The libertarian (or "libertarian" to some) Reason Magazine has launched a six-part video series called "Reason Saves Cleveland With Drew Carey", featuring that washed-up TV comic. On the series they'll outline some of the ways they think that city could be saved. The problem, of course, is that libertarian ideology has either played a major role in or offers no guidance on various aspects of the decline of the Rust Belt. The first video is at http://peekURL.com/vfpi1s7 and introduces some of the problems they face:

* Outsourcing and "free" trade is a core libertarian belief, and both have had a disastrous impact on the Rust Belt. Libertarians couldn't care less: any sense of nationalism in even the best of senses is abhorrent to them. Libertarians have little or no loyalty to their countrymen: to them a job is a job, whether it's done by an American or someone in a forced labor reeducation camp in China doesn't matter if the latter costs less. Further, Reason Magazine is a key part of the "Kochtopus", and the Koch family strongly supports "free" trade schemes such as NAFTA (link). Don't expect Reason to do anything but support "free" trade.

* The issue of busing, race riots, white flight, and so on was briefly touched on in this recent post. The Great Society has had disastrous impacts, but the libertarian alternative would be even worse. Libertarian is amoral when it isn't immoral; they have no guidance to offer on these type of social issues. And, Reason's raison d'etre - perhaps even more important than helping their benefactors - appears to be to get invitations to Beltway cocktail parties. Don't expect them to look at issues like these with a clear eye but with one clouded by the desire to be the frat boy safe bad boys for the DC circuit.

* On the video, Nick Gillespie refers to the "nation developing an environmentalist sensibility" in 1969. Let's just say that many libertarians know that environmentalism isn't popular with their corporate benefactors. So, if you want the Cuyahoga River to take fire again, the libertarians are willing to help.

* The video refers to "lavish public spending on sports stadiums" and on the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and to a good degree such public spending is wasteful and a massive boondoggle for those who are politically connected. However, one wonders what the libertarian alternative would be: a city like Los Angeles that, despite being the second largest city in the U.S., doesn't have its own NFL football team? Without sports and the Hall of Fame, what exactly would Cleveland be famous for and inviting to guests?

* The video twice references Cleveland losing population so - you heard it here first - expect one of the upcoming videos to be supportive of massive immigration. Also expect that video to not mention even a single downside, because you just can't trust Reason Magazine.

UPDATE: In case anyone thinks I'm being hyperbolic in my claim that libertarians have little national loyalty, the third video from Reason promotes privitazation (peekURL.com/vnfz5rb). On a segment based in Chicago, they promote someone who helps sell off public assets, and he promotes the privatization of the Chicago Skyway. What Reason fails to tell their viewers is that the companies involved in purchasing that toll road are Cintra SA and Macquarie Infrastructure Group (link). The first is Spanish, the second is Australian. To those like Reason that doesn't matter: all that counts is that they've got the money and concerns about foreign countries controlling vital infrastructure are completely unimportant.

Note also that both companies were involved in the TransTexas Corridor, with Cintra being linked to Rudy Giuliani and Macquarie buying a Texas newspaper chain in an apparent attempt to spread the good news about the TTC. Once again: none of that matters to libertarians.