ECONOMIC PC

 
Debt has to be serviced. One way to service it is growth. Another way is by borrowing, creating in the process more debt.

If you keep borrowing to service that debt you create a huge imbalance that often gets spelled bankruptcy. But we live in a world where many essentially bankrupt firms are not allowed to take the fall. It's a lot like today's prevailing and now rampant PC. Little Johnnie can't really play center field, but he gets a trophy anyway.

In fact, today everyone gets a trophy for participation. There's a commercial about it where a father and his son are leaving the playing field when the father looks at the trophy and discovers it's for participation at which point he erases participation and scratches in "winner."

What's ironic about this is, though many will claim foul, the father gets it. From our vantage point, the father to his credit,wants himself and his son to be judged by their performance, their merits. His son did more than participate; he contributed. He could play center field. He deserves something more than participated. That's the deeper symbolism as we read it.

Some call this participation nonsense equal outcomes. Others correcting imbalances. But imbalances are as natural as nature itself. When you work with professional athletes you quickly realize some are more gifted than others, even at this level. For some the gift is natural; for others the gift is owing to hard work or working harder. The how-bad-do-you-want it syndrome.

If your son hit two home runs, singled twice and made the catch of the game, he deserves and earned more than recognition for participation. Calling him a winner doesn't in any way diminish any of the other players. Nor is it selfish. The only thing selfish is those who want to level the field so that mass mediocrity is the standard of day.

Political correctness and it's adherents want desperately to abolish that syndrome. That's about outcomes. Nobody outshines anyone, irrespective. What many don't understand is bailing out firms that deserve and should be allowed to fail, much like the Fed did last time around with too-big to fail banks, is a form of PC. Economic PC.

There is nothing level about that playing field. In fact, it is quite punitive. It punishes those who play by the rules.