wal-mart
A paper written by Steven Horwitz, an
Austrian-school economist (we're still not quite sure what that means, other than it's considered slightly controversial), recounts
Wal-Mart's relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina (PDF) and points out that private businesses, along with the Coast Guard, did far more than any "official" government agency in providing immediate, on-the-ground assistance to victims. His argument is that something as complex as a relief effort is more efficient when it's decentralized and involves private businesses. Horwitz has also, separately, supported the idea that
Wal-Mart should win the Nobel Peace Price. Hey, we told you his school of economics was controversial.
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Consumerist
