The Case for Crony Capitalism…the best we can do?

In response to the The Wall Street Journal opinion piece: The Case for Crony Capitalism on July 8, 2014:

                Due to inefficient over regulation, America has devolved from being the land of opportunity into a nation of STOP-PORTUNITY. Businesses are coming to a halt completely or moving to less regulated shores. Those that remain see profits punished due to the need to hire an army of compliance officers to battle the Government Goliath. The recent opinion piece, The Case for Crony Capitalism, concluded: “as long as there is a push for more regulation, and particularly inefficient regulation,... second-best solutions (Crony Capitalism) may be useful to temper some of their costs. … It’s not the optimal solution to government-induced inefficiency, but it may be the best we can do.”

                Why? Why is lobbying, hiring legions of compliance staff, and leaping through loopholes the best we can do to circumvent stupidity? WE THE PEOPLE elect the representatives in Washington, D.C. who are penning these tomes of disaster for our economy. The documents that founded our country did not need to be weighed by the pound. The United States Constitution has 4,543 WORDS. The Declaration of Independence has 1,458 WORDS. And The Bill of Rights, the most powerful rights ever guaranteed to a group of people, has 462 WORDS.

                Legislation today? Dodd-Frank, the poster child for regulatory absurdity, has swollen in size since its passage from its initial 848 PAGES to 13,789 PAGES!  If brevity is the soul of wit, then Washington, D.C. is full of nitwits; and WE THE PEOPLE can VOTE to change that. Term limits and word limits---legislation without economic strangulation! The platform is set. All we need are good candidates. Voting is our optimal solution. That is the best we can do.

Grace and Courage at the End of Life

Grace and Courage at the End of Life

Dave Shiflett's account of caring for his Dad was a moving reminder of the worth and meaning that can come from suffering.

Your article was published one week after my dad turned 90. Dave Shiflett's father and my father's approach to debilitating illness reinforced what was said of them and their brothers in arms who heroically fought in the Pacific during World War II, "Uncommon valor was a common virtue." I continue to witness that uncommon valor daily as my father, paralyzed, without the ability to speak, refuses to give up on life.

My father was the first one to accept his need to be in a nursing home. And my mother learned to accept their new reality as well. Together they fought to carve out a routine of living, even experiencing great moments of simple joy, in a place much maligned by society: a nursing home. She takes him for long walks in the fresh air. They watch their favorite programs and do simple children's puzzles together to pass the time. Sometimes, there are activities or visitors, but most of the time it is just the two of them.

My mother considers each day a gift—precious days to be with the man she loves. Her prayer before she goes to bed each night? "Dear God, let me live just one hour longer than him; let me be there for him in all ways for always."

Mary M. Glaser

Simsbury, Conn.