The decisions that will be made this weekend matter not just to the prospects of the U.S. economy in the year to come; they will shape the type of capitalism we will live in for the next fifty years. Do we want to live in a system where profits are private, but losses are socialized? Where taxpayer money is used to prop up failed firms? Or do we want to live in a system where people are held responsible for their decisions, where imprudent behavior is penalized and prudent behavior rewarded? For somebody like me who believes strongly in the free market system, the most serious risk of the current situation is that the interest of few financiers will undermine the fundamental workings of the capitalist system.
All too true.
2 comments:
Maybe, it's because I'm consuming too many libertarian blogs, but I'm truly shocked by this whole bailout mess.
Have you seen this amusing thread over at the Volokh Conspiracy, in which they've declared themselves "too big to fail" and demanded a bailout?
In terms of AAACP*, you are too big to fail, too! So, go for the bailout, girl! Here's your bailout guide.
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*) sound like a rating, no? But it' short for "Asian-American Academia Chick Punditry"
Oh, you're not the only one who's shocked, horrified, and appalled. I am too, really. It's a mix of all the worst elements: big government, screwing the taxpayer, using money from successful people to prop up failures, etc. It's not libertarian and it's not capitalism.
I really like the "AAACP" tag!!
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