Friday, September 30, 2011

Fixed iit for ya

Progressives are complaining that companies are sitting on higher than normal amounts of cash.  Progressives seem to think that making companies spend this (to get the economy going, natch) or confiscating it (so that government can spend it to get the economy going, natch) is what every "Smart" person would want to do.

Fortunately, we have Sonic Charmer to 'splain it to them:

I think this is a case of what, I assume, are basically correct facts (companies holding lots of cash) being misdiagnosed. Let me try to help by suggesting that instead of ‘piles of cash’ we all start thinking of that cash as a rainy-day fund.

Now restate the complaint: lots of companies are holding larger-than-normal rainy-day funds. The good thing about this construction is that it naturally leads to a question: Why?

There’s only one rational answer: Because they think they might need it. But why would they think that?

Again, the answer is almost obvious: Because in their estimation, they are likely to face larger costs and/or smaller profit margins down the road.

What, I wonder, could possibly give companies that idea? Could it have something to do with – current government policy?
Read the whole thing for the whole delicious mockery.  Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm (Barack Obama!).

3 comments:

Brock Townsend said...

A good one and posted.

SiGraybeard said...

I believe it was the president of Cypress Semiconductors who said something like, "the main obstacle to building a new fab (in his case, in California) that could employ thousands is that you have a government that doesn't want you there, discourages you and penalizes you in a thousand ways". That describes fed.gov perfectly.

Old NFO said...

Good one!