I rcecall that last month Rep. Paul Ryan made an astute observation of American capitalism in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, December 19, 2013:
Ryan, who is Catholic, was asked about Pope Francis' recent sharp critique of capitalism. Ryan stood up for the free enterprise system as a way of alleviating poverty as well as being consistent with Catholic teaching...
"The guy is from Argentina, they haven't had real capitalism in Argentina," Ryan said. "They have crony capitalism in Argentina. They don't have a true free enterprise system."
One month later, the headlines
really prove Rep. Ryan's point.
Reuters: Ex-governor of Virginia indicted on bribery charges
Former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell and his wife were indicted on Tuesday by a federal grand jury and charged with accepting bribes in the form of money and gifts from the chief executive of a dietary supplements maker...
They accepted gifts from the head of supplements-maker Star Scientific Inc including cash, golf fees and clothing and in exchange arranged for company executives to meet government officials who could help their business, the indictment alleges.
CNN:
Hoboken mayor: 'It's true' Christie administration withheld Sandy funds
In another controversy surrounding New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer said Sunday that Christie directly ordered the withholding of Superstorm Sandy recovery funds unless she backed a redevelopment plan he favored.
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Zimmer said she was told by a member of Christie's administration that Sandy relief funds hinged on her support for a real estate development project and that the directive was coming directly from Christie...
Zimmer said the Christie administration wanted her to approve a project by The Rockefeller Group, a real estate developer with ties to Christie's administration.
The Daily Beast, "
Inside the Port Authority, the Corrupt Powerhouse Behind Christie’s Bridgegate Scandal
Unfortunately, the Fort Lee scandal won’t be enough to force any meaningful reforms at the Port Authority, because the governors of New York and New Jersey, who jointly control the agency, have no interest in cutting off the supply of easy money or the flow of jobs for their friends. An agency designed to be insulated from obstructionist politics in order to better serve the public has become a private bank and enforcement arm for the powerful, increasingly corrupt, and cut off from the public interest.
I'm shocked,
shocked to find "crony capitalism" rampant in the land of the "true free enterprise system".