Maybe This Is A Recession

Growth stalled in the last quarter of 2012.
Who expected this?

What does it mean?

There are plenty of negatives for our society.
Where is our attention? A lot of it is on tax avoidance. A lot is on how to deal with government.
The drag of government.

New rules.

Little stuff that adds up.

In California there is a new rule about CO alarms. They are now required in all rentals.
They cost money. They must be installed and inspected and maintained.
They are a small drag on the rental business, a small increase in the cost of doing business.

And there is no real perceptible improvement of the quality of housing. It remains to be seen whether this will actually save lives or improve health. These alarms sound like a good idea but how much good do they really do? Will the rate of CO poisoning be lower in 2013 that it was in 2012?

This is one example of a new regulation taking time and energy and money that might be used elsewhere.

I am sure there are hundreds more. Our energy gets directed by government. Damn the cost!
All this leads to increasing inefficiency and a sort of lack of mindfulness.

When I am forced to do what the government requires, it makes me less able to do what I think is required.

And that means required for the good life, for health, for safety, for peace of mind.

Robbed of peace of mind by government overreaching. And the economy is stalled because of government overreaching.