Tag: #regulations

  • Morality in Economics

    I read David Brooks today, and call me crazy, I think that this conservative guy is slowly becoming liberal. I will thank Trump for that, but more importantly, I welcome David to the party.

    I took the point of his piece, which was that America business needs to get its morality back in check. Think about employees, customers, and the communities they exist in, and not just the bottom line, shareholders, and stock value.

    Is this the first crack in the Conservative love of all things that came out of Milton Friedman’s mouth?

    I have held, and said many times, that Friedman’s approach and the way he viewed capitalism was destructive to all of us. I always felt that Friedman’s failure was rooted in the idea that an individual or corporation would “pay by the rules” in their quest for capital, and no one would cheat. The truth of the matter is that if there is money to be made, someone, inevitably will cheat, and someone gets hurt.

    Also, Friedman thought that governments should get out of the way and let companies do what they do. He thought all companies would want deregulation, but what he missed was that companies want regulation on everyone else, just not them. That’s why there is a weird revolving door with CEOs and executives getting named as heads of regulation organizations. (FCC, FDA, ect…)

    In a philosophical sense, I believe that all economics are based in emotions and not in logic. Economies are not math, it is not a science; it is completely man made, and as such, will behave illogically often to meet its desired ends. To put a morality on top of capitalism is a neat idea, and to do that, you need some agreed upon regulations.

    Welcome to the party, David.

  • More FaceBook Thoughts

    I am still thinking about the FaceBook NYTimes article that came out yesterday. What has stuck with me, or what I keep turning over in my head is what protections do we have from corporations when we seem to be living in a time where an individual seems to have less and less power to stand up to them.

    “Seem” is the word I am using as I am not sure if that statement is true. It sure does feel that way, but is that the reality?

    If I try to be objective when it comes to the formation of my opinions, there are two major camps. The first is from my Grandpa Lawrence, who was a union man, a Democrat, and who said that if there wasn’t a check on corporations, then they would run amuck and destroy everyone and everything to make a profit. The other thought camp is my Grandpa Delmore who was the manager of a quarry, was pro-business, believed that individual liberty was key to being an America, and was a Republican.

    These are the two voices that debate in my mind when issues like this come up. Delmore would say that you don’t need FaceBook to live and work, so don’t sign the agreement and you won’t lose any of your data. Lawrence would say that unregulated corporations lead to corruption and destructive behavior.

    In this situation, I see myself siding with Lawrence on this issue, but how do I want government to weigh in on this? If I want to use an internet service, and it is being offered for free, does that mean I have to surrender my personal info to use it? IS there another business model that will work? Or is this just a matter of we have to start paying for what was once free.