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John Chamberlain of Longmont writes:

Nothing does more to hinder the acceptance of free markets as a faux defender defending a faux free market. Mike Rosen and the U.S. economy, respectively, are excellent examples. His column “Is the boss overpaid?” (Feb. 2) says we shouldn’t worry about CEO compensation because it’s just the free market at work.
Rosen is correct to say, “[T]he remedy certainly isn’t more government meddling,” but does he really think we live in a free-market economy? In a thousand ways, government intervention at the behest of dominant business interests crushes competition and protects incumbent firms and managers.
He says, “The market remedy for business stupidity is failure and hostile takeovers.” Is he not aware of the complex of federal and state laws, such as the Williams Act, that diminish the threat of corporate takeovers? And what about the firms that are “too big” to fail, such as Chrysler or any of the major defense contractors?
Many more people will come to understand the justice and fairness of the free market if only we admit that we currently don’t have one.

READER COMMENTS

Well put. "Free market" is code for "Don't interfere with our way of doing business"

Non-free market idea was tried and failed big time. Most of the people that rail against a free market have no marketable skills.

The voice of the ideologue. The economic world isn't divided into free market and non-free market. Virtually all economies, including the U.S., are mixed.

I am sure the mining companies that I own stock in could increase profits if they were able to pay children 10 cents a day to mine coal. Damn you government interference.

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