Only in America...

Could we sell our patrimony for a bunch of red stuff. (Gen 25:30)

So, the fortune 500 list came out, and the world's richest man is no longer the guy you curse out every time you see the blue screen of death.

That's right...the richest man in the world is from...Mexico.

That's great, you could say. Maybe the Mexican dream is more like the American dream than I thought. But, even a cursory glance at the article indicates that Mr. Slim is the son of Lebanese immigrants. He started "fundraising" early in life, and worked his way to the top. Wonderful. In fact, Thomas Sowell has written on this sociological phenomenon. Lebanese, Jews, and Armenians tend to be relegate themselves as a merchant class in whatever society accepts them (and their enterprise). This perseverance flowers, through hard work, into wealth. Unfortunately, yet another thing all three groups have in common is occasional persecution and harassment from the local "native" population.

My bone to pick is that while it is well and good for other nations to generate wealth, it should be America's focus to encourage such prosperity. Granted, it needs limits and checks. But ultimately, the payroll from Mr. Slim's many corporations is organizing far many more communities than any Harvard Law Graduates I know. Also, these communities tend to be more sustainable...but I'm not far left. Sustainability isn't my primary concern.

If that wasn't negative enough, here's some great news from up North.

I say, after beating them in the medal count, go for it Canada. If the Great White North can't dominate the winter olympics, at least they can dominate the Economic Freedom Index.