This is Trend Following Radio, where great thinking comes alive.

Nobel Prize winners, legendary traders, bestselling authors, and the pros that know what drive us irrational human beings.

I am your host, Michael Covel.

Not filtered, raw, honest.

That's my passion.

Before I introduce my guest today, I want to read four passages from his newest work.

First, the idea that government's mission is to make things better is false.

Government is best understood, is a naturally occurring struggle between the outsiders and the insiders.

By definition, insiders always control the government and use it to maintain

existing power, status, and wealth relationships, and exploit the outsiders. Everybody or

everyone who isn't either feeble-minded or a saint wants wealth, power, and status. And the easiest, fastest way to get it usually

is to take it away from someone else. Taking wealth away from someone else gives you a clear

advantage. He has less, you have more. If you make these transfers law, your opponent is at an even more of a disadvantage, thus

the popularity of government.

This second passage is missing the first sentence, but I think you'll get the point.

This corrective mechanism does not operate so well in a government program. Failure is often not noticed,

and if it is noticed, there may be little incentive to fix it. In fact, the incentives could face

the opposite direction. A failure may bring more or continued financing, whereas a success

may make the project self-extinguishing. Most often,

however, the government employees need not worry. Programs are rife with vague and immeasurable

goals. Many are constructed in such a way that they can never actually succeed. And most

are purely BS anyway.

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