Bulls, Bears and Bureaucrats

[RobertB]

Bulls, Bears and Bureaucrats
Feb 06, 2008 11:15 am

Socializing the marketplace.

I have remarked before on the "socialization" of markets: the creeping intervention and manipulation on market forces by government action. Socialization is the knee-jerk reaction that we can always expect from our bureaucrats. They don't believe, or won't admit, that markets allocate capital and resources more efficiently than they can. They do believe that the trouble we are in is actually caused by free-market forces run amok.

They don't see, or won't admit, that in reality our current problems are caused specifically by market intervention: market forces were not allowed to balance the economy when they wanted to (time and time again).

The greatest socialist invention of all-time, the Federal Reserve, stepped in over and over and forced debt into the system when the system didn't really want it. The debt found the only part of the market that wanted to borrow money: the highly speculative part that tends to seek too much risk for reward and speculation in asset prices reached new levels.

http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/15813/from/yahoo

[frodo82801]

The marketplace adjusts to problems. It's almost a natural thing, like what happens with overpopulation of some species in the forest. The govt attempts to make things static and that almost always creates more problems than it solves.

[Nova]

They (government) don't believe, or won't admit, that markets allocate capital and resources more efficiently than they can. They do believe that the trouble we are in is actually caused by free-market forces run amok.

Anyone listen to any of Hillary's speeches? She acts like business is the enemy of the people vs our best shot at generating jobs & wealth. Makes me cringe.

A certain amount of government intervention is needed to prevent abuse of workers. No one wants to return to the days of sweatshops, etc. But I think business is over regulated in most areas & under regulated in others. Why didn't the SEC step in & prevent the derivative mess?

Speaking of socialized causes, I think we will be seeing "carbon credit" requirements.