Few things are more fun to watch explode than a Truth Bomb. Real bombs are fun to watch too, of course, but we don’t cover that on HotAir.

Congressman Byron Donalds could give a master class in truth bombs. A first term Republican from Florida’s 19th Congressional district, he absolutely destroyed the liberal policies that have led to the explosion in inflation. His focus was on Biden’s labor policies and government support for indolence:

Stop what you're doing and watch @ByronDonalds @RepDonaldsPress drop an Econ 101 truth hammer just now during today's House hearing on "Corporate Influence on Inflation." 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/oDWWbmKRRV

— Meara (@MillennialOther) September 22, 2022

Democrats have blamed Americans’ reluctance to reenter the labor force on the lack of “good jobs.” Not jobs–there have been plenty of those, with employers practically begging people to return to work. Wages have been skyrocketing but a lot of people have just opted out of working.

Donalds points out the obvious: government has been paying people not to work, and as always people respond to incentives. Even in the many cases that government support doesn’t nearly match what people can make it wages should they choose to gain employment, it often makes sense to take the free money and run.

That’s true for a simple reason: free time has great value, and getting money and free time is a really really good deal. So people take it. It’s not because people are inclined to be freeloaders. It’s because they are inclined to be rational actors. You are kind of a chump to turn down the deal, and a lot of people choose not to be chumps.

Working to support yourself is a core virtue, but it’s always idiotic to base anything as important as the economy on the idea that people will willingly choose to be virtuous. Incentives matter far more to most people than entreaties to do the right thing. It is silly to believe otherwise. This is one of the key reasons that communism failed spectacularly. Ignoring human nature leads to disaster.

Donalds counts himself among the MAGA Republicans, and while the term itself is elastic (Biden and the Dems seem to think it includes everyone but Liz Cheney), it does signal one important characteristic: an inclination to fight back against the prevailing narrative.

It’s about time. Trump was not always effective at doing so because so much of his effort was expended on defending himself against personal attacks (perhaps because personal attacks flew at him fast and furious), but his impulse to call bullis**t when Democrats spouted nonsense set a tone that others have picked up on.

That’s a good thing. I think I have made it clear that I am a DeSantis super-fan, and that is largely because he is superb at destroying the liberal narrative. He can set the agenda, and that is a key to winning our country back.

Donalds is in the same mold, apparently. Kudos!