Today’s episode of “WallBuilders Live” was dedicated to defending free-market capitalism, as Rick Green and David Barton asserted that there should literally be no government regulation or oversight of any aspect of our economy whatsoever:
Barton: A free market means that it is a market that is free from government regulations. Now, people today don’t think that. They say free market [but think] “well, the government does need to regulate to make sure there’s no corruption.” No, no, no.
Green: But even that phrase “to regulate” means to make regular. It means just keep it …
Barton: … standardize it …
Green: … yeah, keep there from being tariffs between states and that sort of thing. It doesn’t mean micromanage your marketplace.
Barton: And it’s amazing how many people who say “I believe in the free market” still want some sort of government oversight. “Well, you got all those crooks on Wall Street” … hey, the free market will take care of it.
Green: That’s exactly right.
Barton: The free market will take care of crooks and they’ll be out of business and we also have laws that say, hey you can’t steal. And if you steal, you’re going to be in jail. Talk to [Bernie] Madoff about that, see how it worked out for him.
Green: It’s the areas that we most put regulation in to that then become a problem …
Barton: … the most corrupt …
Green: … the areas we got to go bail out.
I guess it should be pointed out that Madoff pled guilty [PDF] to “securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, mail fraud, wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, false statements, perjury, false filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and theft from an employee benefit plan,” violations of the very sorts of regulations that Barton and Green believe are totally unnecessary.
