Positive Liberty

I have just returned from a family vacation. Now, I’m in that post-vacation recovery phase. We went to Walt Disney World and hit the four main theme parks. It was great to be with my family.

But that’s not why I write this post. What do you care? I went on vacation — so what?

This wasn’t our first time at Disney. But there was something different about this trip. And I think it’s notable and important to all of us.

Let me set the stage…

If you’ve been to Disney (or even if you haven’t), you know that it’s probably the number one tourist stop in the world. And the locals are grateful for the commerce it generates. We even saw a taxi driver, pulled over at the side of the freeway with an unrolled carpet, genuflecting in the direction of the Disney campus (well, perhaps it was coincidence that Disney was in the East).

Florida has been a point of outreach by both political parties. And I think I’ve discovered the George Bush plan to win Florida. Bring tourists from all over the world!

The plan is simple, really: Gut the value of the dollar.

It’s fun and it works on several levels for the political class.

If you are this President, then . . .

Step One: You spend money with reckless abandon. Take the Democrat’s energy by spending money on social programs — from no Child Left Behind to the Prescription Drug bill. Spend still more money on your pals with unnecessary, unprovoked wars and security schemes. Buy votes every step of the way.

Step Two: The money has to come from somewhere for this guns, more guns, butter, and pork concoction. And inflating the currency is the easiest way to do that. People may get suspicious that too much money is being created out of thin air, so you talk a lot about the boom created by the borrowing. Take credit for economic growth. At the same time, turn off the reporting of that money creation (M3).

How does this relate to a Disney vacation?

Well, there were a lot of foreigners in the “Place where dreams come true.” And, as I said, it wasn’t our first time visiting Mickey’s Magical World. Mind you, I’ve got nothing against foreigners. My beef is with our government.

The number of foreigners was fascinating. I would dare say that my peak awareness occurred at Epcot, and that perhaps 40% of the people there were not Americans.

But they type of foreigner is even more notable. They weren’t so many Hispanics or even Japanese (though both were there). Instead, there were lots of French, Germans, Australians, and Israeli’s.

And why so many European types? Well, as my wife stood in line at a gift shop, she talked to two, quite young, European ladies. They were very sweet, she said. These gals told my better half that they have friends who come and spend a month at a time living on Disney property!

Let me put this in perspective. We Americans scrimped and saved for a year. We borrowed a house, from a friend, 90 minutes drive from the park, so that we could save money on lodging and stay longer. We also wanted the house because it allowed us to go grocery shopping — meaning we could pack P,B & J for lunches, and drive home for Hamburger Helper. We were there eight days. And now, I’m broke, again.

“How was this possible?” my wife asked. “The Euro is now worth so much more than your dollar. Coming to the states is cheap. It’s like going somewhere where everything is 50% off,” they replied. “It’s almost more expensive to live and work in Europe, than it is to vacation here.”

Of course, they have to go home and make more Euros at some point. But truly, this was, for the European set, “The Magic Kingdom.”

And so, the Disney portion of the tourism industry is doing just fine, thank you. Perhaps this was part of The Decider’s plan all along. Maybe we could even call this, the Disney Presidency.

Hardball Delenda Est

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