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Thought of the month ...

August 2011: Should we legalize bank robbery because it is good for economy? All but one of the Republican aspirants for a candidacy for the President of the United States are targeting the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because protecting the environment is not good for the economy (see the article in the New York Times of August 17, 2011). And what is not good for the economy is not good, hence we should lock the doors and switch of the light at EPA, as Michele Bachmann put it. Basically, the candidates argue that the United States cannot afford to protect the environment. One candidate, Herman Cain, wants to put many environmental regulations in the hands of an independent commission that includes oil and gas executives.

Some banks have been criticized for not providing loans to companies that need these loans in order to stimulate economy. That is not good for economy. Regulations that protect these banks in denying loans are not good for economy and should be shelved, similar to Jon M. Huntman Jr.'s request to shelf most new environmental regulations. Using the same logic as applied by the Republican presidential aspirants in the case of EPA and the environment, we should consider to legalize bank robbery. Banks that deny loans to companies and prefer to keep the money are bad for economy. Therefore, if a company applied for a loan to increase economy and was denied, the company should be allowed to rob the bank. We should have an independent commission regulating who can rob a bank when, and this commission should include executives of the mafia, the drug cartels, and hedge font managers, all experts in what is good for the money market at the same level as the oil and gas executives are experts in what is good for the environment. If the United States cannot afford to protect the environment for future generations, then the United States can certainly not afford to protect our banks for future generations. The mantra seems to be that any regulation that hinders economic development should be eliminated, no matter what the side effects. Under this mantra, bank robbery has to be legalized.


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