This post is in response to Stephan’s. My objection to limited liability is actually one that he passes over quickly, and is not quite the same as van Eeghen’s. He says, “As for voluntary debts being limited to the corporation’s assets; this is no problem since the creditor knows these limitations when he loans money.”
Piet-Hein van Eeghen’s article “The Corporation At Issue, Part I: The Clash With Classical Liberal Values and the Negative Consequences for Capitalist Practices,” in the latest issue of the JLS, argues that “the corporate form of business organization is inherently incompatible with the principles of classical liberalism.” (Further summary of van Eeghen’s piece reprinted below.)
California is having a November 8 special election with nationwide consequences. Of particular importance, because of the implications if it wins and its momentum spreads similar initiatives throughout the country, is Proposition 75, which would require public employee unions to obtain members’ permission before using their dues for political activities. The large stakes are reflected in campaign spending of over $100 million, with substantial amounts from outside the state.
Despite all of the public wailing for the desperate state of the poor left behind in New Orleans, to say nothing of all the low-wage workers who recently lost their employers down along the Bayou, the White House announced today that it will apply Davis-Bacon workplace rules to federally-funded reconstruction work in New Orleans.
On October 24 President Bush nominated Ben S. Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In response, Wall Street became very excited and pushed the Dow Industrial average up by almost 1.7%. The media and the pundit class were overjoyed too.
Most experts regard this successor to Greenspan as one of the greatest monetary economists of our times. So if anyone can step into the big shoes of Alan Greenspan it is Bernanke.
What we are seeing is a repeat of the hosannas that greeted Greenspan when he followed Volcker in that sainted position.
I am always annoyed when money is referred to as a “store of value”. Value is not a substance that can be stored; it is demonstrated in action.
As Mises writes, “Value is the importance that acting man attaches to ultimate ends. ... Value is not intrinsic, it is not in things. It is within us; it is the way in which man reacts to the conditions of his environment. ... It is reflected in human conduct.”
Future Shock at the Fed (New York Times, requires free registration)
O Sage! O Confidence Man (Forbes magazine, requires free registration)
