Tag Archives: crony capitalism

Crony capitalism

TechDirt has a notion that an honest journalist (there are some) could use to start investigating public-employee corruption: Cities that ban ride-sharing to protect their licensed taxi companies. Such as lefty Seattle.

Crony capitalism (as opposed to free-market capitalism) is about bribing pols to get them to outlaw competition—or favor one group over another. Much like Worm’s handouts to those wind and solar companies which promptly went belly-up. It’s fair to assume some of their money went back to him and his cronies or was so explicit in the deal that the money never left their pockets.

Not that we’ll likely ever know. There’s a limit even to “honest” journalism. Fear of being labeled “racist,” for instance. And worse, when their fellow Democrats are involved.

Via Instapundit.

Obamalot’s dwindling approval

Fifty-seven percent of Independents now disapprove of what he’s doing. And their votes are likely to determine the election. They certainly have a lot to be concerned about, as Sarah (yes, that Sarah) outlines:

“…a debt crisis that has us hurtling towards a Greek-style collapse, entitlement programs going bankrupt, a credit downgrade for the first time in our history, a government takeover of the health care industry that makes care more expensive and puts a rationing panel of faceless bureaucrats between you and your doctor (aka a “death panel”), $4 and $5 gas at the pump exacerbated by an anti-drilling agenda that rejects good paying energy sector jobs and makes us more dependent on dangerous foreign regimes,

“a war in Afghanistan that seems unfocused and unending, a global presidential apology tour that’s made us look feeble and ridiculous, a housing market in the tank, the longest streak of high unemployment since World War II, private-sector job creators and industry strangled by burdensome regulations and an out-of-control Obama EPA, an attack on the Constitutional protection of religious liberty,

“an attack on private industry in right-to-work states, crony capitalism run amok in an administration in bed with their favored cronies to the detriment of genuine free market capitalism, green energy pay-to-play kickbacks to Obama campaign donors, and a Justice Department still stonewalling on a bungled operation that armed violent Mexican drug lords and led to the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.”

If only that 57 percent holds until November. Probably won’t, though. I figure most of them voted for him to begin with because of the novelty, i.e., his skin color. They certainly didn’t know much about his radical preferences because big media hid it from them. And none of that has changed.

Plus big media (his court media, after all) will be banging their tin drums for him and against the Republicans just like they did in ’08. Have the Independents figured out yet what shills they are? Gad, I hope so.