William E. Simon (1927–2000)

With an endorsement letter, on White House stationery, provided by the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. He says Simon's "grasp of America's economic problems is second to none".

Of course, in Simon's case, the opposite is true. Simon parlayed his family connections and wealth as an investment banker, never putting his own funds at risk, but encumbering companies he controlled with debts and leases -- of other property he owned. After plundering the assets, the businesses he took over, dehired employees, and the profits went offshore--tax-free.

What is significant is the date of this book. Labor unions were still viable, the economy had doubled under Carter, and the US was the world's largest Creditor nation. In just years, under Reagan and this "Treasury" Secretary with his "grasp" of economic problems, the US was converted into the world's largest Debtor nation. In addition, the middle class was plunged into catastrophic credit card debt -- once the pesty "consumer protection" and disclosure requirements were removed.

In other words, while claiming to be waiving the mantle of "conservative opinion", and screaming about how awful "Debt" is, the author is in fact destroying OUR Government. He hates us. Really.… (mer)

Published by a "conservative", this is an attack on public bureaucracy.

The "truth" is that the book was ghost-written by an un-acknowledged woman, the late Edith Ephron. Ephron was part of Ayn Rand's circle, contributed to Rand's magazine, The Objectivist, as an editor of TV Guide magazine in the 1960s and 1970s, she wrote political columns and editorials claiming there was a "liberal bias" in the media. Many of her claims appear in this work, with a characteristic bold assertion of unsupported conclusions, She makes Simon appear to be cutting edge -- by coining artful phrases. Due to the efforts of Efron styling the message behind Simon and other politicians, the words "liberal" was demonized and "conservative viewpoints" eventually achieved virtual monopoly of access to the airwaves. The "Fairness Doctrine" was completely removed. Most of us, however, cannot find "conservative" values in her wholesale partisanship.

With Reagan in power, the assault was redoubled, and the middle class began a rapid decline. The statistical descent was disguised by the fact that "easy credit" was offered to consumers by large financial institutions relieved of disclosure requirements and usury caps on interest rates.

The author cites the Liberal founders -- for example , Adam Smith, John Locke, and Tom Paine. But only selectively. For example, Smith decried the private corporations as the most likely source of oppression in a Republic. The Government of Locke was a "good" institution if it was a representative one, since people are good.

The author is confounded by the energy crisis. He seeks to "deregulate", but admits that in 1971 and 1973 -- on Nixon's watch -- there was an actual "oil shortage". [19] He then denies any actual shortage --"there was no shortage of fuel as such". [21]

Clearly the reason Nixon's "central allocation" failed domestically was that a man who despised government was placed in charge of the allocations. Himself.

Time has continued to reveal the kleptocracy and corruption Nixon and his appointees introduced to our Government.

While screaming about our "compounding debt" -- it is not compounded -- he hides the fact that conservative administrations proceeded to increase Public Debt in far greater amounts than all the Liberals combined.

He labels infrastructure as a "nonstop redistributionist assault on our productive classes". [73] The problem is he fails to identify the "productive classes". Let's be clear. Bankers at their best do not "produce". Stock market manipulation is not "productive". Increasing the profit share of CEOs has never been shown to increase the productivity of the corporate entities which they plunder. Ever.

The attack on "bureaucracy" is interesting and data- and fact-free. Simon has a serious problem with cooperative ventures -- whether they are public or private. Of course I share much common ground with his theories as stated -- when they are drawn from our Founders. We agree, when he states uncategorically, "If a man obtains money by fraud or by force, he is simply a criminal". [75] Did he lead the charge against those monopolists who "deregulated" consumer protection and so removed "informed choice" from the market place?

Which brings me to the "business" question. Was Simon a "businessman"?

He was born rich, and made a fortune doing LBOs, The entities he controlled would enter into unfavorable leases and sales...to him. His company, Wesray, bought and sold, among others, the Gibson Greeting Card Company, Anchor Glass, and the Simmons Mattress Company, typically investing tiny fractions of their own money, but loading the companies down with huge debts, and then selling the companies whole or piecemeal after making cosmetic changes that “often included job cutbacks and other short-term cost-reduction measures.” He offshored the profits and paid very little in taxes.

He also worked "on the inside" of the Federal Government which he viciously slandered. He destroyed the Olympic Committee, making it dependent on Government after it had become profitable. The man is a model for Romney and the bankers who destroyed the free markets in the Collapse of 2008.… (mer)