My self-imposed label is that of an optimistic skeptic. Skepticism of norms, with a touch of imagination here and there, are the cornerstones of progress in the world as we know it. Based on where this nation appears to be heading, the jury is still out on where skepticism ends and contempt begins.
As a lawyer with ties to the financial industry, I could bore you to tears with a list of federal regulations that, in my opinion, are giving us more “protection” than we need or want. These regulations do provide economic development for accountants and lawyers, but admittedly, those two professions have more lobbyists than “Joe Sixpack.” Regulatory reform is undoubtedly worth a deeper dive. That said, deregulation—or regulators sleeping at the wheel—has proven in the past to be dangerous. This is what led to the Great Depression. This is what caused the financial crises during the first decade of this century. This is what created an environment for Bernie Madoff to steal a fortune from his clients.
Now, we are in the age of cryptocurrency. Unlike the dollar, it doesn’t have the full faith and credit of the federal government to back it up. It looks like a wonderful currency if one is dealing drugs, involved in human trafficking, or dealing arms to the underworld or terrorists. Is it a security, a form of currency, or a commodity? Is it a sucker’s bet? What impact will it have on the U.S. dollar, which is currently the standard currency of the world for credibility and stability? Where would the U.S. economy be if that were no longer the case?
The world we occupy in North Dakota is center-right or center-left, depending on the issue. Most people just want to live in a society with a functional government. We want the government to achieve its proper, healthy weight. Replacing governmental obesity with governmental anorexia is not the answer. The majority of Americans in both parties know this. Do our leaders? Common sense, please. Is that asking too much?
