More Stimulus Ideas That Sound An Awful Lot Like Crony Capitalism
From my own state of Arizona (emphasis added)
A group of small-business proponents is asking the Legislature to guarantee startup money for Arizona enterprises.
The backers of a so-called Arizona Fund of Funds made their pitch to a handful of lawmakers Monday, saying businesses need government help to start hiring again.
That help should come in the form of tax credits, said John Kowalski, who is promoting the idea through the Arizona Growth Foundation, a group of venture capitalists working to bring more investment to the state.
The credits would be a safety net to encourage venture capitalists to invest in a pool of money that would be distributed to emerging businesses, said Kowalski, a former executive with the Arizona Small Business Association....
The government's role is to serve as a guarantor, through the tax credits, in case the investments don't yield the projected results.
While this is being sold as something for small business, what it looks like to me is just more of the same socialization of bankers' losses that helped get us into this financial mess. I suppose this "profits are mine if it makes money, losses are the governments if it loses money" never grows old for investment bankers and VC's, but why is anyone taking this seriously anymore?
