I feel a rant coming on

I told my dad the other day that I needed to quit watching documentaries and reading books, because it was freaking me out and pissing me off. Apparently I've got to quit reading my sons monthly school newsletter as well. The last few have each had a little article about freedom, this month it is on the impact of freedom on the economy. I think Glen Beck would be very proud of this article. "When government intrudes upon trade, one or both parties are forced to sacrifice their choice in the terms of the trade, as in the recent government mandate that banks lend financially unsound mortgages. Such actions lead to the loss of property rights and therefore a loss of LIFE.". What? I must have missed that mandate. But wait, there's more. "Over the years agents of the US government have exerted more control over the economy, claiming that a free market of labor and wages would result in massive unemployment. Their "logic" says that when people save their money, they hurt the economy and cause unemployment. This is why they believe that the government must step in and redistribute the wealth." Again, what? There has been massive deregulation for the last 20 plus years, many of which have at least partially caused the economic problems among other problems as well. And who in the hell are the "agents", "they", and "their" in that paragraph. I'm beginning to wonder if my boys are attending the Fox News of private schools. The article also contends that US fiscal policy "promotes unreal economic stimulation through invented public projects (the bridges to nowhere). This Keynesian economic approach has resulted in
-a national debt of almost $13 trillion, an increase of 50% since 2006
-severe mortgage defaults, with a new wave on the near horizon
-1.41 million Americans filing personal bankruptcy in 2009
-a perceived devaluation of the US dollar, threatening its world status
-37 million Americans on food stamps and 50% of the population who pay no income tax
-decreased corporate profits, resulting in 55% reduction in September 2009 tax receipts
-unemployment of 15 million people, 6 million for 27 weeks or more"

I'm no economist, but seriously, how can you blame all this on Keynesian economic policy of the government. I'm pretty sure we've been involved in an overseas quagmire of a war contributing a large amount of that debt. I'm worried that I'm going to have to check to see if my son's textbooks are being printed in Texas. Next the article says " 'Un-free' economics leads to rights violations---just consider how, in order to bail out General Motors, the government confiscated and appropriated shareholder and dealer property. Such injustice would never be upheld by free enterprise---the only true economic system for a free society." Really? Pretty sure GM was begging for money and would have done anything to get it.

I'm not advocating for the downfall of capitalism, I just think this article takes quite a bit of liberty and huge jumps in logic. I'm also wondering what place it has in a school newsletter (it's a private school with many campuses in 4 states and this is the whole group newsletter). The point made at the very end is that the school's mission to "prepare children to become self reliant, productive individuals is not just an abstract idea. We encourage them to think and work for themselves and to cherish their freedoms and defend their individual rights." That last sentence sounds like my son is part of a militia (a quick Google search of the school founder pulled up her political donations, which were heavily conservative and included donations to the Minuteman PAC, so no suprise there), but I do hope my boys do learn to think and decide for themselves. I don't want them to believe the overly simplistic load of crap in this article. I'm not even going into the economic allegory (Mr. Capital in Free Isle) that goes with article the tells of the honest capitalist businessman whose life is brought to ruin by government interference. Not that I wasn't before, but I am obviously going to have to pay attention to what my sons are being taught. I'm not going to pull the boys out because of this, we've been very happy with the education they've been receiving, but I do question the judgement shown in printing the article. I find it unconscionable that a learning institution can play so loose and fast with the facts, I'll make sure my boys learn to properly research what they write for school.