Government wants to keep you poor

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for December 3, 2025)

The quickest way to destroy innovation and cripple the economy is to "address" a new idea, or an old idea reborn, with government control.

Short-term rentals, like Airbnb and Vrbo, are in the crosshairs of local politicians, and this isn't a positive development. Letting strangers stay in your home for a few nights, for a fee, is an ancient use of personal property; the internet simply gave it a boost. There's no need for new ordinances, or the use of existing ordinances, to regulate it.

If a short-term rental next door creates a violation of your life, liberty, or property, there are already ethical ways to handle it without government getting preemptively involved. Zoning laws themselves are a violation of property rights.

Politicians have no right to decide which peaceful, voluntary businesses you're allowed to run. In a free country, this meddling wouldn't be tolerated. Such government overreach hurts us all in the long run.

Legitimacy doesn't come from official recognition. Government attention is poison to innovation. Look at Bitcoin: the moment government began paying attention, regulators attacked it with taxes, rules, and other interference. This destroyed much of the freedom and utility of cryptocurrency. Keep your filthy government off my life!

Government doesn't need a process to smother every human activity. Life doesn't need to be micromanaged by politicians. Liberty- freedom tempered with responsibility- is enough. The market regulates itself when freed from government meddling. Dishonest companies go broke without government protecting them from competition or from cheated customers. Anyone seeking government protection from competition or consequences is in the wrong. Monopolies can only persist with government help. Irresponsible individuals never learn to be better when protected from consequences, or from their victims, by government rules.

Those who believe "there oughta be a law" are the people who see any remaining liberty as a loophole that must be closed. Liberty's enemies are on both sides of the law- freelance crooks and suit-wearing officials- and it's your responsibility to defend it from them all.

A chilling realization is that government would rather keep you poor with arbitrary rules, and then toss you crumbs financed with money they stole from your neighbors, than to get out of your way and allow you to build your own future with your mind and muscles. A future of responsible self-sufficiency and abundance moves government from being a crutch to being recognized as the broken leg. This terrifies them.

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Thank you for reading.
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Game theory for winners

The smartest, most rational game theory strategy appears to be this:

• Start with cooperation.
• If cooperation is returned, keep cooperating.
• If betrayed, push back an equal amount immediately- once.
• If cooperation resets, return to cooperation without a grudge. If it doesn't, disengage (stop playing).

Isn't it interesting how thoroughly libertarian this is? 

It's how I've always tried to live, even before I ever heard it spelled out like this.

Of course, bad guys have set up "games" where they don't "allow" you to push back or walk away from their betrayal. That's when self-defense comes into play- it's up to you to decide when it's necessary, and I won't second-guess you.

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Thank you for reading.
Tips are nice.