Coyote Blog

8 Comments

1. jimcraq:

   Yeah, predators like those awful "predatory" banks that forced people literally at gunpoint to borrow money.

   February 15, 2016, 6:18 pm

2. _rob_sama_:

   The line between red and white should be diagonal, or perhaps S shaped, not vertical. Over time the predator class will make up greater and greater percentages of rich and probably poor as well.

   February 16, 2016, 6:38 am

3. Swami Cat:

   Riffing on this point... The mark of better institutions is the ability to ensure that the wealthy don't come out of predation, that the poor aren't free riding, and that the dynamic attractor over time is less exploitation across the board.

   This is an excellent graphic description of the issue.

   February 16, 2016, 9:19 am

4. Douglas McKinnie:

   I too, like the chart, and was pondering using it to help illustrate where I stand in discussions with extremely highly educated and successful peers who are anti-libertarian. I'm hesitant, however, because I fear that some of the 6 words in the lower-right might too-obviously frame the issue in a way that they would identify as non-progressive, and thus safely discounted.

   February 16, 2016, 10:52 am

5. jdgalt:

   While I agree with the above on who the enemy is, I'm not at all convinced that the red part of the chart should be so small. I believe Romney's estimate of 48% is much closer to the mark, and they may very well be a majority, especially of the rich. This is why Obama and those on his side usually win. They can promise their voters bread and circuses at taxpayer expense (thus recruiting more "enemy"). Their non-bad-guy opponents won't.

   February 29, 2016, 9:36 pm

6. jdgalt:

   Making someone a tempting but fraudulent offer does indeed qualify as predation. The only reason not all the banks are morally responsible for the debacle is that some were threatened with prosecution for redlining if they didn't lend to bad risks.

   February 29, 2016, 9:39 pm

7. jimcraq:

   By that logic, I'd call federal student loans predatory, too.

   March 2, 2016, 2:48 pm

8. jdgalt:

   Completely agree. (They also drive tuition prices way up, and subsidizing and regulating education (outside of DC and the military) are not among Congress's enumerated powers in the first place.)

   And I'd love to see the absolute immunity Congresscritters enjoy for anything they say in debate taken away, so that speeches like Barney Frank's "Fannie and Freddie are sound!" could generate big-bucks shareholder lawsuits.

   March 2, 2016, 11:06 pm