Paul Craig Roberts Quotes
Looting is the only way left for the Western financial system to make money.
Roberts, Paul Craig. The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West. Clarity Press, 2013.
This is one of the FDR quotations, which his opponents then, and many conservatives later, characterized as “class warfare.” This type of accusation has in part protected business leaders and those who control wealth from public accountability. Similar business leader resentment was levied against President Obama when he criticized the Bankers and Wall Street leaders whose behavior, in great part, was the cause of the economic meltdown and recession of 2008.
Arguably, for most of American History, most of the “smartest” people contributed to manufacturing, construction, research and development—activities that produce things that are wanted and/or needed. However, Wall Street began attracting and paying for some of the smartest people in the society, who when they engaged in finance—not only contributed less to manufacturing, but began to create highly complex financial instruments and procedures that few people could understand and with which regulators have difficulty understanding. These and the other schemes of financing have been major factors in the economic problems that have beset the economy including the meltdown of 2008 and the subsequent Great Rescission.
In a capitalistic system, if a company is very successful, it drives its competitors out of business and this leads to monopoly in that field which kills capitalism which depends on competition.
A reporter asked the congressman for his reaction to the defeat of a beef price control amendment he had offered:. The reporter explained that he couldn't print that since his was a family newspaper.
Summarizing his conclusions of the Judiciary Committee investigations regarding Wall Street and the bankers' role in the Great Depression:
Paul Craig Roberts is an American economist and author. He formerly held a sub-cabinet office in the United States federal government as well as teaching positions at several U.S. universities. He is a promoter of supply-side economics and an opponent of recent U.S. foreign policy.
