Thomas Sowell (in "Black Rednecks, White Liberals") made a similar point about how the financial middlemen have always been despised by those who are invisibly helped. They are seen as profiting without doing real work and are often persecuted or discriminated against. He gives the examples of the Lebanese in West Africa, the Chinese in Southeast Asia and most notably the Jews in Germany. But interestingly, it also happened within U.S. POW camps when bartering U.S. middlemen were vilified as profiteers, even though their services made their micro markets much more efficient (i.e., if I don't smoke, I'll gladly trade some Camels for more coffee, and vice versa).

The attack by Newt and others on Romney here is unfair and anti capitalist. Romney, to be sure, has other shortcomings (I'll be pulling the lever for Santorum if he makes it here to VA), but this is NOT one of them.

Thomas Sowell (in "Black Rednecks, White Liberals") made a similar point about how the financial middlemen have always been despised by those who are invisibly helped. They are seen as profiting without doing real work and are often persecuted or discriminated against. He gives the examples of the Lebanese in West Africa, the Chinese in Southeast Asia and most notably the Jews in Germany. But interestingly, it also happened within U.S. POW camps when bartering U.S. middlemen were vilified as profiteers, even though their services made their micro markets much more efficient (i.e., if I don't smoke, I'll gladly trade some Camels for more coffee, and vice versa).

The attack by Newt and others on Romney here is unfair and anti capitalist. Romney, to be sure, has other shortcomings (I'll be pulling the lever for Santorum if he makes it here to VA), but this is NOT one of them.

"Investors and businessmen don't search out ways to create jobs. They search out ways to create wealth."

Thank you, Jonah, for cutting through the liberal fog that has enveloped America, Republicans and Democrats alike. Having been through downsizing, layoffs, corporate reorganizations, and the like, I've never held a grudge against a company for laying me off to improve it's business. In fact, if I was the business owner, I would have done the same. How many times I have heard from disgruntled employees: "I've worked here for years, they can't lay me off!" As if the company existed solely to employ them. I say to these whiners, wake up and realize why a company exists! To create wealth, plain and simple. If they can do that, they just might hire some people. Maybe you.

Why can't Romney express his views half as well as Mr. Goldberg? Perhaps, just perhaps, it's because Mitt doesn't even know what his own views are. It's sad that we Republicans are about to nominate a "work in progress".

Maybe Romney will pick up on this column and stop cowering from his cost cutting experience. His Bain liability could easily be turned into an asset. But, really, if Romney can't figure this out for himself (and I see little evidence of it), we're doomed to another four years of the Obamanation.

1. Making money virtually always creates jobs directly, and creates more by efficiency and lower costs, and creates still more by boosting general prosperity.

2. There is no such thing as shovel-ready jobs because they cost about 8% of total cost to design correctly. You don't spend that kind of money to put something up on the shelf. Designs are completely only when the money is budgeted and ready. But a socialist would not know or understand that.

3. We conservatives need a list of all the glaringly obvious ways to save money like the GAO study, which unmasked and quantified massive duplication. Then we need to arm-twist all Republican politicians and candidates to swear fealty to that list.

4. Government has massively interfered in all six of the largest household expenses, and harmed and sometimes ruined the market and prices - housing, food, energy/transportation, education, medicine and retirement savings. Removing government influence in all these area would unleash massive wealth for all households.

I just don't get it. "Create jobs?" What's the problem? What don't they understand?

Businesses exist to make money. They do this by providing goods and/or services.

Jobs are created becasue they need someone to do something, whether they hire it done, contract it out, or get it from another business.

That's it. All the rest is detail and variations.

Very succinctly put. Thank you. Now if only Mitt Romney would read this and take it to heart and act on it. He is not my choice of candidate, but at this early stage of the game, it certainly looks as though he is going to be our nominee. Unfortunately the other candidates with their negative ads, are giving The Communist the ammunition he needs to fight against Romney down the road. How sad. When they should be focusing on how to hoist The Communist by his own petard, they are feeding on each other.

"His Bain liability could easily be turned into an asset. But, really, if Romney can't figure this out for himself (and I see little evidence of it), we're doomed to another four years of the Obamanation."

Jeremy, I agree. As Mr. Goldburg pointed out, Romney is not "philosophically grounded". Unfortunately, Perry and Gingrich don't seem to be any more so.

I'm starting to wonder if any of the front-runners TRULY believe in conservative priciples or if they just tell what they think we want to hear?

I have decided on a strategy to determine how I will cast my vote in my state's primary. I am looking for the candidate with integrity, moral character, and strong leadership ability; the candidate with an unfailing love for America, and dedication to a constitutionally limited government by the people, for the people; the candidate who is courageous enough to go against the grain in Washington to do what is right; the candidate who would view his presidency as a service to the country, not a stepping stone to power and wealth; the candidate with enough faith in conservative principles that he will not feel the need to kowtow to the progressives in Congress or to compulsively temper his policies with a subsidy here and a federal program there.

Oh,... and he must be likeable and articulate enough to beat Obama in the general election.

Is that asking to much?

Oh, well. Back to "Anybody but Obama".

Jonah, Although your statement about the cost of 1964 TVs is correct, the syntax suggests many other objects can be purchased for the same price. Your statement would have been more clear if you reported what that 2011 price in dollars really is -- much more than $750 -- due to Federal Reserve inflation of the currency. The impression one gets from reading the 1964 figure of $750 is it can purchase much more. The real dollar amount in 2011 is what -- double or triple this figure? Those people who have saved $750 now can buy only the flat screen TV, not the rest of the stuff you mention.

Veritasequitas, Mitt Romney's negative ads worked for him in Iowa. Why shouldn't they work for Gingrich's revenge? The fact is they didn't, but why? Even though many people say negative ads are disgusting and have a reverse effect, often they do work against an opponent.

Orf,

Using this inflation calculator:

http://www.dollartimes.com/calculators/inflation.htm

I found that annual inflation of the dollar was 4.26% between 1964 and 2011. So, in 1964, $750 was worth about $5,320 in 2011 dollars. (Scary, huh?)

Mr. Goldberg adjusted for inflation before making the claim that the real cost of a color T.V. has decreased since 1964. I imagine only very wealthy people could afford a color T.V. in 1964; today they can be found in just about every household.

All a president needs to do in order to "create jobs," is to get Congress to go along with cutting taxes and lifting some of the regulatory burden on the businesses that might do some hiring. Government itself does not create jobs; it does help the economy improve by getting its boot off the throat of businesses and otherwise getting out of the way. (One great way to start would be by lifting all moratoriums on oil exploration and drilling in the Gulf, the OCS, and ANWR.) If Romney can do that, fine.