Another Dis-Appointment

A Jonathan Chait column in today's Los Angeles Times reminds me of yet another of your recent dis-appointments, Bush. I thought I should just add it to the list before it gets forgotten. Christopher Cox, Chait writes, "is (in Bush's words) 'a champion of the free-enterprise system.'" "This description," Chait continues, "reflects a common confusion between support for free enterprise and a slavish espousal of anything businesses desire, which may or may not have anything to do with free markets." In Cox's case, particularly, this takes the form of an enthusiastic support for the liberal (sorry, Bush: but this one has a small "l"!) use of stock options, which companies can declare as a deductible cost in tax statements but omit in their financial statements, making themselves look deceptively good to stockholders. Appointment-wise, this sounds like the same old, same old... Just thought I'd mention it.