Quote of the Day

Before you can declare free markets a failure, you have to establish that they exist.
- Paul Kasriel, chief economist at Northern Trust Co. in Chicago

A combination of “chosen people” who fix interest rates, an army of regulators (particularly in the banking sector) and compromised overseers (see: Fannie and Freddie campaign contributions to members of Congress) belie the reality of a truly free market.

Free market capitalism has its flaws and chief among those and one that will never be solved, cured or “regulated” is that at the epicenter of all free market enterprise is the inherently flawed human being. His judgement, his ambitions and his desires all for better or worse determine his economic fate and taken collectively with all the other players determines the fate of the larger economy.

And for all these flaws, capitalism has been the only economic system to lift millions out of poverty as a “direct consequence of government stepping out of the way.”

But now, people like Arianna Huffington are cheering the death of laissez-faire capitalism (quick side note: she, of course, sites that New York Times article which laid primary blame for the financial crisis at the feet of the Bush administration. Fair enough. That’s their prerogative but any serious piece that investigates the cause(s) of the crisis and fails to note Congressional ineptitude and malfeasance is guilty of negligence and disingenuousness and thus any person who would cite this article to back-up any of their own contentions lacks a seriousness of their own).

… and Paul Krugman is gleefully rubbing his hands together as the impending expansion of government under Obama is a perfect opportunity for “good government” as if good government was some sort of end-state rather than a utilitarian means to protecting property and the coasts. And how the growth of federal government is an opportunity for it to become more transparent, more efficient and less susceptible to graft and corruption is lost on us.

Allowing bad business models to survive and bad judgement to go unpunished via the bail outs and a $1 trillion stimulus plan which will most certainly be riddled with pork and which because of its centralized nature will certainly entail a massive misallocation of resources, will not improve our economy but certainly hinder it all in the name of avoiding (short term) pain.

It defies logic but demands an explanation.

Old Guys Rule

Must be a phase of the moon or some type of planetary alignment because we sure can’t explain the smackdowns being handed out by some of our seasoned citizens to their unsuspecting callow subjects.

While McCain has been boxing Obama about the ears with his Iraqi road trip offer, Bob Dole beats former White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan like a rented mule. McClellan’s tell-all book which shows the Bush Administration in a less-than-flattering light illicited this response from Dole in an email to McClellan:

"There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues," "No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits and, spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique."

"In my nearly 36 years of public service I've known of a few like you," "No doubt you will 'clean up' as the liberal anti-Bush press will promote your belated concerns with wild enthusiasm. When the money starts rolling in you should donate it to a worthy cause, something like, 'Biting The Hand That Fed Me.' Another thought is to weasel your way back into the White House if a Democrat is elected. That would provide a good set up for a second book deal in a few years"

"…because if all these awful things were happening, and perhaps some may have been, you should have spoken up publicly like a man, or quit your cushy, high-profile job."

"That would have taken integrity and courage but then you would have had credibility and your complaints could have been aired objectively," "You’re a hot ticket now, but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?"
wow….

Now if McClellan was thinking he was going to get any liberal love he may be in for a surprise. We’ve been trying to keep up with the responses and quite a bit of it is along the lines of “A little too late” or “Now you tell us – thanks for nothing”.

Whatever the ultimate outcome of all this is, we've taken to heart a valuable lesson: Mess around with these old dudes at your own peril.

H/T: Weasel Zippers

This Enchanting Lady has something she is dying to share with you.

Its been scientifically proven that any time an article begins, “At a dinner party in Los Angeles not long after the 2000 election…” there is an 83.7% chance it was written by Arianna Huffington. If you care, read here about Arianna’s stunning(!) allegation that John McCain AND his wife did not vote for George Bush in 2000 and his “Shakespearean” fall from grace as her own personal Maverick. No one does the “hurt” quite like Arianna. Oh... and no word yet on any dinner parties in L.A. after the '04 elections.