It's a good thing New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wasn't a used car salesman because CNBC "Squawk on the Street" co-host Mark Haines would have driven off the lot in a lemon.
Friedman appeared on the Dec. 14 broadcast of "Squawk on the Street" to promote the paperback release of his book, "Hot, Flat, and Crowded." And once again, he made the case the United States is lagging behind in green technology and the only way to overcome this innovation gap is to set some sort of premium on the price of using carbon-based energy sources, as he meticulously argued in his book.
Friedman insisted it will take action by the government to impose these premiums and to grant some sort of long-term subsidy to stimulate this innovation. Haines, showing he was sold on Friedman's premise, expressed his doubt this could ever be set in motion.
"See, now you're bumming me out and this is where I turn into a cynic," Haines said. "To suppose that the American political community could act that intelligently and responsibly - that's a real stretch."
Friedman agreed, but continued to plead his case.
"Mark, we are in this mode in this country of dumb as we want to be," Friedman said. "Dumb as we want to be and I would say we can't continue this."
And that spurred Haines to lash out at the so-called "American political community," for being concerned over the intricacies of ObamaCare instead of being concerned over Freidman's pet issue - green energy.
"They're arguing about killing grandma when there are issues like this one," Haines said.
And Friedman made his pitch that the Chinese have it figured out because they don't have the political process, which means it's a hurdle for the United States to overcome.
"Exactly, we can't have an intelligent conversation," Friedman said. "All we can produce are suboptimal solutions to our biggest problem. How do we rise as a nation and thrive when our biggest competitor globally, China, run by authoritarian engineers, basically, can produce optimal solutions to its biggest problems? That is a real problem."
However, the problems democracy in capitalism presented to Friedman's end goal, as co-host Erin Burnett said Friedman was suggesting, was a discussion for another day.
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From Haines detached and
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 19:54 ET by Chris NormanFrom Haines detached and sometimes rude behavior on his show and his bizarre, all over the place, positions on business and politics, I've almost concluded he's drunk on the set.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
You know...
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 20:32 ET by unkeeafI've thought that for a long time Chris. The guy is out of control and totally unpredictable.
What if there was conservative bias?
http://bit.ly/5RcvKc
That darn Capitalism, always
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 20:00 ET by ElyasThat darn Capitalism, always getting in the way of letting Liberals govern and rule how they want.
Chip Off the Old Blockhead
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 20:56 ET by SkipperMLMEvery time I see Friedman I know Axelrod has been cloned.
They Want to Have the Same Power as a Dictator
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 21:00 ET by richb313You can almost see him salivate when he mentions the control the Government has in China. These guys want dictatorial power so bad they can taste it. It would always be for our own good, wink wink.
These are real idiots who have risen somehow not because they have any real good ideas but because they toe the Leftist line so well. Anything to give someone, preferrably themselves, more power over everyone else.
How about this for a change of pace. Just a thought experiment. Say everything that the Global Warming Alarmists say is true then we have already crossed the point where our ability to moderate the outcome will be possible. How about we spend our money on building sea walls and irragation ditches to alleviate the problem rather than trying to stop the Earth from spinning on its axis which is what the Greens would have you believe is possible.
The Dutch have lived, quite successfully, with rising seas and temperatures for hundreds of years. Why not study Dutch Engineering practices and institute thier already proven solutions rather than gamble on an untested Hypothesis?
I basically sent the same letter to John McCain when he swallowed the AWG Pill. He could not see the sense of it either because that would mean that Government could not do anything. Well, that is exactly what I want, the Government to not do anything with regards to trying to engineer an outcome with the climate. This way surely leads to folly at best and a real ecological nightmare at worst.
Having an intelligent conversation ...
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 21:28 ET by KC Mulville... isn't possible if Friedman and friends refuse to dignify any opinion other than their own.
In most conversations, "whether you agree with me" is a different question than "whether you're intelligent." With intolerant liberals like these, they're considered the same.
If green technology was
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 22:56 ET by MrSnugglesIf green technology was worth pursuing, the free market would be pursuing it.
→ You're right Snuggles
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 23:02 ET by Cool ArrowThere's a lot of promising work being done right now on the production of diesel fuel from algae.
The problem with it is that even though the production of said diesel requires scrubbing the air of CO2, it will again be released when the resultant diesel is burned.
Who knows what even a zero-net fuel will be taxed.
Carbon or not
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 23:09 ET by general companyThe leftist will tax it anyway. In-fact between the capntax and obamacare, you would be hard pressed to find any item they wont be able to regulate
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Yep,
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 23:06 ET by general companyIt not like they are new technologies, wind and solar have been around for about 100 yrs. But now that Obama is POTUS, suddenly they are so close to being viable?
My Gov. thinks I am dangerous, so be careful
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Any industry that has to be
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 23:37 ET by SnappyAny industry that has to be permantly subsidized in order to compete in the marketplace kind of makes you wonder.
→ You're right
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 23:51 ET by Cool ArrowHow much easier would it be for Americans to settle into a "40 acres and a mule" life were it not for the government subsidies involved in just owning fallow land?
The idiots who are always
Mon, 12/14/2009 - 23:35 ET by SnappyThe idiots who are always bemoaning the fact we live in a Democracy (or Republic) and thrive on a capitalist system always seem to assume that if the sysem were changed to one of their liking.....They would be of the ruling class or one of the decision makers. As long as we could have some sort of magical do-over it would be worth it to see the system change and watch the looks on their faces as they are told to shut up and get back on the assembly line.
hahahahahahhaha.... China
Tue, 12/15/2009 - 05:55 ET by donabernathyhahahahahahhaha.... China isn't looking for a green solution.... China is looking for ANY solution. The have Billions of people an very little oil......... unlike America
roflmao
And Given That China Controls Its Press...
Tue, 12/15/2009 - 08:25 ET by TenebrousWho really knows how successful their engineers have been? Remember all those tales of superior Russian engineering? And all those tales of Iraq's superior military? The American left keeps ignoring all the lies that dictators tell because THEY want to be a dictator, too, and they are trying to lie their way there.
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www.Random-jumbled-thoughts.blogspot.com
Friedman is always wrong..24/7 ...12 months per year
Tue, 12/15/2009 - 11:08 ET by Paarl10 years per decade.....and all 3 decades he hass been on the public scene/
we all know someone like Friedman..educated..well spoken...glib...nice but always but always wrong...buys stock at the top...sells at the bottom etc...become a Yankee fan in 1966 etc...You can become rich just betting against anything friedman predicts...a nice but complete nicompoop.....on a cosine curve in a sine curve world...going down when things going up...etc...etc...
Paarl of Rhodesia