Mixing The Bag Of Capitalism

Is government intervention the answer? It was last week, when the federal government decided to prop up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If the government hadn’t made that move, some economists believe the fear of a recession could easily have morphed into the reality of a depression.A UC Davis professor’s summation of America’s attitude about government intervention is worth mentioning here — we don’t completely trust the free-market system, but it seems better, overall, than socialism, in which Big Brother calls all the shots.

Still, President Bush is correct. America’s economy is fundamentally sound — even though some of our industrial and business stalwarts will not survive these tough times.And we’re likely headed into even tougher situations. Consumers will be forced to make difficult choices, and because of those choices, some big business names will cease to exist. That’s how a free market works — and how it should work.

Our government leaders need to do what they can to help us through this rough patch. But they should let the free-market concept do its thing. If only the strong survive, then we will come out of this stronger. If we cave in, and cede all power and authority to Big Brother, government will be the only winner.

Read more @ The Lompoc Record.