Crony-Capitalism cronyism rent-seeking Corruption

Opportunity for All - Favoritism for None

corrupt big business and big government enrich the well connected at the expense of working people

By: Multiple Authors

Book Review

Opportunity for All - Favoritism for None, is a free pdf book published by the Heritage Foundation.

Although this book has been published by what is considered a far right-wing organization, you will be surprised to find an expose of many problems also recognized by the left. It is a good starting place to finding and examining our commonly shared concern about the problems facing the people as they struggle against the power and domination of the elite.

The introduction to Opportunity for All states that it seeks to expose Crony Capitalism in America the has led to "... corruption of the public and private sectors which touches nearly every aspect of law and regulation, serving to enrich the well-connected and immunize them from the consequences of their actions.

"The government’s involvement in business is often thought of as protecting the people, but just the opposite is frequently the case as it picks winners and losers and rewards those with political clout. Examples include bank bailouts, green subsidies, occupational licensing, federal education funding, etc. Unless and until the sweetheart deals end, the people will suffer. The unfair inequality this corruption creates will not end until the rules apply to everyone, including rich businessmen, special interests and the power brokers in Washington and every state capital.

"This 192 page online book highlights the interaction of big business and government in promoting and sustaining the wealthy and well connected at the expense of working people and small business entrepreneurs, creating unjust inequality. It looks at the labor market, energy, education, healthcare, regulation, bailouts, welfare, government spending, personal liberty and foreign policy.

"The problem addressed here is not a liberal problem or a conservative problem. It is corruption that steals wealth from almost all Americans. There are those on both the right and left that contribute to this corruption and there are also those on both sides that rightly oppose what is going on and are seeking ways to correct it. They don’t disagree on the problem, but they frequently disagree on the causes and the solutions. It is time for those who really care about justice and fairness to work together to identify the real culprits and seek real solutions that benefit the American people instead of big business, special interests, and the political class.

"This book, published by Heritage Foundation, analyses the problem from the perspective of those who believe individual liberty and self-determination should be the source of the solutions. Reviews of other perspectives are needed and should be referenced in the list of recommended articles at the end of this wiki page."

Chapters:

The book is comprised twelve chapters on a variety of subjects, written by different authors. The introductions to the chapters include the following quotes:

Restoring Opportunity in the Labor Market

by James Sherk

“Workers face many challenges in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Wages and job opportunities have grown slowly since the recovery began six years ago, while technology continues to change the nature of work. Although many workers enjoy opportunities unimaginable a generation ago, many others feel the economy has left them behind.

”Policies that make employees more productive could help these workers get ahead, as average compensation has closely tracked workers’ productivity in the postwar era. Regrettably, government policies have instead added to employment woes by creating labor cartels. Excessive occupational licensing makes it difficult for dislocated workers to apply for many jobs. Reduced competition from the unemployed raises the earnings of license holders at the expense of job opportunities and higher prices for everyone else. Such labor cartels hurt the economy and most workers.

“To help workers get ahead, policymakers should eliminate licensing barriers and focus on increasing worker productivity. Ending these distortions driven by special interests would help more workers to realize the American dream.”

Free Market Energy Solutions

by Nicolas D. Loris

“Energy production has been …, driving job creation and creating opportunities for Americans across the country. Increased energy supplies have saved consumers money directly on their energy bills and indirectly through lower prices for goods and services. The energy boom has also revitalized parts of the country where businesses have taken advantage of abundant, affordable natural gas.

“... Despite the successes, America’s energy policy is fraught with problems. The federal government has delayed projects, restricted access, and overregulated industry at great cost to consumers struggling to pay for home heating bills and gasoline and to workers struggling to hold on in the post-collapse economy to jobs at coal-fired power plants the left hopes to shutter. Furthermore, Washington provides taxpayer-funded subsidies and imposes arbitrary mandates that reward political connectedness over economic viability. … While this arrangement satisfies radical environmentalists and well-connected players in the subsidy-dependent green energy industry, working Americans who pay the price in higher energy costs lose out.”

Federalism and Education

by Lindsey M. Burke

“Many reform advocates embrace conservative ideas on education choice and have drawn attention to the pernicious effects of teachers’ unions on education. … Although those engaged in education reform in and out of government have recognized the need to improve performance and increase education choice, some reformers have endorsed prescriptive means of forcing change at the local level. … without appreciating … the value of local experimentation, …. They have come to view education reform as a national policy question, failing to recognize the advantages of allowing communities the freedom to develop their own approaches, or to recognize that those people closest to the students are best equipped to direct dollars and decision-making.”

Changing the Game in Higher Education

by Lindsey M. Burke

“… few impediments to opportunity loom larger for young people than student loan debt. … an especially heavy burden given the difficulties they continue to face in the post-2008 labor market. Yet for all the money Americans spend on higher education, the value of a college degree is hardly a clear proposition. Given the waste, both in terms of administrative costs and frivolous coursework, at many four-year institutions, students are increasingly turning to new options like online courses to trim the fat, learning precisely what they want without wasting money to subsidize university largesse. But these options remain unconventional for a reason: because their legitimacy is not recognized by the accreditation system bearing the federal imprimatur, they are at a major disadvantage in the higher education market. This system does not persist because it is efficient. It remains because it serves the special interests of the higher education industry.”

Health Care Reform

by Edmund Haislmaier, Robert Moffit, Nina Owcharenko, and Alyene Senger

“In the next phase of the health care debate, supporters of Obamacare will undoubtedly attempt to fix or tweak the weaknesses and failures of the law. Such an approach would be based on preserving and expanding the government’s role in health care. Indeed, some analysts have already proposed policies that would further strengthen the government’s hand in managing and regulating the health care system.

“Those who reject the notion of increasing government control in health care can pursue an alternative path—a path based on the principles of patient-centered, market-based health care reforms. That alternative path not only gives individuals greater choice, but also empowers them to make their own health care decisions.”

“The need for health care reform has never been questioned by … either side of the political spectrum. Furthermore, the broad goals of controlling costs, improving quality, and expanding access are widely shared. Yet, while both sides agree that reform is necessary, their policy solutions differ dramatically, most importantly on the question of who controls the key decisions in health care.

“For the Obama Administration and defenders of Obamacare, the common conviction is that for major issues in health care, government officials should be the key decision makers. …. In contrast, those who believe in a patient-centered, market-based approach to reform trust individuals, not the government, to be the key decision makers in the financing of health care.”

Regulation: Killing Opportunity

by James Gattuso and Diane Katz

“… President Barack Obama vowed to wield his executive powers when faced with congressional resistance to his legislative agenda: …. “So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation ... that’s what I am going to do.1 … regulatory overreach by the executive branch is only part of the problem. Congress, too, is a major culprit. Lawmakers routinely delegate their policy-making powers to regulatory agencies. Furthermore, much of the red tape imposed over the past five years has been driven by “independent” agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which are outside direct presidential control. From finance to telecommunications, these agencies have added to the regulatory tide swamping American businesses and families. … Of particular concern is that the FCC has launched yet another attempt to regulate Internet traffic.

“Reforms of the regulatory process are critically needed.”

Ending Too-Big-To-Fail

by Norbert J. Michel

“The financial crisis of 2008 led to … sweeping new financial regulations, further bringing the financial sector under government control and providing new protections to troubled, “too-big-to-fail” firms.

“… (those in government) argue that the financial crisis of 2008 was a disaster resulting from the worst excesses of the free market. … convinced many Americans that a lack of regulation caused the crisis …. Supposedly, unbridled capitalism of the George W. Bush years crashed the economy, and the heroic application of federal power via emergency bailouts, massive stimulus, and new regulations spurred us to recovery. …

“A more accurate reading of history tells a very different story. Government involvement in the mortgage lending industry exerted a heavy influence on private firms to extend lending to subprime borrowers, enriching those firms and their executives in the process but generating enormous long-term risk for the taxpayer. Unsurprisingly, this distortion created a bubble, which popped in spectacular fashion. … When the ripple effect brought down Wall Street, taxpayer-financed bailouts were delivered to a select group of well-connected, irresponsible, and overextended firms, and legislators chose to punish other, smaller banks and financial institutions with egregious regulations in the name of reforming the system.

“… Since the crisis, the very institutions that played a central role in the collapse have been virtually untouched by any corrective regulation or action from Congress. Those regulations that were put in place subsequently have … entrench the established players in the system.”

Welfare Reform

by Robert Rector and Rachel Sheffield

“The size of the welfare system has been on an upward climb since the federal government began its War on Poverty in the 1960s. Adjusting for inflation, welfare spending has increased by 16-fold since then, and today means-tested welfare costs taxpayers nearly $1 trillion annually. …, exceeded only by old-age entitlements.1 Despite tens of trillions of dollars in spending on the War on Poverty over the last half century, self-sufficiency rates have languished ….

“Conservatives can and should take the lead on fighting poverty, encouraging anti-poverty policy that helps rather than hinders thriving. … welfare system has failed the poor. Instead of simply providing a one-way handout that encourages a culture of dependency and too often traps individuals at the margins of society, conservatives should advance policy that respects the dignity of the person by emphasizing the significance of work and marriage to fight poverty and promote self-sufficiency.”

Eliminating Waste and Controlling Government Spending

by Romina Boccia

“A 2014 Gallup poll reported that Americans think the federal government wastes 51 cents of every dollar they pay in taxes.1 ….

“The federal government does too many things that would be done better by individuals or businesses in the private sector, or by state and local governments, or that should not be done at all. Moreover, unnecessary taxing, spending, and regulating distorts economic activity in numerous ways, leading to less growth and prosperity than if the government refrained from acting outside its proper constitutional domain.

“Ultimately, succeeding in eliminating waste and controlling government spending requires reducing the size and scope of the federal government.”

Tax Reform to Help American Families

by Curtis S. Bubay

“Tax reform is one of the vital policy improvements necessary to revive the laboring economy. Despite widespread agreement on this fact, the prospects of Congress passing and the president signing a tax reform bill are low.

“One reason for this mismatch … is a lack of pressure from American families on lawmakers. …

“To elicit the public demand that would compel Washington to act, proponents need to make a better-defined argument for why families would benefit from tax reform. That would give them a tangible reason to push tax reform.

“If American families believe that tax reform would raise their incomes by thousands of dollars a year and increase opportunities for them and their children, they would push their representatives to support tax reform more strongly.”

Life, Marriage, Religious Liberty, and Prosperity

by Ryan Anderson and Sarah Torre

“To hear some political commentators talk, economic and social issues should not be discussed in the same breath. If policymakers just focused on lower taxes and job growth, ignoring cultural issues like the breakdown of marriage or assaults on religious freedom, we could move toward a freer society and a more limited government.

“But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Reducing taxes, freeing businesses to create more jobs, and cutting down on government regulation are all important. It takes a thriving economy and functioning market to help lift families out of poverty and advance human flourishing. But it also takes strong families, a healthy marriage culture, and a robust civil society to provide the sort of social solidarity that serves as a necessary precondition to economic prosperity and limited government.”

A New Foreign Policy Agenda

by Kim Holmes and William Inboden

“World events are deteriorating rapidly, and national security is more on people’s minds. There is widespread popular discontent with the current Administration’s foreign policies. Even prominent Democrats are raising significant questions about the direction of U.S. strategy. Republicans are searching for a consistent foreign policy vision. The time is ripe to start thinking about what an alternative foreign policy should be.”

Safe Anchors

Despotism: when the elite rule for their own benefit, the people suffer

Publisher

Heritage Foundation, January 2015 - published and freely available on line at Opportunity for All, Favoritism to None