Then again, I do believe stupidity is at least a little evil
James at Hobson's Choice gives a little thought to a story about GE shaping tax policy. In the process he says something that, when generalized, is a fundamental truth:
Few firms are as well positioned. No company spends more on lobbying than GE, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.com -- $7.54 million last year alone. Its political action committee, through which it donates to congressional candidates, ranks in total donations among the top 10 of all corporations this year.But GE's real strength is in information, not cash. Its effort on the tax bill illustrates what can happen when Congress throws its doors open to the business community on a highly complicated topic and an experienced team is waiting with all the answers.
This actually confirms what I had long suspected--that the biggest force shaping policy choices is often the lack of understanding of alternatives. It's not necessary to argue that legislators are a clutch of varlets; tax laws are incredibly complicated, and with good reason. Likewise, the assumptions that have driven American foreign policy for so many years.
