… is from George Will’s new column on Elizabeth Warren:
Warren is too busy inveighing against “corruption” to define it precisely, but she probably means what economists call rent-seeking, which in the context of politics means bending government power for private advantage, either by conferring advantages on oneself or imposing disadvantages on competitors. Although Warren’s inveighing is virtuous, her program would substantially exacerbate the problem by deepening government’s involvement in the allocation of wealth and opportunity.
DBx: Indeed so.
It remains a fact as fascinating as it is mystifying that Sen. Warren and other self-styled “Progressives” – who rightly warn that rich folks are more likely than are poor folks to abuse whatever political power that happens to exist – seek to ‘solve’ the problem of the abuse of political power not by reducing the amount of political power available to be abused (quite the contrary!) but by reducing the incentives to get rich.
“Progressives” love political power. It is the be all and end all of what they seek and what they worship. And (“Progressives” assure us) if they (and only they) possess such awesome power, they will use it to our benefit – and use it only wisely and well.
As George Will so often punctuates a report of a dubious notion: Well.
