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

· Harper Collins
Ebook
256
Pages
Eligible

About this ebook

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.

About the author

Burton W. Folsom, Jr. (born 1947) is an American historian and author. He received his doctorate in history from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976 (and as of 2008) is a professor of American history at Hillsdale College. 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.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.