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Free marketers: Tough, independent entrepreneurs who daily brave the vicissitudes of life to boldly wrest their living from the hostile forces arrayed against them: Labor, Environmentalists, but most of all, the dreaded GOVERNMENT.
So, you may ask, why is the New York Stock Exchange wangling $1 billion from the City and State of New York to build a new trading facility? And why are tough, independent-minded Republicans George Pataki and Rudy Giuliani tripping over each other to stuff that boodle into its pockets?
Seems the NYSE, uncomfortable in its tight Wall Street quarters, would like to get a more modern building, excuse itself from the hassle of paying taxes, and generally siphon a whole shitload of money from the coffers of the New York Treasury into its own well-lined pockets. Well duh, who wouldn't? Toward that end, they've made noises intimating that if New York doesn't accede to their demands, they might just have to relocate their exchange to the other side of the Hudson River in New Jersey. If you ask a trader at the Exchange what the likelihood of the NYSE moving to Jersey is, you could probably hear his laughter over the closing bell on an active day.
But wait, aren't Rudy and George the kind of tough-as-nails politicians who won't just give away public money willy nilly? Doesn't Rudy want to shut down art galleries all over the City whether they receive public funds or not? Well, er, no. Show either of them a welfare mom getting an extra $25 a month she isn't absolutely entitled to, and they'll pull on the jackboots and stomp her but good. A large corporation needs a billion dollars to move into nicer digs? "Shit guys, are you sure a billion's enough," ask Rudy and George in unison.
And why does the New York Stock Exchange need taxpayer money in the first place? Surely by now they're showing a profit and can pay their own way like the rugged individualist capitalists they are! No, they need a great big helping hand from the government. So much for the "free" market; taxpayers get to pay through the nose for the privilege of relocating a large corporation without even the usual empty promise that it will create jobs.
Surely, you say, the New York Times, the paper of record for the Free World, would have something to say about this incredible bit of public largesse? You bet they would! They immediately started making noises about moving their venerable offices out of Times Square if the City and State didn't pony up a similar sweetheart deal.
Ah yes, the free market! It's not just for screwing third world peasants anymore.
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