“Incumbents Fear Cantor’s Loss Will Fill Tea Party’s Sails” is the headline.
Before a few days ago, GOP establishmentarians felt that they had finally quelled the Tea Party notion that Republicans should be more than 2 to 4 percent different from Democrats on whether the country should suffer a socialist health care industry, endless tsunamis of red ink, etc.
Certain big businesses also hate Tea-Party-style boat-rocking. In his article “Big Business Vs. Libertarians in the GOP,” David Boaz observes that candidates who plausibly oppose crony capitalism are drawing opposition from firms like Coca Cola, Delta, Georgia Power, and AT&T. These and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce created a “Georgia Coalition for Job Growth” to defeat Republican Charles Gregory and other candidates who are “just too libertarian” for them.
What do these anti-liberty businesses — in Georgia, Kentucky, California and elsewhere — fear? The lower taxes that real-deal Tea Party candidates support?
No.
And it isn’t “gay marriage or foreign policy that seems to annoy big and politically connected businesses,” writes Boaz. Who they oppose are representatives who refuse to “bring home the bacon,” who “actually take seriously the limited government ideas that most Republicans only pay lip service to.”
Don’t be shocked to witness big businesses working against limited government, welcoming regulation and subsidy as a way of life.
Why? Because the “mixed economy” approach (whether mercantilist, “progressive,” fascist, what-have-you) allows them to rig the system in their favor, usually by discouraging competition.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
10 replies on “Big Business vs. Big Liberty”
Oligarchy.
We are more Argentinian than Argentina, probably more French than the French and possibly as Russian as Russia in government control of all markets.
Big biz wants nothing to do with Rand Paul or the Libertarian, small government movement and most Republicans on the street haven’t figured out that big biz, big banks, big medicine, etc is only there to continue the squeeze of the middle class that’s left.
The Federal Reserve is the enabler with manipulation of interest rates to zero, sucking dry the only class who actually did the right thing by saving money for their future, putting back cds and bond money for retirement income.
THe Fed now owns about $4Trillion of our US debt. They pay for it by printing money. They just hit the “Pay” button. Does anybody in their right mind believe the Fed should receive interest income on bonds they pay for with counterfeit money???????????
They blow bubbles of increasing amplitude because to not do so would actually allow prices to drop. But that would leave banks holding the bag for debt that can’t be paid back. They are all insolvent without the Fed destroying our money. Big biz knows it and they will fight to keep the status quo in DC.
Nixon set the future course of our demise when he destroyed the link between our currency and gold. They are systematically destroying our money, people. That’s what allows them to keep printing and blowing the bubbles that wreck the middle class.
Paul Voelker said last week that what’s being taught to economists today is pretty scary.
Unfortunately the Liberty movement has not matured to the point where it can actually leave the Republican Party and stand on it’s own. And sadly it looks like it will take years before that can happen.
It may take the disaffected masses from the Democratic Party coming together with Libertarians to accomplish real change. I think though, that political science says that the political scene will take the pragmatic route to socialism instead of a clean break into Liberty and small government. A clean break, at this point, would be economically very disruptive because there have been way too many years where the politicians have chosen to postpone doing the right thing.
Why don’t we stop dancing around the truth and begin calling “Crony Capitalism” what it actually is: Pure, Unadulterated Fascism?
Mussolini would certainly concur.
Big business is always willing to sleep with the controlled regulator or friendly government. It is an easier alternative that competition, but it is the short term solution and the governmental and regulatory lovers inevitably develop bad habits, and turn on their suitor.
It is not too late, for if the governmental and regulatory path is closed the enterprises will very quickly re-adopt to seeking the favor of the market. Private commence and the instinct to survive are amazingly adaptive, and quick.
The excuse that we have gone too far, cannot reverse, liberty cannot prevail or change is pragmatically impossible is defeatism — with the clear and known destination of disaster.
The hope is in the education of the millennials who are already being disappointed by the “help” they gullibly received but are still at the table, not yet understanding they will be responsible for and receiving the total bill. For them it will be soon apparent the liberty movement is the only potential savior.
Right now things could go either way, I am thinking we still have a chance to educate and lead by example. That is why it is critical that we try to explain the whole picture, not get sucked up in political expediency, regardless of temptation.
There’s nothing ‘big’ about liberty. It is an individual trait. It can’t be organized or built. Once it is, it ceases to be liberty.
Make it Big Business vs Liberty.
“What do these anti-liberty businesses — in Georgia, Kentucky, California and elsewhere — fear? The lower taxes that real-deal Tea Party candidates support?”
I’m against crony capitalism as much as the next guy, but the Tea Partiers that promise low taxes are the same kind of liars and fools that we have in Washington today. The money has already been spent The bill needs to be paid. Lower tax rates have failed since Reagan, while higher taxes haven’t fazed the economy, but the myth lives on.
.… the mixed economy approach (whether mercantilist, progressive, fascist, all synonyms — or what-have-you) allows the cronyists to rig the system in their favor, usually by discouraging competition .…
Decades ago, in New Zealand, I wanted my own Ag-Aviation business. Because of “cooperatively’ agreed-upon but effectively “shop-closing” regulations the cost for a 22-yr-old was prohibitively Scores of Thousands of Dollars out of my reach.
So I moved to Australia, got a job flying, attracted a clientele and in less than a year and for less than Ten Thousand Dollars bought and paid cash for an aircraft & the required ground-support equipment — and was in business.
Not too many years later when the New Zealand government withdrew its effectively-corrupt support of the New Zealand Ag-Aviation industry, 90% of it (including 100% of those “industry leaders” who then moved to Australia) went broke.
Schadenfreudeliciously!
Spot on, Sheldon.
The battle between those who want liberty, and those who’d happily use government to fatten their wallets continues.
Those politicians who sell government favors (that shouldn’t be sold) have an advantage in raising campaign cash. But thankfully, the ability to raise money isn’t what decides who wins the election as Cantor/Brat showed. Instead it’s voters who decide.
The responsibility for crony crapitalism lies ONLY with the politicians. Not businesses. The reason isn’t just that politicians are the ones that control what favors government provides to specific businesses/industry.
It’s also the fact that CEOs are hired to make a profit, and IF government is selling favors, then that CEO SHOULD attempt to buy them, so that no competitor gets an advantage over his company, and puts it out of business and the employees out of their jobs.
The CEO that is brave enough to lobby government to not sell favors, will likely find his company is excluded from favors that will be sold, to his disadvantage. This is what the Koch’s do. I thank them for it.
Consider what happened in the GM/UAW bailout. The creditors got screwed by Obama, to the benefit of the UAW. Favors were sold. And not only the creditors lost, but so do unions who’ll find the corporations for which they work, won’t be able to get loans in many cases since bankruptcy courts won’t protect them. Savers will also suffer (as those who provided capital to GM suffered). And we’ll all suffer because yet another wrench has been thrown into the gears of the free market, making commerce less free.