I have been a fan of Fareed Zakaria,l read and enjoyed his Post American World, and I like the depth of his interviews on the TV show GPS.

His recent article in Newsweek (“Obama’s CEO Problem”- 7/12/20101 print edition), however,   showed a detachment from the world most of us function in and an analysis that seemed outright foolish.   He correctly sees a problem of American corporations sitting on top on $1.8 trillion in cash yet is blind to the fact that the reason they are paralyzed in cash is that the very president he has supported created policies that are as anti-business as any seen in 100 years.  He somehow thinks the elitist CEOs in New York he interacts with some how represent the core of American business.

My retort to Zakaria’s analysis is in the July 14, 2010 American Thinker in “Fareed Zakaria Thinks the Problem is the Solution“.

excerpt:

The stimuli enacted so far have not worked and doubling down on a failed policy is not a case for success.  As Arthur Laffer wrote recently in the Wall Street Journal (“Unemployment Benefits Are Not Stimulus” July 8, 2010),  if the dollars spent on the failed stimulus policies had instead been directed at an 18 month tax holiday for everyone we would have spent less money and unemployment would be near 2.5%.

Fareed, like so many, mistakes eloquence for competence.  Some of our worst policies have been enacted by some of our smartest leaders.  Smart people can rationalize some of the worst ideas.

It doesn’t take the smartest to enact wise polices.  It takes an open mind free of blind adherence to bad ideology and free of the hubris that discounts experience and common sense.

It takes a leader other than the one we have.

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