Government Kill Switches and the Broken Window Fallacy

On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, Kim Monson examines government overreach on two fronts: automotive journalist Lauren Fix sounds the alarm on federally mandated kill switches in vehicles, while producer Luke Cashman joins for an in-depth discussion of Henry Hazlitt’s “Economics in One Lesson” and the broken window fallacy.

Federally Mandated Kill Switches Target Driver Freedom

Start listening at 30:39 – Hour 1

Lauren Fix of Car Coach Reports delivers breaking news about Section 24220 of the 2021 infrastructure bill, which mandates kill switches in all vehicles built from 2026 onward. Fix explains the technology will use cameras and sensors to monitor driver behavior, eye movements, and even conversations through always-on listening capabilities. The system can disable a vehicle if the computer determines the driver is impaired, regardless of actual sobriety.

Fix describes how Gentex technology already tracks every movement of the driver’s eyes, nose, and mouth through the rearview mirror, monitoring all occupants including passengers, children, and pets. The data feeds into the vehicle’s computer, which decides whether to allow the car to start or to activate emergency flashers and force a roadside stop. Fix warns there is no way to override what she calls “kill switch jail” once the system engages.

The automotive expert urges listeners to submit comments to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through regulations.gov, referencing NHTSA-2022-0079. She notes that Representative Thomas Massey brought the issue to the House floor and even garnered support from AOC for removal, though 19 Republicans voted to keep the provision.

“The vehicle will turn on the four-way, and it’s your responsibility to pull over to the side of the road, and that’s it. The car doesn’t start. That could create other dangers to you, to your vehicle, and that is really concerning because now there’s no way to get out of a kill switch jail.”

Lauren Fix, Car Coach Reports

Economic Fallacies and the Broken Window Theory

Start listening at 59:30 – Hour 2

Luke Cashman, 25-year-old producer at KLZ, joins Kim Monson and Producer Joe for a discussion of Henry Hazlitt’s “Economics in One Lesson.” The conversation centers on Frederic Bastiat’s broken window fallacy, which Hazlitt uses to illustrate how destruction does not create net economic benefit despite the appearance of economic activity.

Cashman engages critically with Hazlitt’s text, agreeing with approximately half the arguments while challenging the book’s application of the fallacy to wartime economics. He argues that while destruction itself is negative, war creates unique pressure for rapid innovation that peacetime conditions rarely produce. Cashman cites examples including jet engines, nuclear energy, and the Volkswagen as byproducts of wartime necessity.

Kim pushes back, noting that countries focused on military spending at the expense of free markets, such as North Korea, Russia, and Cuba, fail to produce the innovation seen in capitalist economies. She points to the iPhone as an example of peacetime innovation driven by market competition rather than conflict. The discussion explores how government taxation and spending parallel the baker’s lost $250 in Hazlitt’s parable.

“I’m not saying war is good. I’m saying the book should at the very least abide by its own words and not fall into the fallacies of looking at the immediate consequence. It should expand and look at the benefit that is there, even if you don’t like it.”

Luke Cashman, KLZ Producer

Arlington’s Reconciliation Monument Under Attack

Start listening at 7:00 – Hour 1

Kim Monson reports on the Biden administration’s attempt to remove the Monument to Reconciliation from Arlington National Cemetery during Christmas week. The monument, conceived by President William McKinley following the Spanish-American War, celebrates the reunification of North and South after soldiers from both regions fought together in 1898.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday after the group Defend Arlington filed suit. Kim notes that the Washington Post mischaracterizes the monument as a “Confederate Memorial” when its actual name and purpose center on national reconciliation. Work to dismantle the monument had already begun before the restraining order, and the memorial also serves as the headstone for the sculptor. Kim references historian Scott Powell’s Town Hall article questioning who would destroy such a monument during the Christmas season.