22 August 2010

The Other Gecko

We have "Animal Farm" (not "Animal House", you sot) to thank for the observation that all pigs are equal, but some pigs are more equal than others. It has been the driving thesis of this endeavor that until we move toward a more equitable distribution of the nation's income and wealth, the economy and society will be mired in mud. Once again, the NY Times comes to the rescue with a story dredging up data, and an unlikely ally, to support the thesis.

Mind, I view the proposition as axiomatic, not empirical. Any (honest) data will affirm the thesis, just as for all right triangles, a2 + b2 = c2. As I have mentioned, the two prior Great Depressions, of 1873 (called The Panic of) and 1929 were preceded by a period of massive transfer of wealth from the many to the few.

Today's Times brings us the story of a Harvard Business School professor. The B School is known not to be a hotbed of flower power liberalism. To the contrary, there's that large statue of Gordon Gecko in the main auditorium, which re-animates during graduations to intone "Greed, is Good". Yet one of The Chosen has looked at the numbers, and lo and behold, may be those rich folks and market geniuses aren't quite so smart.

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