That’s the title of an excellent article by Gerald O’Driscoll in today’s WSJ. His subject is the need for truth in pricing (something leftists say they’re for) if the economy is going to function efficiently.
Unfortunately, he writes, “In the U.S. today, we are moving away from reliance on honest pricing. The federal government controls 90% of housing finance. Policies to encourage home ownership remain on the books, and more have been added. Fed policies of low interest rates result in capital being misallocated across time….Distorted prices and interest rates no longer serve as accurate indicators of the relative importance of goods. Crony capitalism ensures the special access of protected firms and industries to capital.”
This is a superb, revealing article. I’d only add that once economic lying starts, it leads to exponentially more lying t in order to try covering up the ill-effects of the previous lies, just as a criminal has to keep inventing new lies to cover up his past ones.
