Searching for Corporatism WaPo Should Look Closer to Home

With the Solyndra scandal dogging the Obama administration the Washington Post editorialized on the “venture socialism” of Republican presidential candidates Rick Perry and Mitt Romney. The Post takes Perry to task for his Emerging Technologies Fund a state run program that doled out $200 million in taxpayer money to over 100 companies. One company in particular, which received ETF money recently went bankrupt. Mitt Romney did the same in Massachusetts shoveling good money after bad at alternative energy companies. Fool me once Mitt…

The Post writes

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Before Mr. DeMint came up with “venture socialism,” this inefficient and politicized form of resource allocation traveled under other names: “picking winners,” “industrial policy,” “corporate welfare” and “crony capitalism.” Whatever the moniker, selective subsidies do not “create” jobs; at best, they shift them from one place to another. That’s a lesson both parties need to learn.

Indeed it is. However, if the Post’s editorialists are so concerned about exposing this kind of corporatism they should look closer to home at Governor O’Malley’s “venture socialism.” InvestMaryland is a warmed over version of Perry and Romney’s programs, where O’Malley will be gambling $70 million of taxpayer money on start up companies.

Isn’t that something the editorial board of the most prominent paper in the region should be concerned about?



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