May 05, 2010
The NYT somehow thinks that when President Obama insists that he is going to “keep our boot on the throat of BP” that he is going against free market principles. This is 180 degrees at odds with reality. BP caused damage to hundreds of thousands of people, possibly millions, living in the gulf states. Under free market principles, they are supposed to compensate people for the damage that they have caused by their irresponsible conduct.
However, the “socialists” in Congress passed legislation that limited BP’s damages to $75 million. This means that they ignored market principles and had the government step in and seize property from individuals and hand it to BP.
It would be good if the NYT and the rest of the media got the issues straight here. No one is arguing about a free market. We are arguing about whether a huge oil company can wreck people’s lives with impunity. Conservatives are claiming that they can, but this reflects their belief that the government exists to redistribute wealth income upward, not out of any commitment to the free market.
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