by Henry Oliner | Apr 6, 2014 | Politics
In short, we have come to believe the problem in Washington is a sort of legalized bribery. If outside interests can only be held at bay, we can and will get better leadership. But what if we are wrong? What if the problem is not bribery . . . but extortion? What if...
by Henry Oliner | Jun 27, 2013 | Politics
“A couple of years ago, National Journal analyzed the number of family members of sitting senators who were working as lobbyists. Fully thirty-three senators had family members who were registered as lobbyists or who worked for lobbying firms. That’s one-third...
by Henry Oliner | May 30, 2013 | Politics
“It’s no coincidence that the realm of crony capitalism is populated by billionaire financiers and large corporations. As the economist Will Wilkinson puts it, “The more power the government has to pick winners and losers, the more power rich people will...
by Henry Oliner | Apr 18, 2013 | Politics
“Andrew Redleaf is the CEO of Whitebox Advisors, a highly regarded investment advisory service. Redleaf has had a long career running investment funds. He argues that crony capitalism isn’t just unfair, it is a serious threat to our economic system, because...
by Henry Oliner | Mar 14, 2013 | Uncategorized
“In the world of investment finance it is increasingly important to be well connected politically. As briefly mentioned earlier, one study by two economists looked at 351 hedge funds between the years 1999 and 2008 and found that “politically connected”...
