Opinion: In today’s pages: Happiness and the HMS Hillary
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The editorial board continues its American Values series with a discussion of the pursuit of happiness:
The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution later echoed [John] Locke’s notion that government has no rights to an individual’s property, nor can it dictate what that person does to earn it. As a result, we take for granted the freedom to pursue our fortunes as we see fit. Yet, as Locke noted, one person’s pursuit often conflicts with another’s, so government intervenes to strike a balance. Today, our free enterprise system is regulated in many ways by the exercise of government power, including taxes, industry subsidies and monetary policy. A defining feature of the next president’s economic strategy will be how he or she uses government power to tilt the balance in the economy -- not just among interest groups and their pursuit of property, but among generations.
Columnist Jonah Goldberg says if Hillary Clinton goes down, so does the cult of Bill. Contributing editor Gustavo Arellano points out that Orange County may wage war on day laborers, but it still keeps employing them. The Hoover Institution’s Henry I. Miller argues that Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) bill to ban chemicals in toys may help rats but doesn’t do much for kids.
Readers respond to The Times’ American Values series. See why Santa Monica’s Arthur Hansl says of the ‘Liberty’ editorial, ‘Never have I seen a more wrong-headed editorial.’