The Exposed Id Of The Democrat Party In Action
By Mitch Berg
A small gaggle of House Democrats, led by Dennis Kucinich, are proposing a “Reasonable Profits Board” to control corporate profits (in the energy sector, for the time being).
“But Mitch”, the liberals will respond, “it’s just Dennis Kucinich! It doesn’t matter!”
What, you think anything happens in Congress by accident? Without Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer’s direct permission?
This is at best an attempt to launch a chanting point to throw at Republicans in the fall – “John Kline supports excess profits!” – and at most a testing of the legislative waters.
Chad at Fraters Libertas points out that there is, of course, nothing reasonable about it:
If the idea of a “Reasonable Profits Boards” run by unelected government bureaucrats doesn’t make you recoil in horror, you must be ingnorant of the long history of such previous efforts by the state to dictate economic activities. But don’t you dare call this socialism. ‘Cause then, YOU would be the extremist.
Elder gets to the nature of how the Progressive Noise Machine works. Like the “Dayton Jerbs Bill”, it’s not about jobs or excess profits; both are about creating chanting points for the left to trot out this fall.
January 24th, 2012 at 9:21 am
I’m on vacation, don’t have my copy of “Atlas Shrugged” for reference. Maybe someone at home can supply the name of the equivalent “Reasonable Profits Board” from the novel. I’m sure Ayn Rand would have something to say. Maybe just “Who is John Galt?”
January 24th, 2012 at 9:28 am
I know a way to solve the Vikings stadium issue. Pass a law that limits players salaries to a reasonable limit. Say $150,000 a year.
January 24th, 2012 at 9:56 am
Golfdoc, I just watched the new film version of “Atlas Shrugged” last week and I was trying to recall the exact name of the “Equal Opportunity” legislation. Meanwhile, the oil fracking in North Dakota is getting the full Reardon Steel treatment by the scientists and enviros since there’s nothing like prosperity to get people to tell the government to go take a flying leap.
January 24th, 2012 at 10:26 am
We would probably have to do without some freedom to get this new “fairness”, where “fairness” is defined as attempting to satisfy some abstract “class jealousy”.
Hey, this would fit hand-in-glove with a “Reasonable Risks Board”! Then we could have a new “safety” to go with the new “fairness”, and get rid of the rest of that pesky freedom stuff.
January 24th, 2012 at 1:54 pm
Gee, don’t we live in an era in an era of unbridled capitalism? How can you make excessive profits when the running dogs of capitalism are willing to takeover whatever business you are doing without making excessive profits?
Could it be that the profits aren’t excessive when risk is factored in? Or that these businesses have used the power of the state to erect barriers to entry by competitors?
I know that it is terribly cynical of me to think this way about our fine, self-sacrificing public servants, but is it possible that this “Reasonable Profits Board” wouldn’t reduce consumer prices or increase services to the public, but would instead swoop down vulture-like on any business that has been politically targeted and demonized, confiscate these “unreasonable” profits and use them to fill the coffers of government so that people like Kucinich could dole more money out to their constituencies and so enhance their re-election chances?
Nah. Couldn’t be.