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Championing Everyday Americans

In my most-recent column in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, I give Hillary Clinton the benefit of the doubt on whether or not she sincerely wishes to serve as the champion of ‘everyday Americans’ (or of Americans everyday).  A slice:

For the past nearly 90 years, Uncle Sam has been active in bestowing privileges on favored groups — privileges that inevitably are at the expense of out-of-favor groups. Union workers cannot be championed with special “protections” without harming employers and nonunion workers. Domestic producers cannot be championed with tariffs without harming consumers and other domestic producers (especially those who thrive by exporting). Workers cannot be championed with a higher minimum wage without causing some of them to lose their jobs (even as others do get higher pay). “Green” industries cannot be championed except at the expense of “brown” industries and of consumers who are obliged to pay higher energy prices. Farmers cannot be championed with subsidies without inflicting higher food prices on consumers.

So assuming that President Hillary Clinton truly wishes to be a champion for all or most Americans, she must confine her attentions to only a small handful of general tasks that truly do serve us all.

No such task is more important than ensuring that both the civil and criminal justice systems are incorruptible and unbiased. A justice system that truly is blind to a person’s skin color, sex, wealth and other irrelevant factors benefits everyone in the long run. Likewise a legal system that protects and respects everyone’s private property and everyone’s contractual rights and obligations.

The only way for any president to serve all Americans is to work as hard as possible to end the special-interest-group favoritism that is so common today in Washington.

Any elected official who proclaims a desire to serve “all” Americans, yet who plays along with this prevalent cronyism, is a liar.

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