The Man in Black channels Schumpeter:
...A personal agenda is a bias, and when it matters, will lead to bad decisions. As everyone has biases, this is of course relative; if your reaction is "but it isn't a bias, I'm just right" you have a strong personal agenda.
For example, Friedman's style as a debater reveals an aspect of his personality. He was always courteous to his opponents in a debate, never attacked ad hominem. He concentrated on weaknesses of the opponent's arguments and invariably emerged as the victor in the debate.In addition to being a fallacious logical argument, ad hominem attacks are an indicator of the weakness of an argument. Ad hominem attacks reveal that the proponent either (1) does not understand the subject enough to make a sound argument, (2) is advocating a position that cannot be justified by logical reason, or (3) is simply using the debate as a platform to slander his opponent. Reasons (1) and (2) have relevance for judging the validity of the argument, but reason (3) is irrelevant.
The proposed auto bailout has been one of the most discouraging pieces of government action since the beginning of our current financial crisis. Ford's decision to stick with the market is one of the silver linings in the ominous clouds of the global recession. Ford does, of course, run the risk of not beeing able to compete in the short-run with GM and Chrysler and their new influx of government cash. But that's not really where the competition is anyway. The real contest is to see which U.S. company will be able to compete with their Japanese counterparts. I think the market will look favorably on Ford's long-run positioning.
"Ever since the New Deal-era Supreme Court translated the Commerce Clause into English as 'we can do what we want and you can't stop us,' Congress has been able to take as much of your money as they want, at any time and for any reason. It's a testament to their monumental stupidity that it took them nearly 80 years to figure this out."
