How Leftists are Killing 'The Jetsons'

How Leftists are Killing 'The Jetsons'
By Ben Shapiro
10/13/2010

When I was a kid, I'd wake up extraordinarily early every morning and turn on the television, scanning for episodes of "The Jetsons." For some reason, I loved the notion of a future where there would be flying cars, supercomputers, and most of all, robot maids to take care of the chores. The generation that preceded me tuned into "Star Trek" for the same reasons -- they were eager to see a future that featured incredible technology and timesaving conveniences.

For the first time in American history, today's generation is looking at a future that resembles the Flintstones more than the Jetsons. President Obama's science adviser, John Holdren, preaches the virtues of "de-development," by which he means the destruction of technological advances; the Obama administration preaches cap and trade policies, which would cripple American standards of living if implemented. Obama and his cronies have no faith whatsoever in human ingenuity and entrepreneurship: the best solutions are always proscriptive and prophylactic.

They're wrong. The best solutions are, almost invariably, created by the private sector. Problems present opportunities spurring the private sector to innovation; problems present challenges spurring the public sector to regulation. Only the private sector's solutions make life better for everyone.

Take, for example, a serious problem now plaguing the nation: the rash of automobile accidents caused by drivers using cell phones. According to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, driver distractions caused almost 5,500 deaths last year, constituting 16 percent of road fatalities. Many of those distractions were due to texting and dialing.

LaHood's solution: a federal ban on all use of cell phones while driving. "I don't want people talking on phones, having them up to their ear or texting while they're driving," LaHood said with justification. "We need a lot better research on other distractions," he added. He wants to ban OnStar from developing applications that would allow drivers to update their Facebook or Twitter pages via oral communication. He says that "would be the biggest distraction of all."

LaHood's solution sounds reasonable, but as with all government solutions, it has costs. While driving, how many of us use our cell phones to check on the safety of our loved ones, to do business or even to make emergency calls? How many of us would be willing to give up those conveniences -- and, in some cases, those necessities -- in order to satisfy LaHood's safety requirements?

Government, however, is a blunt instrument, able only to ban, to prevent, to stop. Every government regulation is a trade-off between interests.

Not so with the private sector. Here's the latest private sector solution to the problem of distracted driving: cars that drive themselves.

Google, the most innovative company on the planet at the moment, is busily creating vehicles with the capacity to drive in traffic without human intervention. According to reports, test cars have already driven thousands of miles without any human control; the only accident, so far, has been the result of a rear-ending by a human-driven car. Because artificial intelligence cannot get distracted or drunk or fall asleep at the wheel, these cars could revolutionize several industries, including the transportation industry and the trucking industry.

Traffic problems would be alleviated due to fewer accidents; speeding tickets would become a thing of the past. Economic productivity would rise dramatically, with millions of commuters able to work as they ride rather than focusing on making the next yellow light. All of this made possible by a simple problem.

The Luddite tendencies of the left mean economic stagnation, solutions that lead backward rather than forward. If the left had been in charge during the early 20th century, they would have regulated the development of the unsafe automobile, and then celebrated their preservation of the wheelwright profession. With the left in charge now, entrepreneurial solutions will be punished with taxes or regulation, and we will forfeit the future of the possible in favor of a future that embraces what already is.

I don't know about you, but I still want my flying car. Maybe I'll never get it. But I'd sure as hell rather live in a world where the only limits are those imposed by nature rather than by man. We all deserve a "Jetsons" future. If government continues to grow, that future will fade into oblivion.
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