In un intervento sul New York Times (link alternativo) il “radical centrist” Thomas Friedman basandosi sugli scritti di Ruchir Sharma, chief global strategist alla Morgan Stanley Investment Management, segnala di come un certo modo di intendere l’intervento pubblico abbia provocato forti diseguaglianze, situazioni paradossali ed un danno per l’economia reale.

“Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the rest” — a variation on a theme popularized in the 1960s — happens, Sharma explained in a phone interview, when government intervention does more to stimulate the financial markets than the real economy. So, America’s richest 10 percent, who own more than 80 percent of U.S. stocks, have seen their wealth more than triple in 30 years, while the bottom 50 percent, relying on their day jobs in real markets to survive, had zero gains. Meanwhile, mediocre productivity in the real economy has limited opportunity, choice and income gains for the poor and middle class alike.

The best evidence is the last year: We’re in the middle of a pandemic that has crushed jobs and small businesses — but the stock market is soaring. That’s not right. That’s elephants flying. I always get worried watching elephants fly. It usually doesn’t end well.