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Letter: Laird’s column criticized

The Columbian
Published: April 14, 2012, 5:00pm

Reading his April 8 column “Building bridges, fighting fires and catapulting clichés,” I take exception to John Laird’s poke at the local Republican Party for using the Hilton Vancouver Washington for recent events.

Laird’s rhetorical tactic is common among big-government enthusiasts. When government crowds out the potential private market of a given sector, fiscal conservatives are forced to help pay for the undertaking. But they then must completely refrain from accessing the market sector in question, lest they be accused of hypocrisy.

If I want unemployment insurance, I have little choice but to go through the government to access the “insurance policy” I am forced to pay into, since potential private options have been crowded out. But if I do access the only insurance option available to me, I am called a hypocrite for opposing the public unemployment insurance system as a matter of policy.

With its tax base backing, local government has monopolized the large events venue market in Clark County (between the Hilton and the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds). So Republicans’ only apparent options, to live up to Laird’s unfair standards, are to (1) not hold large events or (2) use the government-owned/sponsored venues and keep their mouths shut on related policy questions.

Michael Cummins

Camas

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