People are fond of saying that money corrupts politics. They seem especially annoyed by money from businesses corrupting politics. Isn’t this a little like saying that the bear is corrupting the honey pot (picture Pooh Bear)? My theory is that it is the willingness of politicians to alter the rules of the game economically, through [...]
Browsing Posts in Elites
A few days ago I wrote a post on “economic justice.” Today I read an article at Power Line (Environmental Injustice at the EPA) that is on the subject of “environmental justice.” Please… Try to figure out what that means. What the hell is “environmental justice”? I’ll tell you what it means to the EPA: [...]
This is from a progressive named Brad DeLong: You Know, I Arrived in Washington in 1993 to Work for Lloyd Bentsen’s Treasury as Part of the Sane Technocratic Bipartisan Center… And it took me only two months–two months!–to conclude that America’s best hope for sane technocratic governance required the elimination of the Republican Party from [...]
The cost of regulation to businesses in America is $1.75 trillion (according to a study done by the SBA’s Department of Advocacy). That is $1.75 trillion in costs to businesses, which end up in prices paid by consumers. In other words, to fund compliance with regulations, American consumers pay an additional $1.75 trillion for the [...]
Once again I was listening to President Obama’s Saturday radio address and I had to turn off the radio. You know, when he was elected I was disappointed, but the one thing I thought might be nice is that he seemed to be a good speaker, so I figured listening to his speeches would be [...]
Everyone must read this column by John Hayward: Empire of Debt. Here’s just one section I loved: Debt is not universally interpreted as a sign of failure on the part of government planners. On the contrary, it becomes a weapon used to demand more taxes. The same politicians who spent $1.7 trillion more than they [...]
I’m reading The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture by David Mamet. This is my favorite line so far: “We cannot live without trade. A society can neither advance nor improve without excess of disposable income. This excess can only be amassed through the production of goods and services necessary or attractive to [...]
This morning I heard part of the President’s Saturday Radio Address. Once again I heard him say (just prior to turning off my radio in frustration) that part of the solution to the debt problem is “eliminating spending in the tax code.” There IS NO SPENDING in the tax code. Government does NOT own all [...]
People have commented on President Obama’s statement about ATMs and other automation displacing workers (a falsehood, as the number of banks and bank tellers has grown since the introduction of ATMs in the ’70s). What disturbs me about this is different than what most are saying about it (see this at Hot Air, and this [...]
What is best and most moral is corrupted by government
How does capitalism work in its most pure form? 1. Someone thinks of a way to meet the needs and/or desires of other people, figures out how to meet those needs and/or desires for a price other people will be willing to pay, successfully alerts people that he has a product or service, then provides [...]