Bernard Hickey’s Latest Outage, Sorry, Outrage.

Bernard, affectionately called Kim Jong on this blog because his every policy recommendation involves more state in my life, not less, quickly outs himself in the heading of his newly penned poison:

 How much freedom should individuals or companies have [I should just stop here, but …] to change their affairs in response to tax rules? Bernard Hickey calls on us to join a British boycott of companies that do this.

First, the economic issue: as with other forms of nationalistic protectionism you would force for our exporters, Bernard, income tax is a cost: when you advocate a boycott on firms not paying what ‘you’ think is enough tax - and we know for you there will never be enough tax - then what you’re telling consumers to do is boycott firms until they increase their costs, and so, necessarily the prices they charge for their goods and services sold to consumers. You’re asking consumers to protest against not being charged more for what they buy from private companies, and thus you’re advocating a harsher life for low income earners on strict budgets, not a better one. Shame on you for not seeing beyond the copy of your next statist Granny Herald fee.

 And on the more important philosophical issue, it’s bounded freedom all over again. If you won’t read economics, then please read the history of the twentieth century. Already thanks to the big brute surveillance state you advocate, and the social chaos that comes from your bounded humans, a null-minded, ugly fascism begins to bind Europe again, and even a graveyard in Auckland. My entire blog is about joining the dots for you from bounded liberty to societies of fist saluting hatred as self-reliant individuals are thrown into the merciless, gaping maw of state, pulled inexorably down, finger nails scraping along their IRD assessments, into the barbaric pit of dependence.

Postscript:

 And you’ve still not taken up my currency contract, Bernard.

Update:

Economist Paul Walker at Anti-Dismal has written a nice piece on this also.