When Russia’s Prime Minister is cautioning us against excessive governmental involvement with the economy. Mr. President, when the leader of Russia is warning you against “excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence”, it should be an obvious red flag (no pun intended). Maybe, just maybe, the Russians have some experience with attempting to use the state to control the economy. Maybe we ought to listen when Putin says, “In the long run, this [governmental intervention] made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated.”
I mean, when even Putin is saying things like, “Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors, and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state,” perhaps it’s time to re-think these bailout plans.
I am reminded of a saying: Some men learn from watching others, and some men have to pee on the electric fence themselves. Let’s try to learn from others on this one, because it’s going to be one hell of a painful shock if we don’t.
