This is CBS, I on the World. I'm John Batchel. Happily, I welcome Professor John Cochran of Stanford

University, an esteemed member at the Hoover Institution who keeps the grumpy economist blog. And coincidentally,

John has posted recently remarks about a planned economy, central planned economy, and much evidence

of it being recommended in the United States as late as Gerald Ford administration

of 1974 to 76. It's coincidence, but I'm reading a new book by Professor Sean McMeek and overthrow the world

about the rise and fall and rise again of communism, central planning, as a recommendation

of how to govern.

It is replete with examples of failure again and again and again.

The government not only cannot pick winners,

it invariably winds up corrupting everybody in the system.

The Soviet Union is an example,

but other states abound between now

and back then when Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital

with a phrase-making genius,

but with no understanding of capitalism or how the world works.

John, a very good evening to you.

This planned economy, I would have gotten the answer wrong if there is a multiple choice

and it said, when was the last time the United States talked about a

planned economy? I would have guessed something around McKinley, or maybe not Cleveland.

McKinley would have been my guess. However, it turns out it was as recent as the transition from

Gerald Ford to Jimmy Carter. And even Hubert Humphrey got involved.

What were they thinking?

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