Got It Backwards
12 December 2008
Editor, The New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said today that "Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms. However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary - including use of the TARP program - to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers" ("White House Open to Using Bailout Money to Aid Detroit," December 12, 2008).
In other words, the administration believes that the market is the best way to allocate resources - to discover their most productive uses and to give producers and consumers unparalleled incentives to pursue those uses - but in times, such as today, when it is especially important to use resources carefully, the administration concludes that resources will be more wisely allocated by politicians and bureaucrats.
What lunatic logic.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Presidential spokeswoman Dana Perino said today that "Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms. However, given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary - including use of the TARP program - to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers" ("White House Open to Using Bailout Money to Aid Detroit," December 12, 2008).
In other words, the administration believes that the market is the best way to allocate resources - to discover their most productive uses and to give producers and consumers unparalleled incentives to pursue those uses - but in times, such as today, when it is especially important to use resources carefully, the administration concludes that resources will be more wisely allocated by politicians and bureaucrats.
What lunatic logic.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Monday May 11, 2009 at 11:22am