In Praise of the Free Market

authordefault
on

The Kennedyโ€™s didnโ€™t get powerful without first getting rich, so youโ€™d expect Robert F. to be aย capitalist:

โ€œI want to say this: There is no stronger advocate for free-market capitalism than myself. I believe that the free market is the most efficient and democratic way to distribute the goods of the land, and that the best thing that could happen to the environment is if we had true free-market capitalism in this country, because the free market promotes efficiency, and efficiency means the elimination of waste, and pollution of course is waste. The free market also would encourage us to properly value our natural resources, and itโ€™s the undervaluation of those resources that causes us to use them wastefully. But in a true free-market economy, you canโ€™t make yourself rich without making your neighbors rich and without enriching your community.

โ€œBut what polluters do is they make themselves rich by making everybody else poor. They raise standards of living for themselves by lowering the quality of life for everybody else, and they do that by evading the discipline of the free market. You show me a polluter; Iโ€™ll show you a subsidy. Iโ€™ll show you a fat cat using political clout to escape the discipline of the free market and to force the public to pay his production costs. Thatโ€™s what all pollution is. Itโ€™s always a subsidy. Itโ€™s always a guy trying to cheat the free market.โ€

Related Posts

Analysis
on

Victory in this weekendโ€™s landmark election could see Alternative for Germany stall a lucrative wind and solar drive in Saxony-Anhalt.

Victory in this weekendโ€™s landmark election could see Alternative for Germany stall a lucrative wind and solar drive in Saxony-Anhalt.
on

Nigel Farageโ€™s party is welcoming polluting interests and radical pressure groups to its annual gathering.

Nigel Farageโ€™s party is welcoming polluting interests and radical pressure groups to its annual gathering.
Analysis
on

Executives at Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Suncor, and Imperial Oil saw their personal stock holdings and options skyrocket this year, according to a DeSmog analysis.

Executives at Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Suncor, and Imperial Oil saw their personal stock holdings and options skyrocket this year, according to a DeSmog analysis.
on

As wildfires rage across the country, Cheryl Gallant continues to spread climate misinformation after a CSIS report said her conspiracy theories could increase the โ€œthreat of serious violenceโ€.

As wildfires rage across the country, Cheryl Gallant continues to spread climate misinformation after a CSIS report said her conspiracy theories could increase the โ€œthreat of serious violenceโ€.