It Doesn’t Get Much Worse Than This
Enjoy this op-ed in the St. Louis Beacon about ways to “help,” for lack of a better word, small businesses in the United States. You won’t really be able to enjoy it, though, unless you, too, believe that a centrally planned economy is what is best for our country. I have to keep this post brief. If I don’t keep it very succinct, it will turn into a word-by-word rebuttal of (almost) everything the author says, and I just don’t have the time to do that right now.
If you think I’m exaggerating about the call in this piece for pure economic central planning, enjoy these snippets (emphasis added):
Imagine if incentives were given to entrepreneurs in Missouri to renew an industry that previously was key to our state: manufacturing shoes. These new companies would provide jobs, ones that are conveniently commensurate with the skill levels of many workers. These companies would also re-establish the proper balance between the manufacturing and service sectors of our economy. It is true that stimulating manufacturing in our country will mean higher prices, but given a choice between a full-employment economy or Wal-Mart prices for everyone, I suggest that we put people to work.
Or how about:
Ultimately the government will have to be the “employer of last resort” in finding jobs for the 14.5 million Americans out of work. However, whenever possible, we should allocate new job opportunities to start-up businesses. Government contracts are key to helping small businesses create jobs.
Fortunately, there was a book written about 70 years ago that demolishes all this bunk beautifully. I am willing to bet the author of the op-ed has never read it. Although some have been criticized for citing The Road to Serfdom by economist F.A. Hayek too broadly, there is no doubt it applies perfectly here. We can have an economy determined by markets or arranged by planners. It is amazing to me that there are serious people out there who still pine for the planners.
P.S. — The comments in the Beacon article are just as bad as the op-ed.
P.P.S. — The guy I linked to who criticized Tea Partiers, Glenn Beck, etc., for referencing the book without understanding it does not really understand it himself.
