Even Adam Smith said capitalists have to be restrained Re: “Newt Gingrich: Perverse product of political system,” Jan. 12
Adam Smith devoted the second half of “The Wealth of Nations” to the need for tight regulation of businesses because their proprietors invariably dedicate themselves to making sure that markets are rigged in their favor.
There are now 29,000 corporate lobbyists influencing Congress via direct and indirect campaign contributions in the form of political action groups and their well-financed attack ads. For every policymaker on Capitol Hill, there is a corporate lobbyist taking him out to lunch. It is no accident that members of Congress leave Washington as multimillionaires after spending their careers catering to the needs of their corporate masters.
Corporate raiders are very much in the capitalist tradition. They are not in it for the good of the public or company employees, but to make the biggest profit possible for themselves — often using debt financing to achieve it.
But excessive greed backfires every time. Louis XIV learned that the hard way in 1789 when he only taxed the peasants and gave tax-exempt status to the 40,000 nobles who owned all the land in France. They were all disposed of “with extreme prejudice.” In November, we will see whether the GOP’s economic recovery hoax has done so once again.
Richard Kreutzberg
Bethesda
Community responsible for two senseless deaths
Re: “The justice system failed Elaine Coleman,” Jan. 9
Harry Jaffe implies that one murder is more important to speak about than another, and that Mayor Vincent Gray and his administration aren’t concerned about decreasing domestic violence. This is offensive to both the family of David Lee Robinson and the mayor.
Senseless violence — whether it is against a young boy on the street or domestic violence at home — are both terrible crimes. Even if Elaine Coleman’s neighbors had warned her of the threats, she still would have had to do something about them. There are too many woman who are afraid to do that and don’t have the support they need.
In both cases, the community should take responsibility. That’s what we mean when we use the phrase “It takes a village.” We need to care for each other. We need to teach our children right from wrong. We need to speak up when we hear our neighbors being threatened.
But it’s wrong to chastise the mayor for speaking up against the senseless violence that caused the death of a good young man just because he didn’t speak up with regard to another senseless death.
Peter D. Rosenstein
Washington
Bag tax is all about revenue, not the environment
Re: “First day of bag fee in Montgomery County,” Jan. 1
The statement that the bag tax is good for the environment is a flat-out lie. This is just another progressive tax to create a revenue stream to support more government spending.
The only environmentally friendly solution is to eliminate all store plastic bags, period. North Carolina did just that. Paper bags are benign and pose no environmental threat.
A bag tax serves no environmental purpose. Its only purpose is to fatten government.
S.P. Wassel
Arlington
