It is refreshing when someone speaks the truth - even if they might not have meant to.

For an interesting perspective on the real risk to our economy from over-regulation by a Congress that is run by lobbyists, read this interesting article on Google's Eric Schmidt's discussion of Washington politics.

Some highlights:

"So we get hauled in front of the Congress for developing a product that's free, that serves a billion people. OK? I mean, I don't know how to say it any clearer," Mr. Schmidt told the Post. "It's not like we raised prices. We could lower prices from free to . . . lower than free? You see what I'm saying?"

He contrasted innovation in Silicon Valley with innovation in Washington. "Now there are startups in Washington," he said, "founded by people who were policy makers. . . . They're very clever people, and they've figured out a way in regulation to discriminate, to find a new satellite spectrum or a new frequency or whatever. They immediately hired a whole bunch of lobbyists. They raised some money to do that. And they're trying to innovate through regulation. So that's what passes for innovation in Washington."

An interesting and quick read - and one you won't see again for awhile.