Unwarranted Intrusions: The Case Against Government Intervention in the Marketplace Review

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Unwarranted Intrusions: The Case Against Government Intervention in the Marketplace ReviewI agree with nearly everything that the author says. His arguments against the economic effectiveness of government subsidies and intervention in the markets appeal to my libertarian streak and it is well known that many (most?) of the government programs are economically counterproductive. Some are downright silly. One of the most ridiculous, primarily because it went all the way to the United States Supreme Court, is the case of Karen Finley. She was an "artist" whose primary area of expertise was smearing her naked body with food. In special instances, she raised money by having people pay to lick the food, primarily chocolate, off her body. When her NEA grant application was rejected, Finley sued. So silly, yet so significant. For the real issue was twofold.
*) Should the federal government use tax money to fund art?
*) If the answer to the first question is yes, what are the bounds on the art?
And this also raises a more general question concerning the use of public money to benefit small groups, the often-reviled "special interests." For if the federal government could not stop funding the fringe artists, there is no hope of stopping the real expensive cases of corporate welfare.
One of the greatest is the enormous subsidy paid to American farmers to raise surplus food. Not only is it an expensive and deceptive program, it helps to keep subsistence farmers in other countries in poverty. As Fridson points out, while politicians demand that the program be kept alive to preserve the family farm, the reality is that there really is no such thing anymore. Billions of dollars in payments go to large corporate farms, which are the only ones that can grow the cheap food demanded by society at a price that it will accept. The hidden costs paid by the generic taxpayer are rarely factored in, and when they are they are conveniently ignored by the policy makers.
Fridson also debunks the so-called "ethanol solution." Namely, take all of the surplus corn, convert it into ethanol, use it as fuel for automobiles and free the United States from having to import foreign oil. Tax credits and other gifts are used to promote the use of ethanol, with the thought being that farm prices will rise. The reality is that the farmer gets very little of the benefit, the bulk going to the distiller and the retailer. In fact, a Department of Energy estimate stated that every extra dollar of farm income from the use of ethanol costs the taxpayer four. Furthermore, since it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than can be retrieved from using it, ethanol may actually increase the dependence on foreign oil. Finally, in my home state of Iowa, the bumper stickers praise the use of ethanol, as it is touted as a fuel that burns cleaner. This "fact" has been refuted, although ethanol has some advantages, the different disadvantages mean that overall it pollutes as much as the burning of fossil fuels.
Where I disagree with Fridson is in his unwavering belief in the markets and the thought that people will always act honorably and honestly. As the recent corporate scandals demonstrate, there are crooks in low and high places and only the government can make and enforce the rules that will keep them as honest as possible. However, in general, I agreed with Fridson, all the while knowing how futile the task of trying to change these things for the better is.
Unwarranted Intrusions: The Case Against Government Intervention in the Marketplace OverviewWhat happens when politicians substitute their wisdom for the market's? The result is usually a government subsidy that provides advantage to a special interest group only–but costs everyone and drains the economy. In Unwarranted Intrusions, well-known financial commentator Martin Fridson turns his sharp eye for uncovering opaque financial reporting practices to the U.S. government and examines the economic reality of some of the most popular yet financially draining subsidies. Fridson debunks programs that claim to provide jobs, encourage savings, provide affordable housing, and preserve family farms–among many others. Unwarranted Intrusions is a provocative and exhaustively researched challenge to prevailing political claims of programs that purport to protect the public good.

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