Quote of the day–Thomas Sowell

Policies that he proposes under the banner of “change” are almost all policies that have been tried repeatedly in other countries— and failed repeatedly in other countries.


Politicians telling businesses how to operate? That’s been tried in countries around the world, especially during the second half of the 20th century. It has failed so often and so badly that even socialist and communist governments were freeing up their markets by the end of the century.


The economies of China and India began their take-off into high rates of growth when they got rid of precisely the kinds of policies that Obama is advocating for the United States under the magic mantra of “change.”

Putting restrictions on international trade in order to save jobs at home? That was tried here with the Hawley-Smoot tariff during the Great Depression.

Unemployment was 9 percent when that tariff was passed to save jobs, but unemployment went up instead of down, and reached 25 percent before the decade was over.

Higher taxes to “spread the well around,” as Obama puts it? The idea of redistributing wealth has turned into the reality of redistributing poverty, in countries where wealth has fled and the production of new wealth has been stifled by a lack of incentives.


Thomas Sowell
October 29, 2008
A perfect storm
[Via an email from Lyle. I had so many possibilities for quotes today that it was tough to choose. And all of them are time sensitive too. –Joe]

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