As the Brits say, "Brilliant!"

I contend that stakeholders in General Motors and Chrysler will rue the day they got in bed with the U.S. government. One of the best business moves of my lifetime was Ford Motor Company's sidestep away from direct government aid at the end of 2008. Here is a cautionary tale from British Leyland in the 1970s for anyone who thinks government ownership of a major industrial enterprise is a good thing.

The Old Term Was Crowding Out

It the bad old days (pre-Reagan and early Reagan), a common phrase in economics was "crowding out" and that government borrowing reduced the capital in the system available for private investment. It's probably happening again.

The Decline of the IPO

I saw on CNBC this morning that the Initial Public Offering is in a secular (long-term) decline in the United States. You may think this is a recent event, tracking to Sarbanes-Oxley or the 2008 crash ... and you'd be wrong. It goes back to around 1997.

In general, this is a bad thing. An open market is a very efficient allocator of capital. There are many more transaction costs in raising money through private equity than in the open market.

So, if it's a bad thing, why is it happening and can anything be done? Here's one idea and I'll try to stay on this topic for a bit to see how it develops.

To Good to Pass

This must be the quote of the month - referring to Sunday's Minnesota 38 Green Bay 26 result.

"On Sunday, Brett Favre got what really wanted: revenge against his wicked ex-employer, the Green Bay Packers. If you were a Packer fan at Lambeau, it had to smart. Sort of like watching your high school girlfriend show up to your 25th reunion—with George Clooney."