A Toxic Mix Of Regulation And Subsidy

[NOBama]

The Libertarian
Richard A. Epstein, 11.25.08, 12:01 AM EST
Brace yourselves for the Obama economy.

In his Democratic Party radio address this past Saturday, President-elect Barack Obama announced a vast stimulus plan that, alas, contradicts every sound principle of economic planning.

Granted, the U.S. and the world are in the throes of a deepening economic crisis; granted, too, some drastic action needs to be taken to reverse that inexorable downward cycle: It's still necessary to ask which levers to pull and why. Unfortunately, the collectivist mindset of the fledgling Obama administration pulls the wrong levers for the wrong reason.

The best approach to the current malaise asks what economic and social philosophy works in good times and uses that as a template for hard times. The correct approach starts with free trade, low (preferably flat) taxation and the free exchange of goods and services in open markets. That recipe, more or less, should be followed in bad times as well.

Unfortunately, we have not pushed hard in that direction for the past eight years. So reverse the Bush policy of excessive regulation and outlandish public spending. But that's not going to happen come January 2009.

More

Interesting piece, to say the least.

“The only good news is that Obama is thinking of postponing his tax hikes on the most productive members of society.”

That IS good news.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Interesting piece, to say the least.
“The only good news is that Obama is thinking of postponing his tax hikes on the most productive members of society.” That IS good news.

I think in the coming months we're gonna' see Obama continuing more and more of those so called "Failed Bush Policies".

 

[Isolde]

I think in the coming months we're gonna' see Obama continuing more and more of those so called "Failed Bush Policies".

And they say irony is dead.