Friday, June 6, 2008

Some Economic Quotes O' The Day

"And to rid him of his juvenile notion that he is going to "change" society for the better from his hoped-for perch in the White House, Mr. Obama should study volume one of F.A. Hayek's Law, Legislation, and Liberty - a magisterial work that makes clear that society is far more vast, complex, and multidimensional than glib politicians realize."

"Robert Rorden writes: 'I believe that the activities of lobbyists have resulted in a corrupt government' (Letters, June 5). I think that the reverse is closer to the truth: a corrupt government has resulted in the activities of lobbyists."

"You applaud the prospect of Congress giving the FDA control over tobacco products, and wish only that this control were more complete ("Discomforting compromise," May 20). Be careful what you wish for. As government moves ever-closer to outlawing tobacco, consumer demands for tobacco will be met more and more by black-marketeers - suppliers against whom consumers will have virtually no legal recourse. Even worse, black-market suppliers - to minimize their risks of detection - will pack greater nicotine punch into each centimeter of cigarette. The unintended result of this steady move to toward tighter government control of the tobacco market will be less consumer information, weaker legal protections for consumers, and more potent and much more dangerous tobacco products."

"Finally, what moral precept advises us, in the case of petroleum products, to sympathize with buyers and demonize sellers, and in the case of housing, to ignore buyers and sympathize with sellers?"



~Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department f Economics
George Mason University

Quotes came via Cafe Hayek

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