TO THE EDITOR:
The opinion piece “The Challenger” could have done without the asides that quickly exposed both the author’s bias and ignorance.
The author dismisses Lawson’s faith in entrepreneurs, their ability to “get up every day and change the world by starting in their backyard,” as idealism. This wrongly assumes two premises — that idealism is an undesirable quality in a candidate for office, and that faith in entrepreneurship is in fact idealism.
Faith in entrepreneurship as the primary driver of the American economy is not misguided idealism, but a rational belief in an empirically established fact. In terms of wealth creation and job growth, entrepreneurs lead the way. Innovators such as Thomas Edison, Sam Walton, and Bill Gates have created trillions in wealth for their investors, jobs for millions, and drastically raised the standard of living for all Americans to a far greater degree than any government program ever has or ever will.
Misplaced idealism is the belief that all-knowing benevolent bureaucrats in Washington will redistribute wealth and capital more efficiently than private markets. A vote for Lawson is a vote for economic vibrancy and growth; a vote for Rep. Price is a vote for stagnation and kleptocracy.
David Alexandre
Senior
History and Economics
