I have said that it wouldn't bother me

if 100% of government functions were privatized. Actually, I believe that something very much like government will always exist. In its ideal form government is just another voluntary association. The trouble with governments as they have always been constituted is that they essentially conscript all newborns as new members as though they qualified as conscious volunteers, even when the original members were all volunteers. That is the argument against Social Contract theory.

OK, I buy that babies, children and adolescents aren't qualified to decide which country to be a citizen of [Hey! Chaucer ended sentences and clauses with prepositions too! If that's a crime, slap the cuffs on me!], but it seems to me that there ought to be a low transaction-cost way to renounce your citizenship when you reach the age of majority, be that 18, 21 or 30 (as it was for the Spartans*). A free country ought to provide that. The cost to remain a citizen should be free, I suppose, to encourage people to stay. Indeed, included in the renunciation would be the right to remain (on good behavior) as a resident alien.

One thing that would make the transaction costs low would be a major change in our thinking about taxes. Income taxes are both excessive and intrusive. We need to switch to corporate taxes and user fees. The National Sales Tax? Only if it proves to be simpler, i.e. it requires fewer accountants and lawyers. [A knowledge of the law is an exceedingly useful thing in many aspects of business, this need not reduce the number of people studying law; or accounting--also universally applicable.] Our tax code doesn't need to be a Full Employment Act for accountants and lawyers.

One of the main gripes of populists lately, is that there is too much money in politics. Walter Williams nails this issue on the head today.

Breaking news! Israeli-Palestinian Peace Group Optimistic Despite Facts on the Ground

The real issue is that there are too many plum jobs to give away; in government itself, by creating monopolies in things like cable tv and railroad lines (going back a ways), by imposing tariffs (sugar), or subsidies (corn and wheat). And even semi-licit and elicit jobs by taxing tobacco farming, cigarette making, brewing and distilling and banning hallucinogens and narcotics.

There is too much power in Washington. If they didn't do it and the states did, I would in fact be saying that there was too much power in St. Paul. I think I'd quit bitchin' at the city and county level. If they all banned my guilty pleasure, well, I'd probably knuckle under to social pressure.

How's that for rambling on a hump night? Hey! The Timberwolves beat the Supersonics 90-83: Latrell Sprewell and Kevin Garnett each scored 27 points to lead the Timberwolves to a franchise-best 52nd victory Wednesday, 90-83 over the Sonics. Sprewell connected on 6-of-10 from 3-point range and Garnett added 10 rebounds and seven assists for Midwest Division-leading Minnesota, which hosts the Wizards on Friday.

Major! Scorin'! Spre!

I say I'm not a basketball fan, but I'm not completely ignorant of the game, and I enjoyed watching this one. As a complete frontrunner and bandwagon jumper, it was probably because the Wolves were leading all the way through, but the Supersonics kept it close and looked like they had it in 'em to win this low scoring game.