Posted on 01/10/2009 5:38:22 PM PST by neverdem
The top story of 2008 is undoubtedly the revival of the left. After nearly two decades on the defensive following the collapse of the Soviet empire--the definitive example of the failure of socialism--advocates of a government-controlled economy are trying to make a comeback.
How brazen has this leftist revival become? It has gotten so far out of hand that some on the left are openly defending central planning. Yes, comrades, you read that right.
I occasionally poke around the Internet to see the response to my articles, and I recently came across a reply to my December 11 article warning about the return of the Old Left, complete with central planning for the financial and auto industries. Over at MyDD, a prominent clearing house for "netroots" Democratic Party activists, Charles Lemos responded by complaining that "Central planning is the latest conservative epithet in the wake of president-elect Obama's bold and sweeping proposals for revitalizing the increasingly moribund American economy." He then goes on to declare that, "As liberals, as progressives it is imperative that we fight for planning. It's time we rehabilitate the concept of long-term planning."
Can anyone really be saying this in the 21st century? If so, it is because they have failed 20th-Century History 101. For those in need of a quick refresher, the satirical website The People's Cube has posted a helpful overview of the product line once offered by the East Bloc's centrally planned auto industry. My favorite line is an old joke about the Yugo: "Every car came with a rear defroster to keep your hands warm as you pushed it."
But central planning has not just been discredited by a mass of empirical evidence. It has been thoroughly refuted in theory, too. Legions of pro-free-market economists...
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
The faster we on the conservative right realize this the better. These are not people you compromise with. They are not people you negotiate with. You can't meet them half way, every step in their direction is two steps away from ours.
If I understand the market correctly, had government not intervened last year, housing prices would have fallen quickly, drastically and would now be affordable. Banks, investment firms would have failed but CEOs, CFOs etc., would not have gotten any bonuses. If the fed had responded by abolishing capital-letter agencies and state and local govs had repealed zoning, land use and many other regulations while cutting all non-essential services, and all govs had cut taxes, we the people could have pulled through this without any bailouts in a year or so.
When, in the future, generations breathe the fresh air of liberty again, and they surely will, those generations will curse the day Barack Obama and his kind were born.
Having witnessed the fascistification of America in three years, I can only wonder when the dOpey-One will start wearing a uniform (visualize the doorman at the Ritz) to emphasize the moral equivalent to war he is fighting.
The Man in the Middle (The Right needs its own Schumer)
The Dangers of Disputing Global Warming Orthodoxy
Some noteworthy articles about politics, foreign and military affairs, IMHO, FReepmail me if you want on or off my list.
Thanks for the ping!
Central planning is what got us into this mess.
Had Congress not allowed Fannie and Freddie to lower their standards and allow borrowers with bad credit and insufficient income to obtain adjustable rate loans to 100% of the value of their property, this wouldn’t’ve happened.
We need less government, not more.
Great article by Robert Tracinski. Thanks for the ping and the post. Thread BUMP!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.