Monday, September 3, 2018

The Inexplicable Accountable Act


The esteemed Sen. Warren has a new proposal that would revolutionize the country. The proposal is amusingly named, the “Accountable Capitalism Act.”  A summary:
Under Senator Warren’s proposal, no business with more than $1 billion in revenue would be permitted to legally operate without permission from the federal government. The federal government would then dictate to these businesses the composition of their boards, the details of internal corporate governance, compensation practices, personnel policies, and much more. Naturally, their political activities would be restricted, too. Senator Warren’s proposal entails the wholesale expropriation of private enterprise in the United States, and nothing less. Many of the "beneficiaries" of such a suicide pact would be an unspecific group called "stakeholders," by whom I suppose she means people without any real background or responsibility in such a venture.


it is generally assumed that this is mere posturing as she panders to her party's left wing. Nor would these notions ever survive the court challenges that would result. But in itself such bizarre proposals mean something serious, even if she's not. Under normal circumstances a prominent politician saying goofy, impossible and violently counter-cultural things would generate a backlash that would be cleansing. But not here. This over-the-top proposal has support; a lot of people agree with her. Those who oppose her are carefully quiet. Fortunately we have a constitution designed to protect us from such hare-brained ideas specifically anticipated by the geniuses who saw people like this coming.


Capitalism is not a philosophy; it is the product of a belief and confidence in freedom. This has always been a free culture, business friendly with a serous respect for the rule of law. What if the culture does not want to be that any more? And what's to prevent Microsoft from moving to Vancouver if they start to wonder?

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