A venture capitalist criticizes public polices that try to temper their effects:
Capitalism only works if companies are allowed to succeed and fail – on their own merits, in their own time, with their fate dependent on pleasing customers, not politicians. Yet the progressive economic policy-making coming out of Washington today rests on the futile attempt to escape the corporate cycle of life that lies at the heart of capitalism. The current administration actually brags about its interventionist approach, pledging to expand it, despite its manifest failures.
None of the expensive and ill-fated attempts to prop up failed banks and car companies, or to magically infuse solar, biofuel, and battery start-ups with élan vital, will generate lasting value.
ReplyDeleteIsn't this the same rationale that says educating the poor, or working towards equal rights for women, or creating opportunities for minorities are all equally lacking in economic value? I am sure if you asked those who benefited from the policies of those who benefited from the new deal where the government spent money on projects that had no economic value (ie building dams that showed no long term value at the time) that most (if not all) would support those decisions.