Well, it's pretty simple to me. Actually, although I
saw many things wrong, It didn't seem to me to be
too bad in 1970. Then Nixon began his wage/price
controls. Then the government interfered more and
more in people's lives. But it was bad enough before, with LBJ's Great Society and FDR's
New Deal, etc. Violation of individual rights, and
laws passed with zero regard for such. So it was
bound to get into a quicksand, if it went far e-
nough.

You do not understand logic or evidence. One more comment without either and I will hide you.

As to Economics Professors, it all boils down to a phrase I heard many years ago. As time goes on, and the government sticks its ugly, pimply, snotty nose into the free (?) market this applies.
"If all the economists in the world stood in a circle, they'd all point in different directions."

Then he reminds me of James Taggart protesting to Dagny why TT was losing money--on 2 September, 3 years after the action began. The day Francisco made his famous exit, and left his equally famous message. And now I give it right back to the Times:

Brother, you asked for it!

I do not know who is dinging you. coward!

So does your self serving greed as a lawyer who is part of the problem.

Thumbs up

hear hear

Your ignorance of economics knows no bounds.

They hate life and achievement.

Maybe if he was aware of the simple fact that the US governments insatiable desire for money is the problem. Government harassing businesses with rules regulations and taxes started driving companies to produce off shore in the 1960's. Once it started in the manufacturing sector the suppliers to the manufacturers followed suit not wanting to loose out to foreign suppliers. Call it the trickle down effect. In the last 50 years since so many businesses left the US the workers either were laid off or retired and the young coming up did not have jobs to go to and the problem of no jobs has escalated. The economy has been in a bubble and has broken a few years back like 30 years ago. Is it going to change anytime soon, ABSOLUTELY NOT. Why because as the government coffers have dwindled away they keep raising taxes because there is less income and if you believe the numbers that are thrown around of large increases in tax revenue I'll sell you a bridge. I could go on but Technocracy summed it up quite nicely Government Market Interference. db your statement does not apply.

Liberals' capacity for deluding themselves is truly incredible. It's like they live their entire lives trying to cheat the law of cause and effect. Even as an Objectivist, I still shake my head.

Cronyism. The likes of Warren Buffett and George Soros make sure the economy can't grow faster than they can grab the results. This is the purpose of most regulation.

This includes intellectual property. Hollywood and similar trolls lock up both creative works and inventions for many decades to prevent later inventors from building on them, then pretend that they're creating value when they're really preventing a lot more creation than they're doing.

I would reform IP rights, reducing the right to veto use of a work by others (or derived works!) to only a short initial period (say 3-5 years), followed by a longer period where the inventor is only entitled to get paid and cannot veto anything.

It's all about behavior. If you act like socialists you get no/slow growth. It ain't rocket surgery.

A rational mind knows cause and effect with both things and people. That by itself should be sufficient to provide "conscience." Can someone have a rational mind but an inability to think?
Here's an interesting discussion: http://www.academia.edu/1386623/Arend...

True, but in today's globalized world, we also face the stark reality that very few of this world's governments respect rights at all - let alone property rights. When a Chinese business is free to steal, copy, and sell knockoffs all without much fear of reprisal, its pretty hard to fault the inventor - especially when in many cases the Chinese government is assisting the infringement! Same with Russia and many other nations.

We are getting exactly what the powers that be want! The NYT's has been instrumental in pushing the exact Globalist" agenda being pushed by the UN and the oligarchal Crony Capitalists who are in control. All empowered by he and his NY Times. Perhaps this is the reason that honest journalism is dead and the mainstream media so corrupted!

If he (Neil Irwin) did a little investigation and "real" journalism, this would not be the great mystery that he seems to think it is! Perhaps his blinders are starting to come off!

excellent article...hits nail on the head...burn the whole govt book on regulations...end all individual/corporate taxes...end the Fed....let politicians serve with no guaranteed pay...only voluntary donations )limited to $100 per year per citizen/corporation)...and the world will have to copy us to keep up...

Its obvious why growth is slow. The effect of creeping socialism is to just mute out a person's desire to improve his life- seeing as though a big part of the gains just go to others. This effect happens with one person at a time, but it all adds up

Comments so far are good but miss the point that dbh is making-
it is not just that government regulations and controls inhibit growth, it is that governments fail to do what governments should do, that is- protect property rights, specifically the intellectual capital that goes into inventions. So, a potential inventor is discouraged knowing that others are free to copy what is created.

Carl, that's actually a fascinating concept you are introducing. Does having a Mind mean you have a conscience? I don't think having high intelligence means you automatically have a conscience. Do you?
So why does having a fully rational Mind mean that you have a conscience? Can you make that connection for me?

Maybe not stupid but certainly mindless with no conscience.
If you have a Mind and use it, you have a conscience that won't let you knowingly do harm.

hear hear

Thx

I suggest that the statists are fully aware that their policies are inhibiting growth, but that these policies lead to a lot of money and power for them. I just do not believe that the people in control are stupid.