torek, 10. november 2026

The violent, the crazy, the indolent, and the degenerate

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Trust me, dear reader, I do not relish this, but the pattern I mentioned yesterday -- whereby government policy caters to the lowest quintile, and meanwhile makes your life more difficult and expensive -- just got another example.

In Washington, D.C., some 64 percent of bus riders do not pay the fare. (In Tokyo, I mention completely at random, fare evasion is under one percent; this is surely just a large-scale coincidence, and you are a bad person for wondering about it.)

This level of fare evasion threatens the viability of the entire bus system. So what has the District of Columbia decided to do about it? Why, raise bus fares by 11 percent for the poor shlubs who do bother to pay.

Now what I am about to share with you will be downright shocking to the more delicate people who read my newsletter. I'll take the risk, though.

There will always be people in society who, for reasons that are entirely understandable, will not be able to care for themselves fully, and who will rely on the generosity of their neighbors.

Some people have extrapolated from this to the conclusion that the poor are uniquely virtuous, that their sad situation never has to do with their own decisions or personal qualities, that everyone knows it's unsophisticated and mean to suggest that they might in some way have contributed to their wretched state, the people you see sitting on stoops in our cities are helpless victims of forces beyond their control, etc.

If that is your opinion, you will not enjoy these excerpts from "The Forgotten Man" (1883), by William Graham Sumner.

The "forgotten man," according to Sumner, is "the man who never is thought of. He is the victim of the reformer, social speculator and philanthropist, and I hope to show you before I get through that he deserves your notice both for his character and for the many burdens which are laid upon him."

He is the one who bears the burden of the modern progressive's special fascination with the degenerate, the crazy, the weird, the indolent, and the violent. (I remember being shocked to learn that conductor Leonard Bernstein had hosted a fundraiser for the Black Panthers, but that was only in keeping with this pattern.)

Again Sumner:

"Such is the forgotten man. He works, he votes, generally he prays — but he always pays — yes, above all, he pays. He does not want an office; his name never gets into the newspaper except when he gets married or dies. He keeps production going on....

"He is not in any way a hero (like a popular orator); or a problem (like tramps and outcasts); nor notorious (like criminals); nor an object of sentiment (like the poor and weak); nor a burden (like paupers and loafers); nor an object out of which social capital may be made (like the beneficiaries of church and state charities); nor an object for charitable aid and protection (like animals treated with cruelty); nor the object of a job (like the ignorant and illiterate); nor one over whom sentimental economists and statesmen can parade their fine sentiments (like inefficient workmen and shiftless artisans). Therefore, he is forgotten. All the burdens fall on him, or on her, for it is time to remember that the Forgotten Man is not seldom a woman.

"It is plain enough that the Forgotten Man and the Forgotten Woman are the very life and substance of society. They are the ones who ought to be first and always remembered. They are always forgotten by sentimentalists, philanthropists, reformers, enthusiasts, and every description of speculator in sociology, political economy, or political science.

"The Forgotten Man is weighted down with the cost and burden of the schemes for making everybody happy, with the cost of public beneficence, with the support of all the loafers, with the loss of all the economic quackery, with the cost of all the jobs. Let us remember him a little while. Let us take some of the burdens off him. Let us turn our pity on him instead of on the good-for-nothing. It will be only justice to him, and society will greatly gain by it.

"Why should we not also have the satisfaction of thinking and caring for a little while about the clean, honest, industrious, independent, self-supporting men and women who have not inherited much to make life luxurious for them, but who are doing what they can to get on in the world without begging from anybody, especially since all they want is to be let alone, with good friendship and honest respect. Certainly the philanthropists and sentimentalists have kept our attention for a long time on the nasty, shiftless, criminal, whining, crawling, and good-for-nothing people, as if they alone deserved our attention."

I warned you, dear reader -- Sumner is direct.

I think Sumner goes wrong calling him the forgotten man. He isn't forgotten so much as despised. The people who exploit him believe he deserves to be treated like cattle to fund their various schemes.

American health insurance is where today's forgotten man is a particular victim.

The present mess in American health insurance is the result of a confluence of factors, for starters self-interested regulation (like the "certificate of need" requirement for hospitals), foolish mandates, and as always, measures designed to burden the forgotten man. (For example, if you're an insurance company and you price premiums solely by referring to your actuarial tables, expect a visit from the Department of Justice.)

Well, ol' Woods has just the thing for the forgotten or despised man.

Created by a guy who's philosophically one of us, and someone who'd rather build something than sit around and complain, CrowdHealth is an example of an unorthodox thing to do in order to prosper when the authorities are constantly cooking up ways to make your life more difficult and expensive.

The concept is straightforward: you cover the smaller expenses, and for larger expenses you pay the first $500, with the "Crowd" paying the rest, after CrowdHealth negotiates the bill down.

It being open enrollment now, I'm holding a special Q&A with Andy Schoonover, the CEO himself, so you can see if CrowdHealth -- which my family and I have used for years, and which has saved us a fortune -- is for you.

We're doing this tomorrow, so reserve your spot now, and do not let yourself be forgotten again:
 

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0xN6pMXmR8WisJ5BnRPiqA


Tom Woods

P.S. If you’ve already made up your mind and don’t need the Q&A, here’s the link: https://www.JoinCrowdHealth.com. Use code TOM (not WOODS) to get a discount on your first three months, and you’ll also get my free quick-start guide.





 







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