Between 2016 and 2019, the United States economy rebounded with a surge of new manufacturing and the growth of small businesses. The unemployment rate dropped. Onerous government regulations were reduced, encouraging businesses to expand and hire more employees. The U.S. became energy independent for the first time, leading to lower fuel prices benefiting business and citizens.

Then in 2020, the coronavirus pandemic and related restrictions dealt a terrific blow to the economy and freedom of citizens to conduct business. 

But even as vaccinations have reduced the virus risk, the free market has been attacked again. This time by government overreach. By canceling the permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline and implementing a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, the government is regulating the energy sector out of business. Add  proposed mandates for higher minimum wages and measures facilitating illegal immigration, and a tsunami of regulations threatens to inundate the free market.

A free market is associated with capitalism, which is defined as a system of economics in which capital is invested by individuals to further ideas and enterprises investors believe will offer a return on money invested. Business owners and investors face risks. But if the enterprise succeeds, owners and investors win.

There’s also an insidious form of capitalism that has nothing to do with free markets: crony capitalism. Crony capitalism describes an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships among business people and government officials. Permits, grants, tax breaks and policies favor one industry over another. Crony capitalism marries private interests with government. The playing field for business becomes unlevel when government inserts itself into the mix. Crony capitalism uses government power through regulated interests to squelch competition. 

The government acquires money in two ways: prints it or confiscates it from citizens through taxes. When government is intertwined with business, the money for such activities comes directly from taxpayers. The government faces no risk nor is under any urgency to make the business succeed. Any business in a partnership with some government entity is not playing by the same economic rules as a private business alone. A private business is held accountable for decisions. There’s no accountability when the government is involved.

The government can pick winners and losers based on policies enacted. Favoring wind and solar over fossil fuels and nuclear energy is one of the most egregious examples of crony capitalism in 2021.
In contrast, a free market economy allows  competition to develop the most reliable, economical and environmentally friendly forms of energy. The ingenuity, adaptation and use of technology can make viable all forms of energy, provided the government doesn’t eliminate one form over another.

Historically, the purpose of development was to improve the human environment. Our quality of life today is a result of the discoveries, developments and use of our natural resources. These discoveries can be attributed to a free market economy unfettered by government interference.