Pushed to Shove
  Regulate This

The trend toward government dominance, interference, and altering of voluntary contracts is prevalent and a most dangerous sign.

Dear Rob,

Sen. Brian Weinstein has decided to “regulate” foreclosure rescues out of existence by creating laws that restrict a homeowner’s right to freely contract, per HB 2791.

These foreclosure rescue ‘white knights’ aren’t in it for anything else than their own self-interest, and we should probably put them out of business.Sen. Brian Weinstein, D-Mercer Island
Chairman of the Senate Consumer Protection Committee.

There’s more . . .

What Brian said

He went on to say to the Spokesman Review that instead of trying to ban foreclosure rescues, lawmakers are trying to “regulate it so much that it just doesn’t happen.”

I guess I don’t understand the way things work in Olympia, Rob, because this seems more than a little creepy to me, if not downright dishonest.

It’s as if you’re all saying that since there’s really no legitimate means to address foreclosure rescues, let’s take the easy way out and legislate it away. After all, we have the power to do that.

What Ron said

Ron Paul has a bit of a different take on the role of government . . .

The degree to which governments are permitted to exert force over the people determines the extent to which individuals retain their liberty as well as the chances for peace and prosperity. Historically, governments have always initiated force against the people with disastrous results. America is the best example of what can happen if that force is restrained, thus maximizing individual freedom and prosperity. Yet today, that wonderful experiment is all but abandoned. We must once again clearly reject the idea that government force and threat of force can be carelessly administered.

Voluntary contracts must be permitted. The trend toward government dominance, interference, and altering of voluntary contracts is prevalent and a most dangerous sign. Responsibility to care for one’s self is necessary for a free society to function, and trust that individuals will look out for their own self-interest, even if imperfectly, is required and should be achieved through contractual arrangements. Government interference in voluntary agreements between two parties must be strictly prohibited. Enforcement of those contracts in event of a violation invites the government’s participation in settlement of the dispute. This limited involvement of government in voluntary contracts is necessary in a free society.

The strict limitation of government power imposed by the Constitution must be respected. We must accept the principle that government’s function is not to regulate and plan the economy, protect us from ourselves, arbitrarily attempt to make us better people, or police the world by interfering in the internal affairs of other nations. Its proper function in a free society is to protect liberty and provide for a common defense. When that proper role is assumed, our problems will vanish.Congressman Ron Paul
From Pillars of Prosperity, 1984

Strictly Prohibited

Once again . . .

Government interference in voluntary agreements between two parties must be strictly prohibited.

It would seem Mr. Weinstein isn’t much of a Ron Paul fan.

In the arena,

Joe Kaiser

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 12:02 am and is filed under HB 2791. You can follow responses to this entry through the Comments RSS Feed. Pinging is currently closed.