Quote:
Originally Posted by xg4bx
Color me silly but I always thought this was the way things were supposed to be for all businesses, at least before the lunacy of the concept of ''bailouts'' took hold.
|
Bailouts are a natural consequence of the long-term worldwide trend of nationalist industrial policies, protectionist economic policies, and annointing "National champions" to be subsidized out of citizens' taxes.
Ventures have gotten used to the (Robin Hood in reverse) idea that when consumers choose not to willingly support your product (or special interest) with their money, they can always enlist the state's coersive power to take the money from the citizenry to benefit them. After all, it is easier to panhandle a handful of politicians than to adapt to changing realities and emerging opportunities.
Once you start using the government to shield and/or support companies (and special interests) regardless of efficiency, utility, or economic merit, the slope gets very steep and very slippery very fast.
Patterson bemoans that nobody from Big Publishing is stepping up to panhandle the government. Well, over at the Passive Voice blog, Barbra Annino has this dead accurate observation:
http://www.thepassivevoice.com/04/20...comment-100425
Quote:
So there’s this:
Profits Jumped 75% at Random House
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...-schuster.html
Profits Rise Again at Simon & Schuster
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...-schuster.html
Hachette’s profits return to post-Meyer levels
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/e-...er-levels.html
And then there’s this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012...hors-list-2012
James Patterson: $94 million
Stephen King: $39 million
Janet Evanovich: $33 million
John Grisham: $26 million
Jeff Kinney, $25 million
Bill O’Reilly: $24 million
Nora Roberts: $23 million
Danielle Steel: $23 million
Suzanne Collins: $20 million
Dean Koontz: $19 million
JK Rowling: $17 million
George RR Martin: $15 million
Stephenie Meyer: $14 million
Ken Follett: $14 million
Rick Riordan: $13 million
This is NOT an industry in trouble. This is NOT an industry that needs bailing out. If authors like Patterson and publishers are so worried that they might sink without bookstores, then why haven’t any of them tried to buy B&N? Why didn’t they put a bid in on Borders? Hell, why don’t they open their own stores and sell their own books?
|
The idea that that list of "usual suspects" needs to panhandle the citizenry to "survive" is ludicrous, especially in light of the current economy and a political climate dominated by populism on both ends of the spectrum.
At least the BPH crowd understands they would be laughed out of congress *for now*. I don't doubt they will eventually get their (very quiet) bailout snuck into one of the usual pork barrels but it won't be now and it won't be by wrapping themselves in "culture".