Overreaching is never a good idea. As Josey Wales once astutely observed, "a man has got to know his limitations". God has established competencies and limits to competence. Move beyond, muscle up, try to take over and the downward spiral commences. Whenever a family sets itself up as church, watch the faith die out in the children. Whenever a church lifts itself up above the authority of husbands over their families, watch a cult gradually emerge.
Of the three fundamental institutions ordained by God to develop and rule over His world, the biggest threat today comes from the state. What ought to be a very limited and focused institution for the punishment of evil doers has become the uber parent and uber church. Its failures are evident on every hand. This is the hand of the Lord, chastening us for our folly and Unbelief.
When government tries to run a business incompetence lies around every corner. Every business enterprise run by government has proved a commercial failure. Its only hope of working is if the state removes its interfering political hands and lets independent directors and managers run the company along commercial lines.
When President Obama was elected, he stupidly promised he would usher in a new way of doing business. America would be revitalised economically by "green jobs". The Federal Government would transform the country. This was the justification in the President's mind for the billions upon billions of "bailout" money. Sure, it was a Republican idea, but Obama was willing to back it. But with a tweak. He would ensure that the money went to the New Age, green economy.
When the Federal Government bailed out General Motors--which should have been allowed to go to the wall under the discipline of creative destruction for inept managers and investors--Obama told himself and the world that it was OK, because the government would ensure that it led the charge to "green energy". Now "Government Motors" as it has become known has produced its first hybrid: the Volt.
Consumer Reports has had a chance to review it. Note that this is straight commercial stuff--not massaged with political spin. The review was harsh.
Washington — Consumer Reports offered a harsh initial review of the Chevrolet Volt, questioning whether General Motors Co.'s flagship vehicle makes economic "sense."The extended-range plug-in electric vehicle is on the cover of the April issue — the influential magazine's annual survey of vehicles — but the GM vehicle comes in for criticism.
"When you are looking at purely dollars and cents, it doesn't really make a lot of sense. The Volt isn't particularly efficient as an electric vehicle and it's not particularly good as a gas vehicle either in terms of fuel economy," said David Champion, the senior director of Consumer Reports auto testing center at a meeting with reporters here. "This is going to be a tough sell to the average consumer."
It turns out that it twice as expensive as the competitor Prius, and appear to be about half as good. Think Skoda. Thank Trabant. Think of every vehicle made under political directive.
Champion noted the Volt is about twice as expensive as a Prius.
He was said the five hour time to recharge the Volt was "annoying" and was also critical of the power of the Volt heating system.
"You have seat heaters, which keep your body warm, but your feet get cold and your hands get cold," Champion said. . . .
"They (buyers) are going to live with the compromises the vehicle delivers," Champion said. "When you look at it from a purely logical point of view, it doesn't make an awful lot of sense."
As Aaron Worthing at Patterico put it,
So its not very good, but it is very expensive. Okay, show of hands, who was surprised by this? This is what happens when government tries to get involved in business. You get business decisions driven by politics rather than good business.
And when this car fails, will GM need a bailout to pay for this boondoggle?
Political drivers and business drivers just don't mix. Political drivers always win over business sagacity and succeed to commercial incompetence and failure. The reason is that the creation is just not "wired" that way. We either stay within our sphere of competence ordained by Almighty God, or we suffer the consequences.
But as always, we need also be reminded that Western governments have only been able to grow in hubris, power, and incompetence because the citizens demanded that their governments function as god, taking on the attributes and prerogatives of deity. As always, we get the government in our own image, and according to our lusts and desires. We get the government we deserve. It is divine judgment.
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