good article.

The only way to stop it is to cut the amount of the nation's money the government spends. Currently it is 55%. o long as there is so much money splashing around looking for something to do they will ultimately find things no matter how pointless. Ring fence most taxes for things like the NHS, pensions & cut everything else.
5

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head,

Edinburgh 27/03/2008 12:08:31
The SNP's pre-disposal to blindly follow the labour lead on nanny-statery and bans makes me absolutely opposed to independence.

Before I would even consider voting in favour of independence, I would want to see action being taken to restore all the rights we lost under labour. Speed cameras (right to silence), smoking bans, hunting bans and daft nanny state advice would have to go prior to me even considering giving my support.

The things above are within the remit of the Scottish parliament, yet no attempt whatsoever is being made to sort them out. I was under the impression that the SNP stood for the freedom of the people of Scotland. All they have shown so far is that they are prepared to follow labour's lead and to carry on their principles and further their catalog of oppression.

It is about time that the ordinary man in the street stood up for his rights. How about banning all politicians from all shops, supermarkets, petrol stations, pubs and restaurants until they see sense and reverse the past 10 years of labour misrule?
6

LuluB,

27/03/2008 12:45:19
"Please republish this article every day for the next five years until a few more folk notice"
Indeed.
And stand on Arthur's Seat with a megaphone. This needs saying. Over and over again until someone listens. Well done Mr Webster
7

Guthrie,

Edinburgh 27/03/2008 13:15:38
Funny how the opinionist brings up the fishing policy- without at least some brake on their activities the fishermen would have taken every last fish out of the sea long ago. That it is still a mess just now is mostly down the greed of the fishermen involved.

Can anyone tell me what he is actually arguing for? A return to a country with greater balance of power and local independence?
8

Busymale,

27/03/2008 13:34:31
Its about time some print was given over to this subject. What would fascists do with all this information? And don't say it can't happen here - it may take a generation or two but it can happen.
9

yockel,

27/03/2008 13:38:44
#5 Share your concerns regarding the SNP and other Central Belt socialists but I don't think staying in the union will help any. And
4# absolutely right, government has to be re-educated so that they can recognise they have no fundamental right to our money to squander on their wasteful play things. And
#7 Who says, nanny state? The same nanny that makes them throw dead fish back in the sea?
10

Guthrie,

Edinburgh 27/03/2008 14:01:34
No, the same scientists who point out that overfishing is a bad idea. If you want to blame nanny states, blame the ones who have specifically subsidised their fishing industries. Your blanket miscomprehension does you no good at all.
11

Neil,

Glasgow 27/03/2008 14:38:07
The question is, 'How do you hold down government spending?' Government spending now amounts to close to 40% of national income not counting indirect spending through regulation and the like. If you include that, you get up to roughly half. The real danger we face is that number will creep up and up and up. The only effective way I think to hold it down, is to hold down the amount of income the government has. The way to do that is to cut taxes." — Milton Friedman

Of course that was the US some years ago - we have long since passed the 50% mark & probably, if we included all the regulatory costs, the 75% mark in Scotland.

Meanwhile no major party in Scotland is willing to even look at using our right to cut income tax by 3p - something which would cost less than the nanny state subsidies we pour into windmills alone.

However Guthrie you are right about the fishing question - overfishing is a perfect example of the "tragedy of the commons" where everybody has the power to exploit commonly held property it gets exploited to destruction. The answer is some form of legal framework though whether it has to be administered by politicos is a different matter.
12

yockel,

27/03/2008 18:50:39
Guthrie #7 & #10 is not right.
Show us a fishing conservation policy that has worked and show us a decline in fish population that does not follow either a decline in water temperature or salinity.
If you townies stopped dumping your c3ap in the seas there might be more fish. More people = fewer fish.
13

Jwil,

27/03/2008 22:27:05
#5

Your comments defy logic. You are happy to stay in the British nanny state but you don't want to be in an independent nanny state.

It seems that you want to be able to break the law by speeding and threatening the lives of others. You want the smoking ban lifted evan although it will cause deaths and increase the budget of the NHS to the detriment of treatment for illnesses which are not self inflicted. A totally irresponsible stance to take!
Is this really what you are suggesting?

Anyway all these things you list were not introduced by the SNP.
14

Guthrie,

Edinburgh 28/03/2008 10:23:02
Yockel- you do know that fish population decline is related to a number of factors? the biggest is usually overfishing, although pollution often plays a part, and yes temperature changes can affect feeding.
Look, here's a random link to some scientific body effectively agreeing with me:
http://www.ices.dk/marineworld/recoveryplans.asp

And then, after denying reality, you try and imply that conservation policies don't work, when it is clear enough that they can work to some extent. I wonder how Iceland seems to be so successful?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2004/oct/08/food.business
http://www.fisheries.is/policy.htm

Hmmm, what do you know, they have quotas and everything. I would assume they can then vary it according to the stocks available, which will vary in turn according to the usual reasons.

Tell you what yockel, why don't you tell us all what you would like to do? A fishing free for all? Are fish stocks infinite? Or would you rather privatise the sea?

 

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