Althouse: "'I need more rights'? You've been leeching for 45 years, from the looks of it!"

February 19, 2011

"'I need more rights'? You've been leeching for 45 years, from the looks of it!"

A quote that begins 3 minutes at the rally today. [Note: The young man in the frozen frame below has other things to say. It's another person who begins the clip.]

27 comments:

Peter V. Bella said...: Pass the bill! Kind of hard when there is no sign of the "fleebaggers".; 2/19/11, 5:27 PM
Unknown said...: Interesting. Young guy on the Tea Party side. Blows the whole meme.

Funny how the Lefties invent rights and then shackle people to implement them.; 2/19/11, 5:28 PM
Chennaul said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/19/11, 5:28 PM
Bob Ellison said...: I guesstimate from this video that the Professor is shorter than I thought. Perhaps 5'3.5". But maybe she was holding the camera quite low, or else interviewing a literally liberal giant.; 2/19/11, 5:30 PM
vnjagvet said...: I don't agree with him but at least the "ask a liberal" guy was civil and articulate. He didn't seem like part of the mob.; 2/19/11, 5:32 PM
ricpic said...: Hey lib, when does the holier than thou act (with your hand in my pocket) end?; 2/19/11, 5:32 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I guesstimate from this video that the Professor is shorter than I thought. Perhaps 5'3.5". But maybe she was holding the camera quite low, or else interviewing a literally liberal giant."

He was pretty tall. I'm 5'5".; 2/19/11, 5:36 PM
Chip S. said...: Nice, soft-spoken guy in that vid. It's so much more pleasant to be pickpocketed than mugged.

It's an interesting basic premise that they're arguing about--if the same government that granted the right to full unionization decides that was a bad idea, it's somehow profoundly wrong to legislate accordingly.; 2/19/11, 5:41 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Yes, he was a very nice young man, standing amongst the tea parties, holding a tall sign that said "Ask a liberal." I think this is excellent political activity. I'm a big proponent of people talking to each other. To me, the relationships and the human decency and communication for its own sake is worth more than all the politics.; 2/19/11, 6:16 PM
Unknown said...: I disagree with this guy but his attitude is right on. It's refreshing to see people whose first thought isn't how obnoxious they can be.; 2/19/11, 7:20 PM
bgates said...: What a pleasant young man. I hope he loses, but what a pleasant young man.

Perhaps 5'3.5".

Wow, estimating height to the half inch based on a three minute video clip in which the person never appears on screen. It's like CSI: Madison or something.; 2/19/11, 9:28 PM
rcocean said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2/19/11, 9:38 PM
rcocean said...: Watching this video I had the same thought. Either Althouse is very short or Wisconsin is full of very tall men.; 2/19/11, 9:39 PM
Anonymous said...: test; 2/19/11, 9:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi all, I'm the guy in the video and yes I'm pretty tall-almost 6'3". Ann, thanks for sharing what I hope puts the protesters in a positive light. Wish you hadn't put the quote headline over the video still of me, though.

I had a great time talking to people all day and it stayed civil throughout. And I may continue the "Ask a Liberal" project. Any ideas for how best to keep it going?

John M, Madison; 2/19/11, 9:52 PM
Chip S. said...: First, get a better commenter name.; 2/19/11, 10:04 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Wish you hadn't put the quote headline over the video still of me, though."

I added a note to the post to point out that the person at the beginning is someone else.; 2/19/11, 10:09 PM
Anonymous said...: Thanks! And I'm working on a new posting name. AOL doesn't seem to recognize me anymore.; 2/19/11, 10:17 PM
Cindy Martin said...: Even FDR was against collective bargaining for public employees.

Why? Due to special interest infuence....

Like public employee unions being the largest contributor to the 2010 elections.; 2/19/11, 10:39 PM
Dose of Sanity said...: I like your style John - will you be back in town this week protesting? (Assuming no compromise)

It will be more "Wisconsin-like" this week. (yay a foot more of snow) I'd be happy to join you, if you'd have me.

(Not on Tuesday from 4:35-5:55, Althouse and I have our weekly engagement); 2/19/11, 10:41 PM
Johnnyshwai said...: I will definitely be back for as long as this goes on, and snow certainly won't stop me. Standing at the edge of the counter-protest seemed to work well for Ask A Liberal, and if you can spot me I'd love to chat. You'll recognize me by my apparently mythical height.

If you're good at this stuff too I might even share my trademark!

John
(from my new username); 2/19/11, 10:54 PM
rcocean said...: You seem nice, thoughtful and intelligent.

Why are you a liberal?; 2/19/11, 11:06 PM
Chip S. said...: I'm guessing that he majored in something ending in "Studies," but he was raised too well for the anger to take root.; 2/19/11, 11:25 PM
dick said...: Funny but I saw more diversity in that crowd than in all the teachers' crowd of the past 3 days.; 2/19/11, 11:40 PM
John0 Juanderlust said...: I'd like to see out-of-staters, like me, stay out of this, but what can you do?
This site has done a good job throughout in showing the event without ignoring the relative good behavior.
I think public employee unions are a mistake.
That said, I could actually discuss the matter with a guy like tall John. Great interview, and a very clever idea--ask a liberal.; 2/20/11, 2:11 AM
Johnnyshwai said...: Why am I a liberal?

Here's the nerdy version. Read the conditions for perfect competition here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_competition#Basic_structural_characteristics

Very few markets meet these conditions, and usually that's ok. Digital cameras, for example, fail on a lot of counts: nonhomogenous products, very incomplete information (how many people really know what a megapixel is), some transaction costs (rebates), significant entry and exit barriers (camera factories aren't cheap), etc etc. Still, the market for digital cameras is good enough that government intervention isn't necessary.

Some markets, however, fail phenomenally on almost every count. Health care is probably tops among these:

Finite sellers (doctors and hospital)

Finite buyers (most illnesess affect a limited number of patients at any time)

High entry and exit barriers (years of education for health professionals, large pools needed for insurance, high construction costs for hospitals, engineering skills for medical supplies, and on and on)

Highly imperfect information (you often don't understand what your doctor is doing, or the price of it, or whether it will work. And you can't bring an appendectomy back to Target if you're not satisfied with it)

Impure profit maximization (everyone agrees a certain amount of altruism is necessary in health care, and you don't want your health care provider trying to soak you for money)

Nonhomogeneous products (since no two people are alike, no two procedures are alike)

Nonconstant returns to scale (Everything's just too darn complicated to expand and contract in an efficient way)

Which is a big way of saying that health care ain't broccoli.

And in these situations, people have to make their best guess as to whether government, despite its inefficiencies, can make the market better. Often, liberal vs. conservative hinges on where people land with those guesses.

Why am I a liberal? Well, growing up in Minnesota in the '80s and '90s, I learned that if engaged citizens work hard and smart together, appreciate what government can and can't do, and then then bring qualified, professional and respectable people in to do the job well, you can build a vibrant and prospering economy even in weather most people would consider uninhabitable.; 2/20/11, 2:03 PM
Unknown said...: Tall John - You make a lot of sense. Thanks for the detailed explanation.; 2/20/11, 8:17 PM