Who, in making a list of America’s founding principles, would put “nonpunitive taxation” first?
Oh, right. A hedge fund manager. More seriously, there is this: “Many people see the collapse of the subprime markets, along with the failure and subsequent rescue of many banks, as failures of capitalism rather than a result of a vile stew of inept management, unaccountable boards of directors and overmatched regulators not just asleep, but comatose, at the proverbial switch.” This is just sloppy thinking. I’ve written more than most people about “inept management, unaccountable boards of directors, and overmatched regulators.” I’ve criticized the Obama administration in many more words than Daniel Loeb. But putting the blame on certain categories of people does not somehow absolve “capitalism.” Our capitalist system–which until recently we considered the best, most pure version in the world–allowed incompetent people to become executives (and to run hedge funds), allowed incompetent people to become directors and to avoid any responsibility for their actions, and allowed companies to
