The United States is supposed to be the place where entrepreneurs can flourish. It’s supposed to be a place where if one has a dream, is willing to hustle, and meets the needs of the market, one can grow a business. This is the “land of opportunity.” Carve something out of the earth. Build something to the sky. Grow. Work. Create. Fail. Try again. Succeed. America.
UBER is a cell phone app which makes the business of hailing a cab much easier.
One need only press the UBER button and instantly one knows where the next cab is, how long the ride will take, how much the ride will cost, and the fare will even come right out of a linked account. No fuss no muss.
Washington DC is indeed booming. Over the past 5 years billions and billions of tax dollars have been poured into the local economy. Contractors of all sorts fill the mirrored buildings surrounding DC. The roads are choked with commuters, many of whom are new transplants from the less prosperous regions of the country. The wealth of a nation has been aggregated in and around the Beltway. Money is here and millions are being “made.” (Really, being redistributed.)
I don’t agree with everything Professor Black prescribes. He and I have pretty different views as to the roll of government generally.
However he advocates shining a light on the dark swamp which is our worldwide financial system, where super leveraged bankers swim through the economic muck like pinstriped alligators. And we are certainly for that.
It’s good that the New Hampshire Republican made at least a brief stop at Goldman Sachs. How embarrassing would it be if the head of the most important banking trade group wasn’t a Goldman alum?
A new book by New York Times journalist (and Washington insider), Mark Leibovich, entitled This Town promises to expose the rather nasty underbelly of cocktail party Washington DC. Supposedly many in the MLG complex are concerned that they are in the book. There are probably many others who are worried that they are not in it.
This very good article in IBD is discouraging on so many levels.
The Community Reinvestment Act was an unmitigated failure. Its expressed goal of bring more minority citizens into an “ownership society” was laudable. Owning property for the most part is a good thing. People feel like they have a stake in their communities. But the program failed because many folks were not ready to own property.
I know, I know, we’ve been told all our lives that the mounds of regulations business must deal with (and the consumer must pay for) are there for our protection. That if it were not for these laws, children would be working 20 hour days in sweatshops and cars would have wheels which fell off every time we stopped at a stop light. But it’s not true. In fact the main purpose of regulations (though not the sole purpose) is to create barriers to entry for competitors.
I’ve seen Mr. Bloomberg a few times in person. Each time he holds court and the people around him defer and genuflect. I get a very Napoleon like vibe from him.
I wonder if he, like Napoleon did, thinks that he is guided by a “shining star.” That Bloomberg’s will is fate, and fate is his will. New York is blessed to be under his rule.
