A personal story

For the past few weeks I have been writing once and a while in a newspaper in Iceland, DV, in a special column for discussion. Now it appears I will be writing regularly (every Tuesday) so my nagging voice is at least not tied to the internet.

I asked the editor for some inspiration today and he told me to write on a more personal level. So far I've been pretty focused on general discussion on current affairs, and trying to squeeze in a little libertarian message in a way that doesn't scare of Centrists or Leftists. But more personal? I can do that! Starting now!

I use glasses. I don't see very well. In fact, I see extremely bad. For those who know the language of eye-sight, I have about minus 8-9 on each eye, which basically means I can have no more than about 20-30 cm between my eyes and a book if I'm to read it without glasses. But that's not all. My eyes don't "point" straight, which also has to be corrected with the glasses. Terrible isn't it? I must be desperate for help, right?!

No, actually not. The government does not, by most part, interfere with the rules of the market for eye-wear in Iceland, besides taxing heavily of course. I go to an eye-doctor or some other specialist who can measure eye-sight, take the prescription to an eye-wear store and buy the latest of latest in eye-wear technology at a reasonable price. Well, maybe not the latest of latest, but still pretty advanced stuff compared to the prices. Dozens of eye-wear stores compete in the market, attracting customers with the best of the best at the lowest possible prices, trying to make profits for themselves but at the same time insuring bad-sighted Icelanders good and advanced products for reasonable prices.

Some will now argue that the glasses-buisness is a pretty special one, because there are so many people who need glasses, compared to e.g. those who need hearing-devices (which the government subsidises if you care to stand in a long line). For me, these arguements are bogus to say the least. I don't know how many percent of the population need hearing-devices, but compared to the number of eye-wear stores just in Reykjavik, I'm sure there is a very good marked for quite a few stores with hearing-devices, if only the government would get of the market and stop collecting taxes for hearing-assistance!

Another arguement is that the technology behing hearing-devices is much more complicated than with glasses. Again, I'm not so convinced. Glasses are now stronger and thinner than ever before, repel steam better, don't scratch as easily and are lighter. No-one can tell me there aren't great leaps of technology being taken with eye-wear every year. I'm sure the same goes for hearing-devices, cell-phones and MP3-players. The difference is not the complicated technology, which there already is great demand for. The difference is the bounderies the government puts on the free market when it comes to these things.

That was my personal story. I wish more people could "see" the way I see how the free market helps those who have real and desperate need for some things regarding health and social capabilities. The hell with it if the government destroyes theatres, museums and green valleys, if it would just get out of the buisness of helping those who really need help!