I’m constantly surprised by what happens in the world of politics. I didn’t think Donald Trump had any chance of winning in 2016, yet I was obviously wrong.
I also thought Elizabeth Warren’s political career would be crippled after people found out she fraudulently claimed Indian ancestry to gain special preferences in hiring at law schools. Yet she’s now a serious candidate to be the Democratic nominee in 2020.
So, instead of political prognosticating, I’ll stick with policy analysis, which is what I do in this clip from an interview about Sen. Warren’s plan to give Washington more power over capital markets.
If you want specifics on her plan, this Politico story has lots of detail, and this CNN report also has plenty of information.
I’ve previously written about some of the provisions, such as Glass-Steagall and carried interest, so today I want to focus on the broader point from the interview.
Every single economic theory agrees that saving and investment play a key role in long-run growth and higher living standards. But who controls and directs how capital is allocated?
I prefer competitive markets, which reward decisions that make us more prosperous.
The socialists, by contrast, think government can directly control how capital is allocated. At the risk of understatement, that approach doesn’t have a good track record.
Elizabeth Warren prefers an indirect approach, which involves lots of regulation, taxation, red tape, and intervention. This cronyist approach also is misguided. Her corporatist agenda unavoidably will hinder the efficient (i.e., growth maximizing) allocation of capital and also reduce the overall level of saving and investment.
And that translates into less income for workers.
By the way, my disagreement with Sen. Warren’s policy agenda does not mean I have a pro-Wall Street perspective.
In the past, I opposed the TARP bailout and the Dodd-Frank regulatory expansion, both of which were supported by the big players on Wall Street.
And I currently oppose the Fed’s easy-money policy and also want to remove the tax code’s preference for debt, which again puts me on the other side from the big players on Wall Street.
The bottom line: I support economic liberty, not big business.
P.S. Here’s some political humor that will be very appropriate if there’s a Trump-Warren race next year.
P.P.S. Here’s some satire regarding Warren’s class warfare.
P.P.P.S. On a serious note, I strongly recommend Kevin Williamson’s analysis of Warren’s fake populism.
P.P.P.P.S. And I recommend my own work on Warren’s mistaken viewpoints on corporate taxation and corporate governance.
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Warren has established herself as a lair… and a fraud… how much of her personal and professional success can be attributed to her dishonesty? it’s hard to say… but a portion of it most certainly is… if her political opponents exploit her character flaws in order to diminish her appeal as a candidate… it’s hard to imagine the voters putting her in the highest office in the land… it’s critical that the socialists be defeated in 2020… not just in the presidential race… but in races throughout the Nation… unfortunately they have taken over the democrat party… if they are victorious at the national level… the next step will be to remove traditional democrats from the party at the state and local levels…. those folks who support the Constitution and are willing to comprise with republicans in the best interests of the nation will be purged… unfortunately the days of “the loyal opposition” will be gone as well… they plan on “fundamentally transforming the United States of America” into a Marxist’s’ vision of beatitude… when a political organization imagines the need to go to war… it spends lots of time and energy preparing the population to support the war effort… the hard left has been doing that preparation for years… only instead of going to war… their plan is to change the country… from a constitutional republic… to a majoritarian socialist democracy… the hard left has recruited academics… media professionals… educators… entertainers.., and misguided activists to reshape the national consciousness to favor socialism… they have encouraged and assisted millions of foreign nationals in their efforts to migrate into the country… in hopes of gaining their support in transforming the nation… for the most part… it’s worked… the question is did they move too quickly… do they have the public support to achieve their goal? we will answer that question…….; Tuesday November the 3rd… 2020…
Unfortunately, there are too many voters who are too ignorant or too ideological to see the dangers of what Warren proposes. Her treatment of Esper is indicative of her feelings toward corporate America, beyond the grandstanding for the cameras. But, in light of all that, I’m not sure she can carry a nation-wide election. At least I’m hopeful she cannot.