Unwarranted Intrusions : The Case Against Government Intervention in the Marketplace

What happens when politicians substitute their wisdom for the market’s? The result is usually a government subsidy that provides advantage to a special interest group only–but costs everyone and drains the economy. In Unwarranted Intrusions , well-known financial commentator Martin Fridson turns his sharp eye for uncovering opaque financial reporting practices to the U.S. government and examines the economic reality of some of the most popular yet financially draining subsidies. Fridson debunks programs that claim to provide jobs, encourage savings, provide affordable housing, and preserve family farms–among many others. Unwarranted Intrusions is a provocative and exhaustively researched challenge to prevailing political claims of programs that purport to protect the public good.

politicians Invariably Cite Lofty Purposes To Justify Government Intervention In The Marketplace. On Closer Examination, The Intercessions Usually Turn Out To Be Clever Schemes For Buying Support From Special Interests With Taxpayers' Money. The Already Advantaged Turn Out To Be The Biggest Beneficiaries, While The Resulting Misallocation Of Resources Afflicts Society At Large.

in Unwarranted Intrusions, Well-known Financial Commentator Martin Fridson Turns His Sharp Eye For Investment Deceptions And Accounting Ruses To Subterfuges Practiced By The U.s. Government. His Exhaustive Research Reveals Politicians From Both Sides Of The Aisle Basing Legislation On Elementary Economic Fallacies. George W. Bush And Hillary Clinton Play Their Parts In The Story, Along With Less Likely Figures Such As Al Jolson And Bozo The Clown.

the Opening Part, A Nation Of Subsidies, Focuses On Government Meddling That Ranges From Trade Protection And Publicly Financed Athletic Stadiums To Subsidies For The Arts. You'll Chuckle As Fridson Gleefully Debunks The Supposed Market Failures That Officeholders Use To Justify Their Machinations.

part Two, Restraint Of Trade, Assails Government Intrusions Into Ordinary Commercial Activities, Such As Apartment Rentals, The Operation Of Automatic Teller Machines, And Even Television Audience Ratings. You'll Be Forced To Reexamine Your Assumptions About Protecting The Public Against Volatile Stock Markets And Music Industry Payola.

in The Final Part, Telling It Like It Isn't, Fridson Details How Politicians Rely On Misrepresentations To Foist Badly Conceived Policies On The Electorate. From Exaggerating Their Impact On The Nation's Economic Performance To Periodically Pretending To Clean Up Campaign Finance, Fridson Shows That Politicians Repeatedly Prove Themselves To Be Masters Of False Advertising. Costly Government Intervention Operates On Such A Vast Scale That There Is No Chance Of Immediately Dismantling It All. The Good News Is That One Small Victory Can Represent A Huge Gain In Public Well-being. Filled With In-depth Insight And Practical Advice, Unwarranted Intrusions Will Open Your Mind To The Possibility Of Putting Our Dysfunctional System Back On Track.

From the Publisher: What happens when politicians substitute their wisdom for the market's? The result is usually a government subsidy that provides advantage to a special interest group only-but costs everyone and drains the economy. In Unwarranted Intrusions, well-known financial commentator Martin Fridson turns his sharp eye for uncovering opaque financial reporting practices to the U.S. government and examines the economic reality of some of the most popular yet financially draining subsidies. Fridson debunks programs that claim to provide jobs, encourage savings, provide affordable housing, and preserve family farms-among many others. Unwarranted Intrusions is a provocative and exhaustively researched challenge to prevailing political claims of programs that purport to protect the public good What happens when politicians substitute their wisdom for the market' s? The result is usually a government subsidy that provides advantage to a special interest group only- but costs everyone and drains the economy. In "Unwarranted Intrusions," well-known financial commentator Martin Fridson turns his sharp eye for uncovering opaque financial reporting practices to the U.S. government and examines the economic reality of some of the most popular yet financially draining subsidies. Fridson debunks programs that claim to provide jobs, encourage savings, provide affordable housing, and preserve family farms- among many others. "Unwarranted Intrusions" is a provocative and exhaustively researched challenge to prevailing political claims of programs that purport to protect the public good The politics of market intervention Here they come to save the day! Be it ever so deductible Protection racket How are you going to keep them down on the farm? Location and misallocation Getting the city to play ball Art of the state Stock arguments What's wrong with payola? What is big brother watching? Getting cash and making the rent Honesty is the worst policy Campaign finance reform : the permanent campaign Here's that rainy day The case of insurance fraud.