2011

“What Would TR Do?”

“It’s too soon to tell.”

Mao Tse Tung’s response, when asked (in 1947) about the consequences of the French Revolution.

Just as perspective is needed to appreciate signal historical events, so, too, is distance required to assess great individuals.

More than a century after Teddy Roosevelt successfully challenged the monopolists and concentrated financial power of his era . . . his legacy has never looked so good.

Standard Oil vs. Too Big to Fail

That legacy includes:

–Passing landmark legislation making monopolies illegal — and using that power to break up Standard Oil (hmm . . . might that power — and precedent — somehow be useful today?  See below).

–Establishing the United States’ world-renowned national park system, including such crown jewels as Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Teton National Park.

–Projecting U.S. military power (“walk softly and carry a big stick”) in such a way that U.S. strategic interests were served, while zealously guarding its blood and treasure (I think Roosevelt would have been deeply discomfited by unmanned drones, as being contrary to the code of honorable warfare . . . but would have used them, anyway).

–Beefing up the forebear of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and giving it authority to ensure that the nation’s food supply was free from contamination.  (Imagine . . . a Republican who saw a role for enlightened government regulation).

Expedient Politics

Above all, Roosevelt understood that rallying a demoralized, economically squeezed populace against an obvious and evil enemy was good, retail politics.

Yes, he undoubtedly could have used his power to exact untold tribute from the market manipulators and too-big-to-fail institutions of his day, in exchange for looking the other way.

But Roosevelt knew that in a democracy, the 99% have a lot more votes than the 1% (I believe the ratio would be 99 : 1).

The best way to get (re) elected — not to mention improve the country and leave an enduring legacy – is to genuinely improve the long-term lot of the former, not the latter.

Legacy

So, surveying Roosevelt’s many contributions, what do I think is his greatest legacy?

Bequeathing modern-day America the legal tools to combat concentrated financial power — and demonstrating the political courage to use them.

In contrast to Dodd-Frank — a 2,000 page legal disgrace and embarrassment – the Sherman and Clayton Anti-trust Acts were simple yet powerful blueprints for attacking entrenched, corrupting financial power.

And still are.  

If today’s Too-Big-to-Fail financial institutions — with their esoteric (and destructive) financial instruments, economy-threatening trillion-dollar balance sheets, implicit (and explicit) government subsidies, stupefying greed, unchecked political power, etc., etc.  – are not proper targets of the nation’s antitrust laws . . . . I don’t know what is.*

P.S.:  Man of the Year runner-up:  FDR, who asked to “be judged by the enemies I have made.”

*If either Roosevelt were alive today, I think they’d throw RICO (“The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act”) at ‘em, too.

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