Every Picture Tells a Story, Don’t It?
The things I don’t go through for you all. I forced myself to watch some video of the the King of the Korporatists, Jeff Immelt. He declares “President Obama has been a great partner.” No doubt he has. For Immelt and his ilk.
But that’s just the problem. The symbiosis between government and particular corporations is the disease, not the cure as Immelt would have it. It helps the GEs of the world, and the Berkshire Hathaways, and others who have access and who can influence the process.
As Adam Smith pointed out, and as Friedman emphasized repeatedly, there is a difference between supporting the free enterprise system, and supporting particular enterprises–businesses. Supporting an open access order with a rule of law that treats all equally, or at least strives for that outcome is very different from gaining business support in exchange for some quid pro quo. A vibrant open access order promotes creative destruction–in which the old and established are ruthlessly supplanted by the new and dynamic. The corporatist order stifles the emergence of the new in order to protect the interests of the old.
A picture is worth 1000 words. If you want to see the portrait of American corporatism, cast your eyes on the video at about the 10 or 12 second mark. Left to right: Immelt; Obama; Daley; Trumka. Not a creator among them. Rent seekers the lot of them. That tells you everything you need to know.
In another video, Immelt says “look out for Russia!” (Those aren’t his exact words, but the title on the video.) That’s what I say too, but definitely not in the way Immelt means it. Quite the opposite, in fact. Although he laughs about how tough it is to do business there, I’m sure that is a place where the likes of him can do business. It is “business” based on political transactions. That’s what makes Immelt comfortable with Obama, and what should make you uncomfortable with Immelt et al.
Thank you for this post! So absolutely true!
Comment by voroBey — October 18, 2011 @ 12:34 pm
@voroBey–thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Obama’s solar energy fiasco combined with the disastrous performance of the economy will drive him and his ilk from office and back to whence the came, under a rock.
Comment by La Russophobe — October 18, 2011 @ 1:17 pm
We definitely got the wrong order at the drive through. We wanted a meritocracy but received a sociopathocracy. There is no cream at the top of this baby-just algae.
Comment by pahoben — October 19, 2011 @ 11:22 am
Students protest against Medvedev speech peacefully, get arrested.
Several Moscow State University students who attempted to greet President Dmitry Medvedev’s arrival on campus with tough questions were detained by police Thursday.
The journalism students were detained by officers of the Federal Guard Service near the journalism department building after appearing with posters bearing questions such as, “Why do you tweet while Khodorkovsky rots in jail?” and “Why did you fire [Finance Minister Alexei] Kudrin?” opposition activist Vitaly Shushkevich wrote on his Twitter microblog.
The students had wanted to challenge Medvedev, who was making an unscheduled visit to the journalism department, but they ended up sitting in detention cells or being held in a classroom, Shushkevich told Lenta.ru.
Student Irina Chitayeva said only seven members of the journalism department met with Medvedev, and they were vetted by the Federal Guard Service and the presidential administration beforehand, Radio Liberty reported.
The majority of those who met with Medvedev were bussed in from other universities or came from pro-Kremlin youth groups such as Nashi, Gazeta.ru reported.
After Medvedev arrived around 4:15 p.m., students were not allowed into the building’s courtyard, let alone the building itself, a student said, Lenta.ru reported.
Alexander Yarosh, a Nashi official who was at the event, wrote on his Twitter microblog that Medvedev discussed subsidies for the Caucasus and said he was going to create a page on the Russian social network Vkontakte. He wrote that 170 students attended the event.
Read more: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/students-detained-during-medvedevs-visit-to-mgu/445992.html#ixzz1bPwOvVwW
The Moscow Times
Comment by La Russophobe — October 21, 2011 @ 6:09 am
Welcome back to the USSR!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/22/world/europe/staged-event-in-moscow-criticized-in-social-media.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Total neo-Soviet fraud, shameless Medvedev humiliates Russia before the eyes of a slackjawed world. And remember, he’s just doing Putin’s bidding!
No thinking person can read this story and still be a Russophile.
Comment by La Russophobe — October 21, 2011 @ 9:16 pm