Truly -- a comparison of the NFL as a microcosm for society-wide economics? This is hardly a nuanced discussion of what's going on today. It's more of the old, corporate, Libertarian "the market will take care of everyone...eventually..." reasoning for doing nothing about what's happening in today's economy.

If the NFL owners were attempting a hostile takeover of MLB at the players' expense, and then reaping massive profits from the legal wrangling because their friends and families owned the law firms doing the work, while paying for the legal fees out of the players' salaries, that might be a more accurate comparison. If the NFL owners were raising their salaries at the same time, and cutting players to pay for it (while having all the front-office functions done by someone in India or the Philippines who'll take one-tenth the pay for the same work), and then reassigning former players and office staff to sell hotdogs, beer, and jerseys part-time in the stadium (all the while calling it "improved capitalization" and "creating more jobs"), THAT would be a comparable situation to the current economy.

To quote "Clear-Eyed Realist" in #3, "this essay is, well, just dumb" -- but for different reasons. The writer admits early on that the rules in the two are different and that his comparison is weak -- but slogs on, anyway. Oh, and Mr. Malanga needs a grammar editor.