I read Bonnie Hauser’s recent letter (Carrboro Citizen, Oct. 25) with interest, and was glad to learn that we have a creative young physician as the “new guy in town.†I suppose he has an excellent medical practice, but Ms. Hauser wants him in Congress. Her letter convinces me that underneath he is an old-fashioned Republican ideologist believing that Adam Smith’s “invisible hand†will produce prosperity, and that government should not interfere with (i.e., “regulateâ€) business. The disaster in Wall Street tells us otherwise.
David Price has demonstrated that he can make government work for the people — for education, business and agriculture. He has served us well, even in spite of presidential vetoes, and he now holds important positions on financial and other committees. With a Democratic president, he can do far more for us than any “new guy.â€
Herbert S. Bailey, Jr.
Chapel Hill
While I am a supporter of Representative Price, I must disagree with your assessment that Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” theories have aided the current Wall Street disaster and credit freeze. If the current executive branch hadn’t made it legal for banks to borrow with no reserve basis and then insure that which had no value, then we might have avoided this mess.
Now it seems that our government insists on following bad money with good money (or more debt, as it is). It seems to me that the current republican financial philosophy is diametrically opposed to “hands off” economic theory.
Also, merely passing Dr. Lawson off as a new guy republican does a disservice to us all. While he might not mirror your political views, now would be a good time for all of us to take the time to review all of our options for representation very carefully, given the current “powers that be” debacle.
It is way past time for Price to go. He voted for the war, bailed out Wall Street, etc etc. He sounds more Republican than Lawson, and certainly does not represent the Orange County Progressives.
Wow, this is exactly the type of political bigotry that I have written about on my blog,Dems for Lawson, http://www.demsforlawson.com
It really amazes me that we–Democrats– have lowered the bar so low that a guy who voted for FISA, the Patriot Act, funding of this asinine and mismanaged war and–to top it all off–voted not once, but twice to bail out Wall Street is put forth as the progressive.
Tell me, Mr. Bailey, Jr., do you even know any of Dr. Lawson’s views? He says that our money system is controlled by a banking monoply (the Federal Reserve) so he believes in regulating the heck out of the banks.
So, sir, before you espouse the talking points of the Congressman, please do your research.
As Tim Harper states, the “invisible hand” had nothing to do with the current economic situation. This was brought about by a combination of the Federal Reserves pumping of cheap credit into the market and manipulation of interest rates, which stimulated too much borrowing and built a massive credit bubble (and credit derivatives bubble) destined to pop and cause an economic downturn. We haven’t seen the worst yet. fractional reserve banking didn’t help, either. B.J. Lawson understands this and is against both fractional reserve banking and the Fed’s monopoly power over our financial system.
Furthermore, the economic policies throughout the last three decades have been anything but lasseiz-faire, as the government has imposed a significant burden on the economy through deficit spending (particularly on the military), market-distorting corporate welfare subsidies, and regulations holding back developments of new products and industries (Such as the development of hemp enthanol as an alternative to fossil fuels).
If by “making government work” for the people you mean making it work for big business with a long history of support for corporate welfare as well as support for belligerent interventionist foreign policy and Bill of Rights-shredding policies such as the Patriot Act, the John Warner Defense Act, the creation of the Real ID, and the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act; then David Price is certainly your man. If you want a representative who will be a consistent advocate for humble and peaceful foreign policy, the Bill of Rights, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, and an economic policy that expands free enterprise while holding corporations who violate individual rights accountable, then B.J. Lawson is your man.