Business Failure Equals Consumer Benefit

"A fact rarely suspected, let alone understood, is that businessmen are by no means the chief beneficiaries of the free market, private ownership, limited government way of life.  Many business ventures fail entirely.  Who then are the beneficiaries?  The masses!"

Leonard E. Read (1898 - 1983)

Businesses fail?  Who knew!

Can business fail in a free market?  Of course. 
Can business fail when gubment intervenes?  Of course.

Should gubment invervene to prevent business failure?  NO!

Who benefits when businesses fail?  According to Dr. Read, well, the consumer does!

Why would a consumer benefit the most when any business fails?  Particularly one that provides goods or services that a consumer desires?

Does this mean to say that a free market, private ownership, limited gubment way of life is not tilted toward business?  Instead it's tilted toward the consumer?

Of course!  When a business fails, in a free or controlled market, what happens is that the consumer is no longer paying for inferior products, poor service, inefficiencies and/or dishonest business practices. 

A controlling gubment might try to prop up the business further.  We have seen that recently.

What happens when that controlling gubment picks winners and losers?  Let's say, for instance, that the gubment wants to pursue what it calls POMEGRACIOUS energy?  It does so because it is promoting a political angle, and it's not necessarily promoting a purple, or violet, or amethyst, or pomegranate color - IT'S A NEW COLOR WHICH THEY CALL POMEGRACIOUS - the color must be pursued.  The new color is the same as the "old" color, but now it's more important!

Not only must POMEGRACIOUS energy be pursued, but the old energy (for which there is no substitute* in the near or long term) must be crushed.  How should it be crushed?  Politically, with words, by creating a more POMEGRACIOUS attitude for Dr. Read's "masses," with tax and regulatory policies - you name it - it MUST be crushed!

* Now we all know that the floating DeLorean is coming, into which we will pour whatever garbage is available nearby, and it will have power forever - but in the near and long terms it simply isn't on the horizon. When I was a kid, I was certain that by now we would all be driving floating cars, but alas, I was wrong.

What if a few POMEGRACIOUS businesses are picked out because it is known they are failing and will soon fail completely?  And those businesses are propped up, let's say, with tax money?  What if they are chosen because some of that tax money can make it back to the GRAND PROPPER in the form of, let's say, political donation?

DOESN'T THAT REPRESENT THE WORST FORM OF GUBMENT INTERVENTION?  ISN'T THAT CRONY "CAPITALISM" AT ITS WORST?  DOES THE CONSUMER BENEFIT IN ANY WAY?  ANY, ANY, ANY WAY?

But, because we are dealing with POMEGRACIOUS businesses, nobody, not the gubment, not the media, nobody with the swag gubment encourages, will say anything about it.  Sure, a few kooks might try, in vain, to point out the utter illegality and stupidity of the moves, but, hey, after all, who listens to the few kooks?

Any business, even if not POMEGRACIOUS, any business that must be propped up with subsidy, or cash infusion, or even utter gubment take over, should not be so propped up if it is going to fail.  And especially if that formerly not POMEGRACIOUS business is now introducing a POMEGRACIOUS product line!  

Why?  Because, as Dr. Read rightly points out, the consumer is not going to benefit! 

• The same inefficiencies that got it into trouble will still exist. 
• The same policies that got it into trouble will still exist. 
• The same substandard products that got it into trouble will still exist.
• The same consumer that did not want the former product line, will not want the new product line, especially if the new product line introduces a POMEGRACIOUS product the consumer has not demonstrated a desire for!
• The new beast will be the same as the old beast.  I've heard a song that says just that!

AND YET THE GRAND PROPPER TELLS US THE EFFORT IS A SUCCESS!  EVEN WHEN THE REST OF US CAN SEE THAT THE CASH INFUSED, NOW GUBMENT-RUN BUSINESS, IS STILL TENS OF BILLIONS OF (OUR) DOLLARS IN THE HOLE!

May I say - pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!  Don't let the smoke and mirrors confuse!  Smoke and mirrors are used by magicians to aid in their illusion.  Even without the smoke and mirrors, an illusion is still an illusion!

Dr. Read is right - (even if POMEGRACIOUS) bad businesses that fail = consumer benefit!