[EL] Charles Koch “Flabbergasted” by Obama Criticism, Wants to Educate Him About “Rent Seeking”

[Jonathan Adler]

There is an alternative explanation: The President is fully aware of what
“rent-seeking” means, and just chose to use the term improperly or
dishonestly.  Is that what Rick is suggesting?  I think the suggestion that
Obama (or his speechwriter) does not fully understand the meaning of the
term (and what it means to seek economic rents) is the more charitable of
the two, but YMMV.



------
Jonathan H. Adler
Johan Verheij Memorial Professor of Law
Director, Center for Business Law & Regulation
Case Western Reserve University School of Law
11075 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106
ph) 216-368-2535
fax) 216-368-2086
cell) 202-255-3012
jha5 at case.edu
SSRN: http://ssrn.com/author=183995

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/author/adlerj/



*From:* law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:
law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] *On Behalf Of *Sean Parnell
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 26, 2015 10:56 AM
*To:* 'Rick Hasen'; law-election at uci.edu
*Subject:* [EL] Charles Koch “Flabbergasted” by Obama Criticism, Wants to
Educate Him About “Rent Seeking”



Rick, based on his comments in Vegas, I can assure you that Obama has no
clue what “rent seeking” is. There are cases to be made (mostly bad cases
IMHO, but cases nonetheless) for giving subsidies, guaranteed market share,
protection from foreign competition, and other goodies to the renewable
energy industry. But there’s no case at all, at least from an economic
perspective, for arguing that opposing those policies amounts to rent
seeking. None.

Sean Parnell

President, Impact Policy Management, LLC

571-289-1374 (c)

sean at impactpolicymanagement.com

Alexandria, Virginia





Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>
Charles Koch “Flabbergasted” by Obama Criticism, Wants to Educate Him About
“Rent Seeking” <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75594>

Posted on August 25, 2015 7:58 pm
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=75594> by *Rick
Hasen* <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Mike Allen
<http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/charles-koch-blasts-obama-121746.html>
:

*Charles Koch hit back at criticism of “the Koch brothers” during President
Barack Obama’s energy speech in Las Vegas earlier this week, saying he was
“flabbergasted” by the attack and charging that Obama made the dig as a
favor to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who appeared with him.*

*“It’s beneath the president, the dignity of the president, to be doing
that,” Koch said during a phone interview Tuesday…*

*That’s not the American way. That’s not progress. That’s not innovation.
That’s rent seeking, and trying to protect old ways of doing business and
standing in the way of the future.”*

*Obama continued: “I mean, think about this. Ordinarily, these are groups
that tout themselves as champions of the free market. If you start talking
to them about providing health care for folks who don’t have health
insurance, they’re going crazy: ‘This is socialism, this is going to
destroy America.’ But in this situation, they’re trying to undermine
competition in the marketplace, and choke off consumer choice, and threaten
an industry that’s churning out new jobs at a fast pace.”*

*Koch shot back: “I don’t know whether he knows what that phrase means, but
‘rent seeking,’ of course, is, in economic terms, is getting the government
to rig the system in your favor. And that’s exactly what these so-called
‘renewable energy’ proponents are doing.”*

I’m guessing that Obama, who taught at the University of Chicago, is
familiar with the term “rent-seeking.”

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