Atlas Shrugged and Today

Here's a story comparing the events of Atlas Shrugged and what's going on in the government today and for the last 9 years.

"Bankers and hedge funds today, like Rearden and the other industrialists in "Atlas Shrugged," are denounced as selfish, greedy profit seekers.

And everyone knows that selfishness and profit seeking are evil, right?

Further, the justification of every new government scheme in our world, as in the world of "Atlas Shrugged," is that it places "the public interest" above private profit.

When the government created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, authorizing them to guarantee trillions of dollars in mortgages, what was the justification? It's in "the public interest" to promote homeownership for countless Americans.

When the housing bubble collapsed, what was the justification for bailing out failing institutions? "The public interest" demands the preservation of illiquid and insolvent banks. The justification for bailing out GM? It's in "the public interest" to keep GM workers employed."


Full story here