(Pleasure To Burn) This week, the federal government "shut down." Even as many federal employees have been and will be furloughed and some services have been paused, the essential operations of the military, FBI, DOJ, CIA, DHS, TSA, IRS, and other federal agencies will continue. While as many as 750,000 of nearly three million federal employees may be suspended, that leaves a healthy majority of employees still working, albeit with delayed paychecks for some.

That's far from shutting down, but as far as political and media narratives go, the shutdown is underway.

However extensive that shutdown, the prospect of living without (or at least with less) government is trending. It is as good a time as any to explore non-governmental solutions to big problems. A common question I receive is "without government, who would help the poor?" History provides a blueprint.

One of the best examples of non-government solutions comes from the Black Panthers, the militant black power group that rose to prominence in the 1960s. The group is best known for its "radical" actions, which included open carrying firearms while monitoring police who stopped black motorists. These armed patrols were intended to diminish and discourage police brutality.