Monday, September 22, 2008

The Free Market and Responsiblity II

One of the fundamental mantra's of many professed "free market" advocates is "less regulation means growth" The financial institutions were given greater regulatory freedom and they abused this liberty. What is truly amazing is that some of those who chant the mantra of less regulation are now attempting to blame the collapse of our financial institutions on regulation!

Missing from this anti-regulatory chant is an acknowledgment that the freedom to succeeded is also a freedom to fail. If one has freedom, they misuse that freedom, and they consequently fail; they should accept the responsibility of their failure. No one forced the financial institution to make risky bets. They did it to themselves.

Over at the The Technology Liberation Front Hance Haney wrote "But as Steve Forbes points out, the “easy-money” policy of the Federal Reserve helped financial institutions pile up debt and bad assets."

So here we have the Federal reserve opening up the candy store to satiate the corporate demand for cheap money to promote economic growth. Now the financial institutions have a bellyache because they overate. Rather than acknowledge that the "free market", in this situation failed because they lacked self control, apologists are attempting by slight of hand to place the blame on regulation.

This seems to be a very contrary to Libertarian principles. Actually, it sounds like something the Democrats would promote. The Democrats advocate how we have a moral obligation to save the the poor unfortunate homeowners, while failing to acknowledge that the homeowners bought houses they could not afford. It does not make a difference, in term of responsibility, whether it is a corporation or a house. The simple fact is, we have had some irresponsible behavior and everyone is asking for a hand-out. In today's America no one is to blame and we are all entitled to the state saving us. I guess we are on the road to a welfare state.


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