Crony Capitalism Should Not Be Confused With The Real Thing

From today's Wall Street Journal on the great Freidrich Hayek

"Even when the state tries to steer only part of the economy in the name of the 'public good,' the power of the state corrupts those who wield that power. Hayek pointed out that powerful bureaucracies don't attract angels—they attract people who enjoy running the lives of others. They tend to take care of their friends before taking care of others. And they find increasing that power attractive. Crony capitalism shouldn't be confused with the real thing."

Read the whole thing.

Wow!

It's The Spending

In his seminal work, Parliament of Whores, P.J. O'Rourke had an absolutely brilliant chapter called (if memory serves), "How the F... Can They Spend That Much Money!" This new analysis from The Heritage Foundation lays out a pretty good idea about how much we're going to have to cut spending to get back to zero deficits.

The answer? A lot.

If you're one of my avid reader (ed: yes, I meant reader), then you'll know that I think government spending always crowds out private spending. A strong private economy will not resurface until the government starts to cut back. Here's hoping.

Where Are They Going?

Since I was born and raised in the Detroit area, I found this very interesting. You'll have to scroll to the bottom but it's a pretty good reflection of the state of the economy in the Detroit area.

Interviews Again

I thought it was time to repeat a couple of oldies but goodies. Here are two interviews I did in 2009 regarding IT and staffing. Take a look.

Investing in the IT Staff - with Gino Macarroni

So You Think You Know What a Recruiter Thinks? - with Diane Plymale

The Road to Serfdom - The Comic Book

I had the great pleasure of reading and re-reading Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" many, many years ago. I may be the only person I know who's actually read he philosophical foundation of Capitalism and free markets.

I continue to run into references to the greatness of Hayek's "The Road to Serfdom". Someday I'll have to read it. In the meantime, for us with short attention spans, here's the comic.

Best Drummer Since Ginger Baker?

Maybe not ... but he certainly wins on style points.

More Stubborn Facts

Here are the results of last year's Cash for Clunkers program. I haven't watched it closely but it seems that the federal tax credits for a home purchase expired at the end of May. I know there was a flurry of buying

as that credit expired. Then I read an article that home sales will plummet. I suspect the federal tax credit did the same thing in the housing market as it did in the used car market, just pulled sales from the future.


I suspect the housing market will recover to normal levels soon.