Two pieces of news struck me as some well-needed humor this week.
Fist, in a press announcement, Joe Biden says he won’t rule out a run for the presidency in 2016. If you had any doubts as to the cluelessness of Washington, this tidbit from the most clueless of all should clear that up for you. A man who is hitting on 2 of 8 cylinders actually thinks this country might elect him president when he is 76 years old and hitting on no cylinders. Is there no end to the egocentric idiocy of politicians like Joe?
Google CEO Eric Schmidt is called into a Congressional hearing about fair competition. Get this, a company that gives their product away is grilled by Congress. Does Congress want Google to pay people to use their product?
It irritated Schmidt, a big Obama supporter, and he gave an interview where he blasted the administration. Basically, he said lobbyists for companies who don’t hit the top of the Google search list want regulations to get them to the top. Schmidt, who must be naive, has just realized that companies use regulations to succeed.
He should read the history of Archer Daniels Midland. They have used the ethanol regulation to make billions in the past 30 years. And, they have kept it going despite the groundswell to end it. Hiding behind the Corn Growers Association, ADM has increased the mandatory requirements for ethanol every few years with every administration. They have kept the tariff on imported ethanol and piped billions from the taxpayer to ethanol producers like them.
So here’s the bad news, Mr. Schmidt, free may not be good enough. You may have to stay free but move favored contributors to politicians up the list to the top of your search engines. That’s how business is done in Washington.
What’s your vote? Biden for president or free isn’t good enough?
