Yaron Brook on the Economic Crisis

 Posted by on 22 September 2008 at 12:08 am  ARI, Economics, Finance
Sep 222008
 

The September 19, 2008 issue of Time magazine recently quoted Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute, in its recent article on the economic crisis:

What Would Ayn Rand Have Done?

…But as the largest bailout in government history unfolded in almost dizzying waves over recent days, a very different view prevailed at the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, an outpost of free-market, anti-government thinking located just a few blocks from the newly aggressive and highly interventionist Department of Treasury in downtown Washington.

“It’s a complete disaster,” said Yaron Brook, the executive director of the center. “Its a form of national socialism of the financial markets…This is socialism 101.”

…Brook doesn’t blame speculators, traders or financiers for the market’s near-collapse, but instead blames government for having overregulated the markets in the first place. The business leaders bailed out by government this week “are victims,” he said, “and the government set it up.” Washington underreacted to previous crisis, let Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac spin wildly out of control as quasigovernment agencies while taxpayers piled up unsecured debt in their names. The crisis, he added, was “really fed throughout by government policies.”

He also notes that the current Republican administration is doing more harm in intervening in the marketplace than a Democratic administration likely could have.

   
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