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I just finished reading "The Big Ripoff: How Big Business and Big Government Steal Your Money" by Tim Carney. I highly recommend it, but be warned, the book will seriously ratchet up your cynicism.

Carney takes on Corporate America but his argument is very different from your typical corporate bashing. Instead, he blames companies for using the government to enact regulations which help them and hurt consumers.

Did you know that Enron supported the Kyoto Treaty? I sure didn't. Or that Warren Buffett benefits from the estate tax he supports. How about this factoid: In 2000, self-identified "Upper Class" voters went for Gore over Bush by a 56-39 margin.

The piece I found most disturbing was the War on Tobacco. In recent years, more and more government functions have been outsourced to employers. I'm not sure how wise this is. The problem is that corporations are actually far more fragile than most people realize.

The Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement is a good example. First, it effectively creates a cartel. But now, state governments are so dependent on the revenue from the tobacco companies that they're too big to fail. What if one of the companies goes under? The state would have too much to lose, and it might be forced to bail out the the company. Here's a good article on the mess the settlement has become.

By the way, Tim Carney is the brother of DealBreaker's John Carney. (Hey John, would it kill you to plug the book a little?)

Posted by edelfenbein at September 15, 2006 12:27 PM