As Jon Sanders launches the John Locke Foundation’s new Carolina Cronyism series, American Enterprise Institute president Arthur Brooks is also drawing attention to the cronyism problem.

He highlights the issue in an email this week:

Friends,

In Sunday’s Washington Post, I defended free enterprise against five common myths: that free enterprise hurts the poor, is driven by greed, breeds envy, is inherently unfair and created the financial crisis. The benefits of free enterprise are so clear that it’s worth asking why these misunderstandings persist.

These myths endure because America’s commitment to real free enterprise is wavering. The U.S. may have one of the world’s freest economies, but we’re drifting from a nation that creates opportunity to one that rewards the connected, from offering government-backed loans to companies run by campaign donors to crafting rules that reward large firms with lower borrowing costs.

That’s simply not fair. When the well-connected line their pockets through special access, they are pulling the ladder of opportunity up behind them. Our system still rewards merit and hard work, but many in Washington are fighting to change that. If we are serious about preserving America’s meritocracy, we need to remember why free enterprise matters. And that means working to dispel the myths its detractors propagate.

Thank you for joining with us to defend real fairness and opportunity.