Getting it right

“They should FIRE Bernanke and Paulson, and have people like Peter [Schiff] on the helm of US economy.”

The above is a response I read to this video of Peter Schiff dispensing his usual free market based economic wisodom. I felt this worth a comment because it’s important to not simply recognize who is speaking with logic, but to get the whole picture right.

What’s wrong with that quote is the idea that someone should be “at the the helm of the US economy.” The logic that makes Peter Schiff’s words ring so true is based on markets doing what markets do: setting prices and exchanging goods based on supply and demand. The idea of free market by definition shuns leadership (dictatorship) by some individual or set of individuals.

So, while I see little wrong with firing Bernanke and Paulson, let’s remember to get it right – we don’t need Bernanke, Paulson, Peter Schiff, or anyone running the economy – markets and the players in those markets can handle themselves.