Why does federal aid seem to have a reverse Midas touch? Drawing on examples from the nation’s past and present—the fur trade to railroads, cars and chemicals, aviation to Solyndra—Uncle Sam Can’t Count, a sweeping work of conservative economic history that explains why the federal government cannot and should not pick winners and losers in the private sector.

From the days of George Washington through World War II to today, government subsidies have failed dismally. Draining the Treasury of cash, they impede economic growth, and hurt the very companies receiving aid. Filled with examples of government failures and free market triumphs, from John Jacob Astor to the Wright Brothers, World War II amphibious landing craft to Detroit, this lecture will critique government investment that demonstrates why business should be left exclusively to private entrepreneurs.