This is what happens when capitalism/libertarianism/individulalism runs amok. Look, lets have a ittle background. Greenspan was not just a Libertarian, but an Objectivist, a disciple of Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead ect). She belived in pure meritocracy, the free market and pure individualism. Government and community held no place, and as a refugee from the Bolsheviks who could blame her? Now, thats all well and good, but what she and Greenspan failed to get was that the free market depends on the rule of law. This only happens in organized communities with some basic shared values (not unanimity or homogenaity, just core beliefs) that provide the glue to hold the thing toghther. A cheap analogy is that they focused on atoms, not molecules. For Greenspan, the market ruled, effieciency was king, and he didn't care if work was done in Cleavland or Chiapas, by Americans or illegals. Cheap labor equals a lower price. Problem is that neither he nor Rand understood the one good economic idea Marx had, and that is the "Crisis of Realization" (Das Kapital volume I) . The idea is this. Competition, particularly international competition (and this includes illegals) , will drive wages lower, reduce costs and promote effeciency. The problem comes when the guys making Chevys, or Nikes or whatever, can't afford to buy them. A cheap product, but no market. If we all are paid Wall-Mart wages, we'll all be shopping at Wall-Mart. Greenspans idea of us being a "privileged class" eg Americans who were born here, played by the rules, and had our educations paid for by our own labor and our parent's savings, is an affront to the very idea of community. To him, a computer science graduate from an American university should have to compete here at home, equally, with a a guy from Mumbai with an HB-1 visa. Our wages should drop to those of India as computers will be cheaper. This makes no sense. Not only do we risk hitting a point where those folks can't afford the lap tops they build, but we also forfiet the capital in terms of infra-structure and expertise required to train them. We are eating the seed corn. (Think I'm kidding? Go into a Wally World and try to buy American. How many more dollars can we send to China before they just foreclose?). We must insist on labor laws that "privelege" our own and deport illegalls and jail those that hire them. We must tax corporations that "out source" over seas higher than those that build here. Greenspan and Rand were OK on econ., but they ignored politics. The nation state is the basic unit of community, power and security. Thinking you can dissolve it in a double entry ledger is folly. Economics is fine, but money doesn't trump security. Security comes from power and power is found n community. The socialists and plutocrats don't get this. The patriots and the miiddle classes do. Rant over, sorry M'lette.
FQ13