There are always a lot of people so afraid of rocking the boat that they stop rowing. We can never get ahead that way.
Harry S. Truman
Andy Stern, "China's Superior Economic Model": Thumbs DOWN!
It is unusual for this blog to feature a guest opt-ed with which I strongly disagree; the Wall Street Journal has, of course, allowed clueless progressives to print op-ed columns before. Still, I think the WSJ was purposefully aiming to stir the pot by publishing this nonsense from the former SEIU chief.
The conservative-preferred, free-market fundamentalist, shareholder-only model—so successful in the 20th century—is being thrown onto the trash heap of history in the 21st century. In an era when countries need to become economic teams, Team USA's results—a jobless decade, 30 years of flat median wages, a trade deficit, a shrinking middle class and phenomenal gains in wealth but only for the top 1%—are pathetic.Expletive deleted! The sheer idiocy behind that paragraph is off the charts. First of all, to argue that the Presidencies of Clinton, Bush, and Obama have been the hallmark of free market principles is to be out of touch with reality. The Federal Reserve has been largely responsible for two major asset bubbles over the past 12 years; we've seen government at all levels live beyond their means with union-supported Democrats agreeing to unsustainable contracts (as Andy Stern is all too aware). We have seen explosion of regulation, an indirect form of taxation. While many, if not most businesses switched from defined benefit (pension) to defined contribution systems over a generation ago, state and local governments are on the verge of seeing operational expenses crowded out by grossly underfunded pension payments.
Stern's laughable assertion that our economic problems are due to "too much free markets"--not due to globally uncompetitive business tax rates, burdensome regulation, and dysfunctional government intervention in the economy--shows profound ignorance of basic economics, not to mention shallow analysis. Stern waxes enthusiasm over industrial policy and infamous 5-year economic plans. Perhaps Stern's one-sided analysis of the Chinese economic surge needs sorely needed perspective: e.g., the "ghost cities" of China (not unlike Communist steel mills notoriously churning out steel without customers), questionable accounting and a poorly regulated stock market, a real estate bubble, raging food inflation and a lower standard of living; you still have an economy overly dependent on exports and hence subject to the economic malaise of their target markets.
As Stern drones on with his tired class warfare rhetoric, he hypocritically ignores the fact China has the second largest number of billionaires in the world--in a Communist country--closely followed by Russia, a former Communist country. He waxes enthusiasm about how industrial policy has worked wonders in China, but the high tech revolution took place outside the realm of government regulation and industrial policy, while the US remains the world's leading manufacturer, specializing in value-added products; US manufacturers consistently set the mark in more production efficiency while many countries find them constrained by public policy in adapting, say, labor-saving new technologies.
Stern ignores that the US has a more diversified economy, rich in natural resources; Steve Jobs, in fact, notoriously pointed out to Barack Obama (whose election he supported) that it was easier for him to do business in China than in the US. It's a fairly sorry state of affairs when a Communist country makes it easier for a foreign corporation to invest there instead of its own home country in terms of tax and regulatory burden. And while Stern admires Chinese leadership in terms of green energy initiatives, he ignores the fact that pollution is a far more serious problem in China, and China is gathering any and all energy supplies (including coal) to support its growing economy.
Stern incoherently and inconsistently argues that the free market may have worked in the past but got superseded by enlightened crony capitalists and their statist enablers. Why Adam Smith's "invisible hand" used to work but all of a sudden the "invisible hand" no longer works isn't clear. Why managed economies in the past notoriously failed and all of a sudden worked isn't clear; certainly under Obama, a managed economy hasn't worked out well. Of course, Stern is putting lipstick on a pig; like Obama, Stern picks and choose what evidence he presents in support of his point of view.
I could go on for several pages, but I'll save some of the fun for the rest of my fellow classic economic liberals. (Note: "liberal" in this context refers to a core belief in free markets, not Democratic groupthink on managed economic policy.) I wish that the Wall Street Journal had higher journalistic standards than to publish such predictable, unoriginal, politically spun, polemical drivel.
Arrogance Goes Beyond the TSA
I normally don't cover misbehavior by private-sector employees, like Air Tran (a subsidiary of Southwest Airlines)'s handling of a situation involving three older female passengers being thrown off a flight, apparently because three unrelated female passengers complained to a male flight attendant (the first about his handling of an overhead bag with fragile contents, the second over a broken seat, and the third whom objected when he had the first two women kicked off the plane). First of all, that attendant should be fired for cause. The passengers were not engaging in abusive behavior; they were paying customers and entitled to express their opinion; anyone in a service position should show patience and not overreact to the situation. I give Air Tran credit for not trying blame the victims and for doing the right thing, but for these 3 ladies to have to deal with airport security in being thrown off a plane by some boorish flight attendant lacking patience, tact, and grace in dealing with his customers. It's bad enough we have to deal with self-important, condescending, chip-on-a-shoulder, unaccountable bureaucrats in Washington. That airport security has to be summoned because of a thin-skinned, unprofessional flight attendant has a chip on his shoulder and wants to throw his weight around is nothing short of disgraceful.
Political Humor
"Due to the bad economy, the Queen of England’s salary will be frozen for the next four years. In fact, to make ends meet the queen is thinking of having a yard sale. Getting rid of a lot of stuff they don't use anymore, like Canada." - Jay Leno
[The princes are going to miss that tree swing in the back where their nannies used to push them.]
"To save money, the U.S. Postal Service announced the end of next-day service. That's a good way to get people to come back, isn't it? Make your service even slower than it already is." - Jay Leno
[Well, the USPS has been finding it harder to keep up now that Congress and Obama have reinstated domestic horse slaughter. Donkeys aren't quite as fast...]
Musical Interlude: Nostalgic/Instrumental Christmas
Spike Jones, "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth"
