Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy
An enlightening overview of America’s misadventures in economic investment from the Revolutionary era to the Obama administration.

From the days of George Washington through World War II to today, government subsidies have failed the American people time and again. Draining the Treasury of cash, this doomed attempt to “pick winners” only serves to impede economic growth—and hurt the very companies receiving aid. But why does federal aid seem to have a reverse Midas touch?

In Uncle Sam Can’t Count, Burt and Anita Folsom argue that federal officials don’t have the same abilities or incentives as entrepreneurs. In addition, federal control always leads to politicization. And what works for politicians often doesn’t work in the marketplace.

Filled with examples of government failures and free market triumphs, from John Jacob Astor to the Wright Brothers, World War II amphibious landing craft to Detroit, Uncle Sam Can’t Count is a hard-hitting critique of government investment that demonstrates why business should be left exclusively to private entrepreneurs.
1116149547
Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy
An enlightening overview of America’s misadventures in economic investment from the Revolutionary era to the Obama administration.

From the days of George Washington through World War II to today, government subsidies have failed the American people time and again. Draining the Treasury of cash, this doomed attempt to “pick winners” only serves to impede economic growth—and hurt the very companies receiving aid. But why does federal aid seem to have a reverse Midas touch?

In Uncle Sam Can’t Count, Burt and Anita Folsom argue that federal officials don’t have the same abilities or incentives as entrepreneurs. In addition, federal control always leads to politicization. And what works for politicians often doesn’t work in the marketplace.

Filled with examples of government failures and free market triumphs, from John Jacob Astor to the Wright Brothers, World War II amphibious landing craft to Detroit, Uncle Sam Can’t Count is a hard-hitting critique of government investment that demonstrates why business should be left exclusively to private entrepreneurs.
14.99 In Stock
Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy

Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy

by Burton W. Folsom Jr., Anita Folsom
Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy

Uncle Sam Can't Count: A History of Failed Government Investments, from Beaver Pelts to Green Energy

by Burton W. Folsom Jr., Anita Folsom

eBook

$14.99  $19.99 Save 25% Current price is $14.99, Original price is $19.99. You Save 25%.

Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
WANT A NOOK?  Explore Now

Related collections and offers

LEND ME® See Details

Overview

An enlightening overview of America’s misadventures in economic investment from the Revolutionary era to the Obama administration.

From the days of George Washington through World War II to today, government subsidies have failed the American people time and again. Draining the Treasury of cash, this doomed attempt to “pick winners” only serves to impede economic growth—and hurt the very companies receiving aid. But why does federal aid seem to have a reverse Midas touch?

In Uncle Sam Can’t Count, Burt and Anita Folsom argue that federal officials don’t have the same abilities or incentives as entrepreneurs. In addition, federal control always leads to politicization. And what works for politicians often doesn’t work in the marketplace.

Filled with examples of government failures and free market triumphs, from John Jacob Astor to the Wright Brothers, World War II amphibious landing craft to Detroit, Uncle Sam Can’t Count is a hard-hitting critique of government investment that demonstrates why business should be left exclusively to private entrepreneurs.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780062292711
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication date: 12/15/2023
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 256
Sales rank: 100,404
File size: 461 KB

About the Author

Burton W. Folsom Jr. is the Charles Kline Professor of History and Management at Hillsdale College, and the author of New Deal or Raw Deal?, The Myth of the Robber Barons, and FDR Goes to War, written with his wife, Anita. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, American Spectator, Policy Review, and Human Events.


Anita Folsom has pursued a career in both politics and the teaching of history, including teaching American history at Hillsdale College. She served in the Electoral College in 1988. Since 2006 she has directed Hillsdale College's Free Market Forum, a national colloquium for college teachers. She is coauthor of FDR Goes to War and has written for the Wall Street Journal, American Spectator, Human Events, and the Detroit News.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 Beaver Pelts, Big Government, and John Jacob Astor 13

2 Vanderbilt Goes Upstream Against the Subsidies 33

3 The Boy Governor Endorses State Subsidies 51

4 James J. Hill vs. Subsidized Railroads 75

5 Herbert Dow Changed the World 97

6 The Wright Brothers Conquer the Air 117

17 The D.C. Subsidy Machine 139

18 Uncle Sam Invents the Energy Crisis 163

19 Uncle Sam Heals the Planet 179

Conclusion 193

Acknowledgments 203

Notes 207

Index 229

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews