From the General Motors bailout to subsidies for Solyndra, crony capitalism is as serious a threat to liberty, free markets and civil society as ever. Cato Institute Senior Fellow Tom G. Palmer recently discussed The Morality of Capitalism (free pdf), the financial crisis and cronyism at the John Locke Foundation.
The book is quick and rewarding read.
Does Kentucky have any clear-cut examples of this kind of crony capitalism?
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Crony Capitalism
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3 comments:
Crony capitalism, as you call it, was advocated by Alexander Hamilton. That you are at odds with our founders views and values is not surprising. Ayn Rand didn’t like our founders values or ideals or capitalism either.
So, you promote her atheistic ideology that rejected capitalism and the views of our founders since their ideology was based on the one command of Christianity—love your neighbor as yourself.
Regarding the bailout of GM and Chrysler, which Ford supported, Alexander Hamilton wrote:
“In a community situated like that of the United States, the public purse must supply the deficiency of private resource. In what can it be so useful, as in prompting and improving the efforts of industry?”
What you call “cronyism capitalism” is the capitalism advocated by our founders.
You continue to spin the myth of “free market.” All you mean by free market is that an employer is free to do anything he wants to his employees. If they don’t like it, they can look elsewhere. That’s not free market. That’s executive dictatorship, which is nothing more than fascism.
That’s not what free market means either by Adam Smith the father of capitalism, or your patron saint, Milton Friedman.. By free market they meant that there were to be no prohibitions on competition.
What John Stewart Mills said about conservatives applies to the Bluegrass Policy Blog, the Cato Institute and evidently the John Locke Foundation. Mills wrote:
“Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservative.”
Our founders believed in God and formed our Judeo-Christian government with those principles in mind. To understand Free Market, you must also have an understanding of things like inalienable God given rights such as the Bill of Rights. The more we embrace liberalisms philophies, the farther into KAOS we fall.
What reference book is your standard, Hempy? Are we all animals of the the big farm called Mother Earth, and you the farmer knows what is best? We do not submit to liberalism as the highest authority as it is seriously flawed.
Government as the ultimate authority over what individuals need is your alternative, Hempy? What is your reference guide? Do you use own morality? If not yours, then whomever you deem fit for elected office? Do you have any document that has stood the test of time for 2000-5000 years for inalienable rights and the morality of mankind? We have much better references for rights of man. We nor do our founding fathers trust government with their ever changing minds for social/political progress. We trust our written word the bible. The number one most published and unrefuted document of all time.
Socialism and Communism has failed miserably everywhere tried. Government is to be held at bay and subservient to the people of America. So are corporations. Free Market and Free Elections are the best way or the abuse of power will prevail. All you need is look at history...or even at recent events.
When liberals resort to name calling as they often do, it by definition means you have won the debate by default as he has nothing more intelligent to say.
My references books are books you avoid like the plague. For economics, I use Adam Smith, the father of capitalism's "Wealth of Nations."
Also, the writing of Alexander Hamilton have many economic values similar to those advocated by Adam Smith.
The Federalist Papers is one source, particularly Federalist No. 12, and Hamilton's 1791 report to Congress of manufactures. In there, he expounds on what can be included under the category of general welfare.
It would include Social Security, (also Thomas Paine for this too), Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Benefits, unemployment compensation, food stamps and the Affordable Care Act AKA Good Samaritan Care.
Documents that you claim have stood the test of time 2000-5000 years, doesn't include you spin on them. You can't cite one example from either the Jewish Old Testament, the Koran or the Christian New Testament that advocates democracy.
In fact the New Testament rejects much, if not all of the Jewish Old Testament and by association, the Koran as well.
If corporation and free markets were subservient to the people, there would be no shortage of revenue and at a much lower rate than the effective tax rate that now prevails, and would more than provide for the general welfare.
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