Pencils And Politics

People this isn't free market this is corporatism. Austrian economics is the only true free market theory. In a free market a corporate monopoly box store doesn't own and control all distribution to the point they are the only ones with flashlights and then can set the price. This is total propaganda to justify the screwing consumers are getting in the market place. You want true free market 101: http://mises.org/story/3029

People this isn't free market this is corporatism. Austrian economics is the only true free market theory. In a free market a corporate monopoly box store doesn't own and control all distribution to the point they are the only ones with flashlights and then can set the price. This is total propaganda to justify the screwing consumers are getting in the market place. You want true free market 101: http://mises.org/story/3029

Let's elect the only true candidate before us, Dr. Ron Paul. Unlike the others, he does not bow to conform to the Communist views of the power elite, aka The private Federal Reserve System, The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and the United Nations (founded by Communists for the proliferation of one world government, aka Globalization or New World Order). Unfortunately, our servant government has become the master, and ???We the People??? are now ???We the Serfs???. Let???s have ???Ruth??? pair up with Dr. Paul and give this economy the dose of medicine it really needs. Abolish the Fed, NAFTA, the UN, WTO and let truly free markets and FREEDOM reign supreme! Write in Ron Paul if you value Liberty.

Let's elect the only true candidate before us, Dr. Ron Paul. Unlike the others, he does not bow to conform to the Communist views of the power elite, aka The private Federal Reserve System, The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), and the United Nations (founded by Communists for the proliferation of one world government, aka Globalization or New World Order). Unfortunately, our servant government has become the master, and ???We the People??? are now ???We the Serfs???. Let???s have ???Ruth??? pair up with Dr. Paul and give this economy the dose of medicine it really needs. Abolish the Fed, NAFTA, the UN, WTO and let truly free markets and FREEDOM reign supreme! Write in Ron Paul if you value Liberty.

Well Done, Mr. Will...But most of your readers have never run a business or had to 'make a payroll' for their employees. And most think it is easy to do...Dreamers!!
I just read a statement by Robert X. Cringely...paraphrased...We lost manufacturing jobs in the USA because of ISO certification. Any company, anywhere can produce and sell any product to anyone if it meets ISO standards.
The USA no longer has significant control of where the labor market resides. But we do have the benefit of the lower cost products that become available to us. We are being somewhat humbled by the freemarket system....and we have ot learn to compete in this 21st century environment.
Theo6

And...if you want to see more jobs shipped out of this "shameful" capitalist and market driven society then just wait 'til Obamanomics takes effect. How will he "redistribute" zero/-0- dollars between the non-taxpayers?

Muddle muddle muddle. Why not bring faith, marriage, abortion, ptsd, Iraq, street gangs, muggings, banks/bankrupt. WE LIVE IN A CAPITALIST SOCIETY. WHEN THE CAPITALIST IS PUNISHED FOR INVESTING AND CREATING JOBS THEY WILL LEAVE. What part of that is difficult to understand? You get what you give.

This essay is code for "laissez faire" which, if you don't like French (perhaps we should now say "Freedom"), is what Obama means by the economics of "you're on your own." Well, after the meltdown this weekend, do we want another eight years of "you're on your own"? I remember when the markets were opened up and opened up in the eighties--in part by McCain architect Phil Gramm.

An excellent article. Unfortunately, most Americans, including conservatives, are immune to understanding its lessons. I'm an American investment banker living as an ex-pat in China. I've tried to remain optimistic about America's future, but it is clear that America is being left in the dust.

For those who argue that all of these industries need government oversight, please read a 1963 article by Alan Greenspan entitled "Reputation." For those who point to the recent mortgage debacle as evidence that the free market does not work, the opposite is true. I join my Chinese colleagues in the belief that any objective analysis leads to the conclusion that the United States is more communist than China.

More than 2 billion people live in Asia, and they are hungry for what we have historically called the "American Dream." They are self-reliant and know, intuitively, that their ability to achieve that dream is maximized if the government will just get out of their way. This self-reliance and hunger to achieve is gone in America. Neither Obama or McCain, with their big government beliefs, will affect any change in this ethic. Here's some straight talk for America: unless the spirit of self-reliance and understanding of spontaneous order stages a comeback, those jobs that have been moved here to China are never coming back.

Timrogers, I agree that we should work to improve conditions for these workers. We can (and I do) do this through the purchase of "fair trade" goods, and by contributing to charities. It is important to realize, however, that as long as these people are hired voluntarily (they are not slaves) these businesses do help the people to at least some extent -- they are better off than if they did not exist. This is obvious, because the people could chose not to work for them if they preferred. It is important to realize that the ???free market??? is the most efficient way of distributing goods and services, but it does not absolve us from morality as people, and does not remove our responsibilities towards our fellow man. I firmly believe, however, that these moral responsibilities should be satisfied through charity, volunteerism, and our own responsible choices, rather than through coercive government action.

Timrogers, I agree that we should work to improve conditions for these workers. We can (and I do) do this through the purchase of "fair trade" goods, and by contributing to charities. It is important to realize, however, that as long as these people are hired voluntarily (they are not slaves) these businesses do help the people to at least some extent -- they are better off than if they did not exist. This is obvious, because the people could chose not to work for them if they preferred. It is important to realize that the ???free market??? is the most efficient way of distributing goods and services, but it does not absolve us from morality as people, and does not remove our responsibilities towards our fellow man. I firmly believe, however, that these moral responsibilities should be satisfied through charity, volunteerism, and our own responsible choices, rather than through coercive government action.

The invisible magic that produces the pencil allows "order to emerge without anyone imposing it". George might want to drop by a few of the facilities along this miraculous manufacturing chain to marvel at how order is actually imposed. Anywhere along the way will do, but I think the mines might be the best place to start. I suppose it all depends on your definition of the word impose. I guess the production quotas and working conditions for some of these workers could be the result of their own free will, and not considered to be 'imposed' in any way. Maybe they do enjoy working from sunup to sundown seven days a week. Imagine the frivolity in a chinese sweat shop where they merrily stamp " George Will is an idiot" on the pencils fourteen hours a day. Anyway there will always be that marvelous pencil to admire because of the "poetry of the possible". Work will set you free or so they say.

Mwalimu: You should try to inform yourself before posting. The institutions being bailed out are not bastions of the free market at all, they are government sponsored entities that were insulated from risk and encouraged (for political reasons) to promote home ownership among groups not fiscally prepared for the task. Your posts are typical of the reactionary, anti-market left in their blatant disregard for truth.

Mwalimu: You should try to inform yourself before posting. The institutions being bailed out are not bastions of the free market at all, they are government sponsored entities that were insulated from risk and encouraged (for political reasons) to promote home ownership among groups not fiscally prepared for the task. Your posts are typical of the reactionary, anti-market left in their blatant disregard for truth.

Your posts

George F. Will and the famous professor Ruth are cloistered in the ivy tower that, like John McCain, they can't seem to understand the real world.
For instance, the summer edition of USW@Work reports that in 2006 alone 5,840 workers were killed in work-related accidents. 50,000 to 60,000 worker died of occupational-related diseases. According to USA@Work , the causes of these fatalities is first of all the gutting of the OHSA, and secondly that workers are being forced to work longer hours in hazardous, if not lethal working conditions. Like the Communists in the old Evil Empire, economists like Ruth, pundits like Will, and the GOP, including John McCain are virulently anti-union. John McCain is virulently opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act which would enable disenfranchised workers to organize and bargain for more working place rights. As far as McCain, Ruth and Will are concerned, God put blue collar workers on the planet only to be used and abused by their employers..

To see what the future holds for the vast majority of Americans, not George F. Will in his paneled study. We need to read article published the Los Angeles Times, (September 14), titled ???Foreseeable Devastation??? by Amy Wilentz. Amy Wilentz writes
???Haiti has long been a privatized economy, a place where the state functions largely as a kleptocracy. This is one place where Ronald Reagan???s fantasy of a truly privatized economy actually exists. The schools are privately run, so they cost too much and teach almost nothing. Sanitation is privatized: trash get collected regularly among the rich, but not in the shanty towns. Medical care is privatized, the rich get good care, the poor pay steep prices for old medicines. Public transportation is privatized: That???s why most Haitians walk and carry their goods on their heads. And nothing, but nothing, is regulated,.???
Ironically enough, Adam Smith, the god father of capitalism, favored taxation He felt that citizens should be proud pay taxes because it was a sign of their liberty. He also felt the wealthy should be proud and willing to pay more taxes than the poor because it was not only a symbol of pride, but it was giving back to the society that enabled them to prosper. He also recognized that poverty was bad for business. People can???t patronize businesses if they are too broke to buy anything, or so sick that they have to spend all their money for health insurance. Incidentally prisons are a lousy way of solving social problems . It costs a lot more to put a boy from the ???hood behind bars than it does to send him to college on a full-paid scholarship. Smith in short would find nothing wrong with inveting in all the programs dear to a liberal's heart..

Apparently neither economics professor Ruth and George F. Will fully understand Adam smith. For real, there???s a good reason for the F in George F. Wills name. In economics, Wills earns a ???big fat F.???