Sowell's thesis concerns the intellectual and political elite, but his argument seems to fit almost perfectly the behavior of Wall Street's elite with respect to the municipal bond scandals. Indeed, empirical evidence itself may be viewed as suspect, insofar as it is inconsistent with that vision. Those who accept this vision are deemed to be not merely factually correct but morally on a higher plane. Put differently, those who disagree with the prevailing vision are seen as being not merely in error, but in sin. These are not mere debating tactics.
People are never more sincere than when they assume their own moral superiority.
After all, if the Federal government had wanted to prevent this activity it would have written the rules differently. Certain members of the municipal finance world think it is their main task to find ways around the rules no matter what they are. Certainly some of the rules may have ben ill considered or inappropriate for the particular set of circumstances with which some client is faced. But to nakedly assert that the Wall Street firms are entitled to find their way around the rules, is to assert that they are Sowell's anointed. In the case of escrows it is to ignore the public marketplace.