The Great Bailout Stall, Part VI Economic Disaster

Is there anything that can be done about all those "greedy" Wall Street guys, speculators, and CEOs who make off with millions in golden parachutes? After all, everyone from Chris Dodd to John McBama ... from Bill O'Reilly to "conservative" icon Ben Stein ... says they are among the major culprits responsible for the our current economic disaster.

In fact, those bad guys created such an economic crisis for the Demopublicans that the government "had no choice" but to put you and me on the hook for another $700 billion (for starters). They tell us they absolutely hated having to do it, but it was necessary to help "Main Street" --- i.e., stiffs like you and me. I can't remember when I last felt so loved.

So, is ramping up government controls over the market by increasing regulations the way to prevent a further collapse? I'm sure you already know my answer: No! In fact, I think what the market needs is less regulation. (You can't imagine how lonely it is being a minority of one.)

Many years ago, the lure of Wall Street got to me. Though my experience in the markets was short-lived, I learned a little about how the game is played --- and a whole lot about life and human nature. But you don't want to learn too much through experience when it comes to the stock market. You can end up with a tin cup in your hand.

The first thing that struck me after I set foot inside the Wall Street Jungle was that government regulation of the markets, like all government regulation, results in unintended consequences --- consequences that hurt, rather than help, small investors. I don't have room here to go into a long list, but the best example I can think of is the ridiculous warnings that saturate the prospectuses of every brokerage firm.

The boilerplate warnings on those prospectuses all but guarantee the would-be investor that he will lose money if he buys the stock that's being hyped within their covers. And because the warnings are so obviously over the top, no one takes them seriously. Which, in turn, gives investors a false sense of security.

What government needs to do is stop trying to play nanny to investors. People have the right to enjoy the fruits of their good (or lucky) decisions and to suffer the consequences of their bad ones --- and that includes their investment decisions.

"But what about brokerage firms that put out fraudulent information about companies?" Good news: We already have laws on the books to punish such criminal behavior. Fraud is illegal whether you're selling stocks, refrigerators, automobiles, or underwear. Any "regulations" beyond that would be superfluous.

If investors knew they were on their own, they would be far more careful than they are now. And if brokerage houses were found guilty of committing fraud or theft, word would get around and, as in any other kind of business, they would end up with no customers, thereby insuring their own economic disaster. Plus, of course, the individuals responsible for perpetrating the fraud or theft would end up in jail.

But what about those multimillion-dollar golden parachutes? Michael Ovitz received $140 million in severance pay after being fired as president of Disney. Doesn't the government need to put a ceiling on what fat cats like him can make off with? No! The compensation that corporate officers receive is between the shareholders and them --- and thus none of the government's business.

You don't give scoundrels like Barney Frank, Charles Schumer, Harry Reid, et al. the power to intervene in agreements between consenting adults. On the contrary, it is they who should be thoroughly investigated, and, if the evidence warrants it (think Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae), indicted.

Sorry, but more laws and more regulation is not the answer to America's economic disaster. The answer is to free the marketplace --- less regulation, fewer laws, more individual responsibility --- and for government to get out of the money-creation and borrowing businesses.

Oh, and while we're at it, how about removing all capital-gains taxes and all taxes on entrepreneurs and small-businesspeople? Then, after a brief deflationary depression of a year or so, politicians could sit back and watch both job creation and wealth creation explode. Sorry, George, but that is what would "get the economy moving again."

Perhaps we should have a policy in this country similar to one that legend tells us existed in ancient Greece. Anyone who proposed a new law had to do so from a platform in the public market --- with a rope around his neck. If the law was adopted by the people, they removed the rope. If it was rejected, they removed the platform.

If that were the case, we, the people, would have already executed everyone in the Demopublican Party who had voted for the "rescue plan" (i.e., rescue scam). Talk about a blissful thought ...

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