A very good run.......................

The real cost of government is always opportunity cost, but that is difficult to calculate, because free societies and free people are unpredictable.  The fact that we are several centuries into a very good run of making people better, richer, freer, healthier, and longer-lived suggest that we free people have some pretty good ideas about how to deploy our resources, and that wagering on our continuing to do so is the smart bet.

-Kevin D. Williamson,  The End Is Near And It's Going To Be Awesome:  How Going Broke Will Leave America Richer, Happier, and More Secure