From Sam Smith's Progressive Review, posted April 6, 2011
No fault Capitalism and Lemon Socialism
/Three decades ago we had another fiscal disaster known as the S&L
crisis. More than 1600 banks closed. The GAO estimated that the scandal
cost the government $160 billion and set a precedent for the government
bailing out rich bankers which would come to haunt us again. The Review
was one of the few in the media to raise questions about the bailout,
including this comment, which seems eerily contemporary:
/*The S&L solution is* the most egregious example to date of no-fault
capitalism and lemon socialism. The former is the remarkable principle
that - notwithstanding all the fawning over the ""free market economy""
- our largest business institutions are philosophically, fiscally and
criminally exempt from the ultimate consequences of laisse faire. The
latter is the equally inconsistent principle that to maintain the free
market the government is responsible for anything out of which private
enterprise can't make a profit. It may not, however, help support this
magnificent non sequitur through activities that might actually provide
income for the government, No, the rules of the game are that a major
industry is allowed to make whatever mistakes it wishes in pursuit of
the holy grail of free enterprise, the costs of which to be fully borne
by the taxpayer,
Natalia
On 4/7/2011 1:47 PM, michael gurstein wrote:
-----Original Message-----
*From:* [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] *On
Behalf Of *Sid Shniad
*Sent:* Thursday, April 07, 2011 2:16 PM
*To:* undisclosed-recipients:
*Subject:* Sharp Drop in American Enthusiasm for Free Market, Poll Shows
http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/btglobalizationtradera/684.php
World Public Opinion.org
April 6, 2011
Sharp Drop in American Enthusiasm for Free Market, Poll Shows
American public support for the free market economy has dropped
sharply in the past year, and is now lower than in China, according to
a GlobeScan poll released today.
The findings, drawn from 12,884 interviews across 25 countries, show
that there has been a sharp fall in the number of Americans who think
that the free market economy is the best economic system for the future.
When GlobeScan began tracking views in 2002, four in five Americans
(80%) saw the free market as the best economic system for the
future--the highest level of support among tracking countries. Support
started to fall away in the following years and recovered slightly
after the financial crisis in 2007/8, but has plummeted since 2009,
falling 15 points in a year so that fewer than three in five (59%) now
see free market capitalism as the best system for the future.
GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller commented: "America is the last place
we would have expected to see such a sharp drop in trust in the free
enterprise system. This is not good news for business."
The results mean that a number of the world's major emerging economies
have now matched or overtaken the USA in their enthusiasm for the free
market. The Chinese and Brazilians, 67 percent of whom regard the free
market system as the best on offer, are now more positive about
capitalism than Americans, while enthusiasm in India now equals that
in the USA, with 59 percent rating the free market as the best system
for the future.
Among the 20 countries polled in both 2009 and 2010, an average of 54
percent today rate the free market economy as the best economic
system, unchanged from 2009.
Americans with incomes below $20,000 were particularly likely to have
lost faith in the free market over the past year, with their support
dropping from 76 percent to 44 percent between 2009 and 2010. American
women have also become much less positive, with 52 percent backing the
free market in 2010, down from 73 percent in 2009.
The poll was conducted by telephone in China and the US, and by
telephone, in-person, or online in the 23 other countries between June
24 and September 18, 2010 by the international polling firm GlobeScan
and its national partners. Before today's public release, only clients
of GlobeScan's "Radar" reports have had access to these results.
National results are considered accurate within +/- 3.0 to +/- 4.9
percent, 19 times out of 20.
GlobeScan Chairman Doug Miller added: "The poll suggest that American
business is close to losing its social contract with average American
families that has enabled it to prosper in the world. Inspired
leadership will be needed to reverse this trend."
Fieldwork was conducted in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Germany, Ghana, India,
Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, the
Philippines, Russia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the USA.
Interviews were conducted via face-to-face, by telephone, or online
(Japan only) between June 24 and September 18, 2010. Polling was
conducted by GlobeScan and its research partners in each country. Some
urban-only surveying was conducted in certain developing countries,
following generally accepted research standards in each country. The
margin of error per country ranges from +/-3.0 to 4.9 percent, 19
times out of 20.
For more information about GlobeScan see www.GlobeScan.com
<http://www.globescan.com/>
*Questionnaire*
Please tell me if you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat
disagree, or strongly disagree with each of the following statements?
READ AND ROTATE STATEMENTS. CODE ONE EACH.
2bt) The free market system and free market economy is the best system
on which to base the future of the world
01 -- Strongly agree
02 -- Somewhat agree
03 -- Somewhat disagree
04 -- Strongly disagree
VOLUNTEERED (DO NOT READ)
05 -- Depends / neither agree nor disagree
99 -- DK/NA
!DSPAM:2676,4d9dff80308681602639591!
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