Buy (Me) This Book

Charles Murray, author of "What It Means to Be a Libertarian" has a new book out that makes what seems to me to be a very sensible proposal: get rid of the incredible complex and bureaucratic welfare state and instead just use the money we currently spend on it to give everyone over the age of 21 a $10,000 annual grant in lieu of Medicare, Social Security, welfare, etc., with a stipulation that at least $3,000 be used for health insurance and a strong recommendation that $2,000 be used as savings for retirement. There are a number of measures incorporated to keep progressivity a part of the system. It won't make the government smaller in terms of money spent (but we're losing ground on that goal, anyway), but it will hopefully take the government's hands off everything we do and let us decide how to live our lives on our own without their carrots and sticks to guide our behavior. It's certainly a provacative idea. The book, entitled "In Our Hands", is at the top of my reading list.