Steven Pearlstein - In Crisis, Paulson's Stunning Use of Federal Power - washingtonpost.com
Steven Pearlstein - In Crisis, Paulson's Stunning Use of Federal Power - washingtonpost.com
It is easy to say I told you so --- and not a moment too soon. Competitive private industry drives our economy, but critical public infrastructure that underlies that drive cannot be managed for the benefit of stockholders. Management cannot be slave to two masters.
It might be nice to see the same muscle applied to bandwidth, energy, health care and the trade deficit. A little nudge to transportation would not hurt either.
The public infrastructure should be cheap, efficient, abundent and highly exploitable by the free wheeling economy that prospers as a result. When the underpinings are in place productivity soars, and that growth means a better standard of living for us.
For our workforce to be productive: shelter, food, water, warmth, health and safety must be a given. The same can be said for the environment, communication and transportation. Privitization of infrastructures works well initially but soon the profit motive overpowers the efficiencies gained.
When the consumer pays the designated monopoly that results from privitization, much of the payment is in reality a hidden tax.
I'm still enough of a Republican (actually Independent) to favor an imediate import tariff to bolster up these vital but sagging infrastructures. Globilization can wait a few years. Production could be onshore for a while until we all adjust.
A very wealthy Saudi said, his grand father road a camel, his father a Mercades, and his grand son will ride a camel. (I can hardly wait.)
It is easy to say I told you so --- and not a moment too soon. Competitive private industry drives our economy, but critical public infrastructure that underlies that drive cannot be managed for the benefit of stockholders. Management cannot be slave to two masters.
It might be nice to see the same muscle applied to bandwidth, energy, health care and the trade deficit. A little nudge to transportation would not hurt either.
The public infrastructure should be cheap, efficient, abundent and highly exploitable by the free wheeling economy that prospers as a result. When the underpinings are in place productivity soars, and that growth means a better standard of living for us.
For our workforce to be productive: shelter, food, water, warmth, health and safety must be a given. The same can be said for the environment, communication and transportation. Privitization of infrastructures works well initially but soon the profit motive overpowers the efficiencies gained.
When the consumer pays the designated monopoly that results from privitization, much of the payment is in reality a hidden tax.
I'm still enough of a Republican (actually Independent) to favor an imediate import tariff to bolster up these vital but sagging infrastructures. Globilization can wait a few years. Production could be onshore for a while until we all adjust.
A very wealthy Saudi said, his grand father road a camel, his father a Mercades, and his grand son will ride a camel. (I can hardly wait.)
posted by Clancy Hughes | 9/07/2008 08:26:00 PM
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