Posted by
Andrews on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 2:35:28 PM
Whenever people start talking about recession and blaming it on wars or oil or monetary factors, I have to point out one other cause. Yes, all of those (especially manipulating money supplies) can cause untold economic harm, but another source of harm, and a huge one, can be laid at the feet of the voters themselves.
Voters?
Yes, the ones who elect people like Elliot Spitzer.
Now I will not go into Governor Spitzer's recent woes, as that really doesn't help my point. I can't say I am not pleased to see such a detestable man in trouble, but I have little to add.
My point is that Spitzer made a name for himself by nothing more than engaging in legalized extortion. He prosecuted Martha Stewart on shaky charges, then won a conviction by characterizing her defense as "perjury". Then, having left executives with the choice of pleading to his charges or facing a perjury conviction for offering a defense, he proceeded to shake down Wall Street to build a name for himself. He took money from the productive members of society and from the investors who had given them money, and handed it to the state of New York, all so he could win office.
And the voters went for it.
So, the next time some petty official starts shaking down a company, slowing progress, stopping economic growth, and transferring money from investors and builders and giving it to the state, remind yourself that voters are to blame. The voters made Spitzer governor for destroying economic progress, and the next shakedown artist is just repeating a formula that has worked.
So, yes, the economy can be slowed by oil prices, and monetary inflation, and a number of other things, but one big drag on the economy, one often unnoticed, is the repeated extortion of our productive members by those who are vying for office, and those voters who fall for it and place them in power.