Posted on 12/12/2011 4:37:51 AM PST by SeekAndFind
President Obama, progressive politicians, Occupy protestors, and leftist intellectuals are having a field day attacking what they call the failures and excesses of capitalism. They declare wealth to be prima facie evidence of perfidy, making no distinction as to how it was obtained. They preach equality, not just in opportunity but in economic outcome. In their eyes, all members of the 1% are already guilty, so economic justice demands that the rich be heavily taxed, not just to lift others up, but to bring them down.
Some defenders of capitalism draw a sharp distinction between those who obtained their wealth through government favors and those who created their wealth by satisfying willing customers through free exchange. The former are called Crony Capitalists. The latter, interestingly enough, don't have a name. Let's call them Market Capitalists.
If defenders of capitalism hope to win over fair-minded fellow citizens who are honestly upset and confused, we need to define these terms and answer some basic questions. In what ways are Crony Capitalists and Market Capitalists the same and in what ways are they different? What makes the former immoral and the latter virtuous? Why are Crony Capitalists a threat to democracy and prosperity while Market Capitalists are essential to both? How is it that ever larger numbers of Market Capitalists are being corrupted, turning into Crony Capitalists? And what can we do to reverse that trend?
All capitalism is driven by greed - the desire to not only achieve economic security, but to amass pools of capital beyond one's basic needs. This capital can fuel the kind of conspicuous consumption that offends egalitarians. But it also finances investments in new products and businesses, without which the economy cannot grow. More on that later.
What makes Crony Capitalists different is their willingness to use the coercive powers of government to gain an advantage they could not earn in the market.
What makes Crony Capitalists different is their willingness to use the coercive powers of government to gain an advantage they could not earn in the market. This can come in the form of regulations that favor them while hindering competitors, laws that restrict entry into their markets, and government-sponsored cartels that fix prices, grant monopolies, or both.
Crony Capitalists are also more than happy to help themselves to money from the public treasury. This can come from wasteful or unnecessary spending programs that turn government into a captive customer, subsidies that flow directly into their coffers, or mandates that force consumers to buy their products.
Examples abound. Heavily regulated industries attract and breed Crony Capitalists, who are highly skilled at capturing the agencies intended to regulate them. Banking and healthcare top the list.
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DOW: all up together, down together, what a coincidence.
(Outcome vs. Opportunity economics, feel the “togetherness”)
He endorsed Romney becuase he believes that, of the crew that is left, Romney has the best organization to defeat Obama, which is the primary goal. I am not a Romney fan, but I am a HUGE McCotter fan. I ask that you check out his white papers, read SEIZE FREEDOM, watch his videos, and see if you come to a conclusion different than the one I made, which is what my post was about; that of the Republican candidates, he was the smartest, most well versed on foreign policy, best able to articulate the conservative message, no baggage, and best able to destroy Pres. Obama in a debate.
Romney has a self-confidence problem. He does not enjoy being challenged - which is the best opportunity for a person of conviction to express those convictions. Romney has none - so it’s difficult.
When advancing his positions, Romney gives the impression of a person who is guilty of a felony - pleading innocent to a misdemeanor.
McCotter’s judgement of Romney is misguided.
FASCISM
- Benito Mussolini
The point is, conservatives know that. What disturbs me is the affection that a lot of conservatives have for the NFL, which is a crony capitalist. I heard Glen Beck speaking about Tim Tebow, and now Rush is talking about him. He’s a crony capitalist. I don’t care how many hail marys he says, or whatever he does.
This was a post about Crony Capitalism, and I recommended McCotter’s book, SEIZE FREEDOM. In short, what McCotter explains is that it is neither Republican nor Democrat, Conservative nor Liberal. It is Big Government combining with Big Business at the expense of the populace. IMO, its right on the money, which is one of the reasons they blackballed McCotter from the debates.
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