不必要的闯入
2005-12
John Wiley & Sons Inc
Fridson, Martin S.
309
Politicians invariably cite lofty purposes to justify government intervention in the marketplace. On closer examination, the intercessions usually turn out to be clever schemes for buying support from special interests with taxpayers' money. The already advantaged turn out to be the biggest beneficiaries, while the resulting misallocation of resources afflicts society at large. In Unwarranted Intrusions, well-known financial commentator Martin Fridson turns his sharp eye for investment deceptions and accounting ruses to subterfuges practiced by the U.S. government. His exhaustive research reveals politicians from both sides of the aisle basing legislation on elementary economic fallacies. George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton play their parts in the story, along with less likely figures such as Al Jolson and Bozo the Clown. The opening part, A Nation of Subsidies, focuses on government meddling that ranges from trade protection and publicly financed athletic stadiums to subsidies for the arts. You'll chuckle as Fridson gleefully debunks the supposed market failures that officeholders use to justify their machinations. Part two, Restraint of Trade, assails government intrusions into ordinary commercial activities, such as apartment rentals, the operation of automatic teller machines, and even television audience ratings. You'll be forced to reexamine your assumptions about protecting the public against volatile stock markets and music industry payola. In the final part, Telling It Like It Isn't, Fridson details how politicians rely on misrepresentations to foist badly conceived policies on the electorate. From exaggerating their impact on the nation's economic performance to periodically pretending to clean up campaign finance, Fridson shows that politicians repeatedly prove themselves to be masters of false advertising. Costly government intervention operates on such a vast scale that there is no chance of immediately dismantling it all. The good news is that one small victory can represent a huge gain in public well-being. Filled with in-depth insight and practical advice, Unwarranted Intrusions will open your mind to the possibility of putting our dysfunctional system back on track. 作者简介：Martin Fridson has achieved distinction both as a writer and as an investment professional. He has written on economics for Barron's and is a consultant to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Fridson received his BA cum laude in history from Harvard College and his MBA from Harvard Business School. He previously served as governor of the CFA Institute and director of the New York Society of Security Analysts. In 2002, the Financial Management Association International named Fridson the Financial Executive of the Year. The following year, he launched Leverage World, the first independent research publication focused on high-yield bond strategy. Fridson is coauthor of Financial Statement Analysis and author of How to Be a Billionaire, both published by Wiley.
Preface1. The Politics of Market InterventionI. A Nation of Subsidies 2. Here They Come to Save the Day! 3. Be It Ever So Deductible 4. Protection Racket 5. How Are You Going to Keep Them Down on the Farm? 6. Location and Misallocation 7. Getting the City to Play Ball 8. Art of the StateII. Restraint of Trade 9. Stock Arguments 10. What Is Wrong with Payola? 11. What Is Big Brother Watching? 12. Getting Cash and Making the RentIII. Telling It Like It Isn’t 13. Honesty Is the Worst Policy 14. Campaign Finance Reform: The Permanent Campaign 15. Here’s That Rainy Day 16. A Case of Insurance FraudEpilogue: Can This Mess Be Fixed? NotesIndex
