Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] why our economy is a mess

[Brent Deterding <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Dec 3, 2007, at 6:42 PM, Mike Miller wrote:

> The government does not control greed (in the sense of preventing  
> it), but it does control regulations.  The Republican attitude is  
> that government regulation is bad and must be eliminated -- the  
> free market can take care of itself.  Why not blame Democrats?   
> Well, when all this happened, the Republicans were in control of  
> House, Senate and Executive, and this fits their M.O.!
>
> Greed is omnipresent and continually challenging.  We need  
> regulations and enforcement to prevent greedy powerful people from  
> destroying us.
In all but the extreme cases of greed (read: monopolies) I think the  
free market is the best approach. From my understanding of the matter  
economic history supports this; government regulation tends to be  
"bad" in many aspects (stifling innovation, eliminating freedom,  
associated with traditional socialist and communist principles). I  
don't blame Republicans or Democrats in this case. People made bad  
choices and will suffer the consequences, just as those who made good  
decisions are reaping the rewards.

I have mixed feelings on a bailout. On one hand there are cases were  
(arguably) this has worked well to preserve a US industry. I'm  
specifically thinking of big auto in the early 80s and Harley  
Davidson around the same time. Note that in both of those cases the  
companies benefiting from the bailout went back to the government and  
paid back the loan or requested tariffs be lifted. However, out of  
principle I think people need to live with the consequences of their  
actions. In the two cases I reference it was relatively simple to  
bailout a handful of companies, whereas here the answer of "who do we  
help" would be pretty complicated!
> He is a Republican.  Ask him.  He'll tell you.  He is a loyal  
> Republican who always votes for Republican presidents and he has  
> always been a Republican.  Did you see him on "60 Minutes"?:
>
> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/13/60minutes/ 
> printable3257567.shtml
Yep - he is a Republican - never said he wasn't. I do not think it is  
valid to tie his actions through several presidents terms to a  
specific party. Do you?
> > This NY Times piece you linked is light on facts as references. I  
> > liked this: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ 
> > CompanyFocus/WhosToBlameForTheMortgageMess.aspx
>
> That looks interesting.
>
> Mike
Thanks - I found it to be helpful!

-- Brent

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