[tlug] Freedom is not just for software [was: Open-source Japan]

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

david.blomberg writes:
 > 
 > > in the S&L crises in the US and Japan, Congress pushing hard to get
 > > industry to lend to subprime borrowers in the current mess).  It's not
 > > clear that *any* of them would have happened if the market had been
 > > left to its own devices.
 > >   
 > You are aware that this failed the laugh test. 
 > 
 >    A few years ago I sat in on a investment seminar.

Which has everything to do with fraud and nothing to do with the macro
mess, AFAICS.  It's one thing to take down a few hundred thousand
small borrowers or investors.  It's another to bring the whole world
economy to its knees.  They busted another pyramid scheme here with
over 50000 members a couple weeks ago, but it's not a threat to the
economy.  Neither are the "ore, ore" scammers.  In all the mentioned
cases above it's a matter of historical record that the government was
pushing in the wrong direction.  It's my claim that the private sector
would have had a hard time creating such a mess without government
help.