Like shooting fish in a barrel

The New York Times sends a reporter to interview David Mamet. It's like a middle school baseball team playing the Yankees.

Years ago, you described “American Buffalo” as being about “how we excuse all sorts of great and small betrayals and ethical compromises called business.” In this book, you defend enormous payouts to C.E.O.’s working for failing corporations. You seem to have changed radically.

I have. Here’s the question: Is it absurd for a company to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to a C.E.O. if the company is failing? The answer is that it may or may not be absurd, but it’s none of our goddamned business. Because as Milton Friedman said, the question is not what are the decisions but who makes the decisions. Because when the government starts deciding what’s absurd, you’re on the road to serfdom.

Booya!

Comments

[TheBigHenry]

Thanx for screening the NYT for me, Craig. I spit on the NYT, but even a blind squirrel ...

David Mamet for President!

[jorgxmckie]

I'd hate to ask the guy a stupid question.

[Ken]

Best example of NYT readership idiocy:

"Mamet thinks that "When the government starts deciding what's absurd, you're on the road to serfdom." And when corporations start deciding what's absurd, you're on the road to slavery."

That comment made me chuckle at the complete lack of economic knowledge.