…in the age of Obama:

Obamacare, and the hundreds of waivers the administration continues to issue, represents a new form of corruption, as well as cronyism, that I believe was invented by the Obama administration. The idea is to pass a terrible piece of legislation, and then exempt your friends from it, so that only those without political influence have to suffer from the lousy statute you imposed on them.

So that is a very quick overview of the kinds of corporate cronyism that have emerged during the Obama administration. This private sector cronyism is, I think, much more damaging than the public sector cronyism of the 19th century. Why? Because it doesn’t just waste money, it distorts the entire private economy. It is notable that the era when traditional cronyism flourished was also the time when the United States experienced its most explosive economic growth.

This ought to be the theme of the campaign, but it probably won’t be, at least with any of the current candidates.

That was a phrase that Jack Lew used this morning on This Week. Ignoring the ongoing lack of distinction between “tax cuts” and “tax-rate cuts,” any use of the word “need” in federal policy betrays an intrinsically Marxist mindset. It indicates that benefits of the collective should be distributed based on need, rather than merit, economics, or constitutionality. Tax rates should be chosen to maximize revenue, not redistribute wealth, or on the basis of some government official’s opinion of what someone else “needs.” This should be pointed out each and every time it occurs, but of course George Stephanopolous isn’t going to do it.