Last week, in
a lengthy post on LinkedIn, investor Ray Dalio put forth his ideas on “Why and How Capitalism needs to be reformed.” Refraining from questioning how certain Republican Congressmen
would quantify Mr. Dalio’s position, his essay raises significant questions about whether or current structure of government is able to take on the very serious challenge he sees on the horizon. Dalio, of course,
is not the first to call attention to these issues,
nor even the first billionaire, and I am confident he will not be the last. And while there is much to dissect in Dalio’s post, let us focus on one part, his call for strong political leadership to right this ship. It is worth noting that while it has been popular of late to blast the moderates, the fact is that reforms outlined by Dalio, and others require a strong center, because
Democracy demands the ability to compromise, and unfortunately the leadership from the fringes of both parties’ views compromise as capitulation. This mindset easily leads at worst to an authoritarian position, trampling minority rights, or at best, in a closely divided electorate such as America, a frequent flip-flopping between ideological extremes. In many ways the capitalist society of our country has been predicated on a strong rule of law – overly politicizing our government threatens to undermine that stability. If you believe in Dalio’s thesis then it seems you should support the moderates in both parties.
Continue reading “Financial Services Report (4/8)”
