Treasury program is destined to fail
Published in The Tennessean , March 29, 2009 Treasury program is destined to fail By Richard J. Grant If the purpose of the new Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP) is to make the financial markets work better, then it will fail. If the purpose is to transfer wealth from U.S. taxpayers and holders of U.S. dollars to those who are politically favored, then the plan will succeed. It always amazes me how much effort some people will expend to get something for nothing. Increasingly, the role of the federal government has become one of aiding and abetting such efforts. As the Treasury secretary takes on his new role as wet nurse to the financial industry, we should be under no illusion as to who is really being milked. This latest plan, like most government plans, is a net destroyer of wealth. Does it not make sense that, if you want markets to work, you should not interfere with them? But I hear you respond, "We need a basic legal structure for markets to work!" Do you mean...