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An Historic Day

I'm O.D.'ing on inaugural coverage but wanted to take a quick minute to highlight a couple quotes from Obama's speech. The talking heads keep saying that his speech didn't have any "Think not what your country can do for you" moments but there were a couple lines that I really hope people will keep repeating. One was "The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works." Another was "Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control." These quotes will be the perfect introduction for the lecture where I start talking about market failure and the role of government in improving market outcomes.

What a day!
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  1. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2009 at 11:10 AM

    Does Gov't Work? Many Americans, mostly 'progressives,' admired the early careers of Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin because they created government programs that worked. The latter two went on to become two of the 20th century's 'leading' mass murderers. Whether or not gov't works may not be the key issue.

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  2. Jennifer ImazekiJanuary 24, 2009 at 11:51 AM

    Hmmm, so maybe Obama is secretly planning mass genocide? :-) I think, my dear anonymous, you need to watch a little less Fox News and learn a little more economics...

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  3. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2009 at 3:15 PM

    I would be shocked and in total disbelief if Obama was planning mass genocide. My post has nothing to do with Obama. The point I was trying to make is that whether govt programs work or not may not be the most important thing. For example, govt could subsidize all citizens by mailing checks each month. But, do we want a society in which this happens? Finally, I earned my Ph.D. in economics 15 years ago (from a recognized university), and I don't watch Fox News.

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