Nationalize Wall Street?

The Times put out an interesting column by Gar Alperovitz, who seems to have some of the air of the lefty radical about him. In light of the continuing scandals of the banking and finance industry, he argues that maybe we should consider nationalizing the industry on the grounds that it is no longer competitive and the banks are obviously too big to be effectively regulated.

You could expect this from the Times and a lefty, but what made this piece interesting is that he grounds his argument on the basis of conservative philosophy and the Chicago School, the pinnacle of conservative economics. The key is the important place that competition played in capitalist theory.

The central problem, then as now, was that very large corporations could easily undermine regulatory and antitrust strategies. The Nobel laureate George J. Stigler demonstrated how regulation was commonly “designed and operated primarily for” the benefit of the industries involved. And numerous conservatives, including Simons, concluded that large corporate players could thwart antitrust “break-them-up” efforts — a view Friedman came to share.

Simons did not shrink from the obvious conclusion: “Every industry should be either effectively competitive or socialized.” If other remedies were unworkable, “The state should face the necessity of actually taking over, owning, and managing directly” all “industries in which it is impossible to maintain effectively competitive conditions.”

Unfortunately, though, it would seem that these financial players are also too big and powerful to be nationalized as well. If you cannot meangingully regulate them, how can you take them over? Mr. Alperovitz raises a very interesting debating point, but nothing practical can come of it. Nevertheless, I thought it was a point worth keeping.

For the record, as much as I would love to see these masters of the universe have their noses rubbed in it, I am not very big on the idea of nationalization. It seems like too much power for government and would have to prove corrupting over time. Though, I can smile at the idea of temporarily nationalizing them and then selling them out in smaller pieces again. This is still dreaming, of course, but it might be nice if more people at least considered it. It seems fair to say that the system, as it stands, is only going to crash us. It has already injured us with a broken economy and an engorging inequality that distorts and wrecks our democratic politics.

Nationalize Wall Street?

The Times put out an interesting column by Gar Alperovitz, who seems to have some of the air of the lefty radical about him. In light of the continuing scandals of the banking and finance industry, he argues that maybe we should consider nationalizing the industry on the grounds that it is no longer competitive and the banks are obviously too big to be effectively regulated.

You could expect this from the Times and a lefty, but what made this piece interesting is that he grounds his argument on the basis of conservative philosophy and the Chicago School, the pinnacle of conservative economics. The key is the important place that competition played in capitalist theory.

The central problem, then as now, was that very large corporations could easily undermine regulatory and antitrust strategies. The Nobel laureate George J. Stigler demonstrated how regulation was commonly “designed and operated primarily for” the benefit of the industries involved. And numerous conservatives, including Simons, concluded that large corporate players could thwart antitrust “break-them-up” efforts — a view Friedman came to share.

Simons did not shrink from the obvious conclusion: “Every industry should be either effectively competitive or socialized.” If other remedies were unworkable, “The state should face the necessity of actually taking over, owning, and managing directly” all “industries in which it is impossible to maintain effectively competitive conditions.”

Unfortunately, though, it would seem that these financial players are also too big and powerful to be nationalized as well. If you cannot meangingully regulate them, how can you take them over? Mr. Alperovitz raises a very interesting debating point, but nothing practical can come of it. Nevertheless, I thought it was a point worth keeping.

For the record, as much as I would love to see these masters of the universe have their noses rubbed in it, I am not very big on the idea of nationalization. It seems like too much power for government and would have to prove corrupting over time. Though, I can smile at the idea of temporarily nationalizing them and then selling them out in smaller pieces again. This is still dreaming, of course, but it might be nice if more people at least considered it. It seems fair to say that the system, as it stands, is only going to crash us. It has already injured us with a broken economy and an engorging inequality that distorts and wrecks our democratic politics.

Edgar Allan Poe

“I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.”

-- Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

“I have no faith in human perfectability. I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago.”

-- Edgar Allan Poe

Voula Papachristou

“So many Africans in Greece, at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food.”

-- Voula Papachristou

Ms. Papachristou is a Greek Olympic track star, as well as a hot blonde, and that quote is a tweet she posted on her Twitter account. Because of that comment, she has been kicked out of the Olympics.

I am genuinely confused. I can only suppose that I am really behind on the latest memo of what is socially acceptable for public figures.

I understand that this is not the most charming comment a person could make, and I do not doubt that she is probably a little racist, as I would not be surprised to learn that she does not date black people and does not have any really good black friends, but how many white people can say otherwise about themselves? I don’t see a lot of hatred in her tweet. She didn’t even use the N-word.

If an issue had to be made of it, I could see putting the screws on her and telling her that the authorities are considering her case, squeezing out an apology from our Olympic princess, and then let the matter go as a warning that one need be on the most formal and courteous footing when making any public statement, even on twitty Twitter.

If I were a somebody on the national or world stage, I think I would be afraid of saying anything ever in terror that my words could be taken by someone to be offensive to any ostensibly endangered group. Maybe I could find some courage behind the fact that I am not among the privileged white men of the world, but I do not think I could count on that for full protection, especially, say, with respect to gays and women. And I am among the most endangered groups in the world - a Mexican in the south!

Voula Papachristou

“So many Africans in Greece, at least West Nile mosquitoes will eat homemade food.”

-- Voula Papachristou

Ms. Papachristou is a Greek Olympic track star, as well as a hot blonde, and that quote is a tweet she posted on her Twitter account. Because of that comment, she has been kicked out of the Olympics.

I am genuinely confused. I can only suppose that I am really behind on the latest memo of what is socially acceptable for public figures.

I understand that this is not the most charming comment a person could make, and I do not doubt that she is probably a little racist, as I would not be surprised to learn that she does not date black people and does not have any really good black friends, but how many white people can say otherwise about themselves? I don’t see a lot of hatred in her tweet. She didn’t even use the N-word.

If an issue had to be made of it, I could see putting the screws on her and telling her that the authorities are considering her case, squeezing out an apology from our Olympic princess, and then let the matter go as a warning that one need be on the most formal and courteous footing when making any public statement, even on twitty Twitter.

If I were a somebody on the national or world stage, I think I would be afraid of saying anything ever in terror that my words could be taken by someone to be offensive to any ostensibly endangered group. Maybe I could find some courage behind the fact that I am not among the privileged white men of the world, but I do not think I could count on that for full protection, especially, say, with respect to gays and women. And I am among the most endangered groups in the world - a Mexican in the south!