Editing 79-02-A4 (section)

=== Transcript ===
All of us can remember various rules or maxims said to govern the
way the world works. For instance, "buttered toast always falls to the
floor butter side down." Now, an enterprising author named [[wikipedia:Paul_Dickson_(writer)|Paul Dockson]]
has published a large and entertaining collection of laws and maxims
through the ages. The book is called [[amazon:0440166845|The Official Rules]], and it's
published by Delacorte Press.

Perhaps the best known of such rules are those called [[wikipedia:Murphy%27s_law|Murphy's Laws]].
The most famous of the many versions of Murphy's Law are these three:
"If anything can go wrong, it will." "Left to themselves, things go from
bad to worse." "Nature always sides with the hidden flaw." These, and
many others in the Dockson collection, are said to have derived from
experimental scientists and, more recently, computer specialists. Quite
a few, however, have a lot of relevance to our economic, social and
political life.

One of the oldest is Gresham's Law, dating back to the 16th century.
Sir Thomas Gresham studied the problem of money and exchange, and concluded
simply that "Bad money drives out good." Today, in this age of
dollar depreciation, Sir Thomas might have added, "governments which
print bad money also forbid the use of other money."

Speaking of government, there are quite a few rules governing the
working of bureaucracy. Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson is said
to be the author of Acheson's Rule of Bureaucracy: "A memorandum is
written not to inform the reader, but to protect the writer." Anyone
with years of experience in the U.S. State Department can certainly be
excused for believing that. Another rule of this kind is Smith's Principles
of Bureaucratic Tinkertoys: "1. Never use one word when a dozen
will suffice. 2. If it can be understood, it's not finished yet. 3. Never
do anything for the first time." James H. Boren, who founded the International
Association of Professional Bureaucrats, offers three similar
Laws of the Bureaucracy: "1. When in doubt, mumble. 2. When in trouble,
delegate. 3. When in charge, ponder."

Politics supplies quite a few droll laws. James Davidson, head of
the National Taxpayers' Union, is credited with observing that "democracy
is that form of government where everybody gets what the majority deserves."
Former Assistant Attorney General for Legislation Michael M. Uhlmann
observes, "when stupidity is a sufficient explanation, there is no need
to have recourse to any other." My friend M. Stanton Evans, former chairman
of the American Conservative union, is the author of Evans' Law of
Political Perfidy. It goes: "When our friends get into power, they aren't
our friends any more." The early American stateman John Randolph of
Roanoke, embittered after two decades of legislative battles. arrived at
Randolph's Cardinal Principle of Statecraft: "Never needlessly disturb
a thing at rest."

One of my Republican friends up in Vermont, John McClaughry, offers
his two laws of public policy: "Politicians who vote huge expenditures
to alleviate problems get elected; those who propose structural changes
to prevent problems get early retirement." He adds, "Liberals, but not
Conservatives, can get attention and acclaim for denouncing liberal
policies that failed; and Liberals will inevitably capture the ensuing
agenda for reform." But there is hope even for those who think civilization
is going down the drain. It comes from Allen's Law: "It is better
for civilization to be going down the drain, than to be coming up it." 

This is Ronald Reagan.

Thanks for listening.
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