Learn from socialists

First, a big shout-out to Joseph Atwater. You’re my new favorite poster! But just to be clear, it’s too late to get my name on November’s ballot in most states, so I’m disbanding my exploratory committee.

Now to the issue at-hand. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to have a quick interview with Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman. During a lighthearted moment he made a comment to the effect that Americans shouldn’t try socialism because, unlike Europeans, they aren’t any good at it.

Fast-forwarded to modern Washington, where the party of small government wants to nationalize Wall Street. In the spirit of the late economist, I suggest that if we are going to become socialists, we at least ought to try to learn from the best.

That leads me this recent story in the New York Times about how Sweden solved a similar economic meltdown in the early ’90s.

The difference is the Swedes weren’t nearly as socialistic as Bush, Pelosi and Reid want us to be. They put the pain on banks and investors, not the taxpayers, and they ended up getting virtually all the money back, saving their economy on the process.

Read it and tell me what you think.