Marc Andelman wrote:
> Small business has no problem competing, in spite of unfair
> competition against the full weight of an intrustive government.
> Large institutions greatest virtue is their collective stupidity.
>> What you are defending is called crony capitalsim, a crooked interconnection
> of government, big business, and academia. Such a system is
> bureaucrat run so does not allocate resources to where they can do
> the most good. Hence I advocate a more "perfect capitalism" predicated
> upon no holds barred free markets,
> WITHOUT GOVERNMENT MANIPULATION.
>> What you are defending is immoral and socially unstable, whether
> pursued in the old Soviet system or in Indonesia, which last I heard,
> has it's capital of Jakarta in flames.
>> Regards,
> Marc Andelman
As I feared, you missed the point. I am not defending anything. I am stating
the fact that we ARE in a time of "no holds barred" free markets. Government is
a "cash cow" and not the great manipulator any longer. Government is
manipulated by different segments of the economy to milk money from the "cash
cow" or derive some other benefit. A lot of the "new" regulations you complain
about are lobbied into existance to maintain the position of someone in this "no
holds barred" free market.
Militarist wave the banner of national security and build un-needed bombers and
submarines. Educational institutions decry bad test scores and use the funds to
build monuments or patent bases. The medical industry shouts of cancer, aids,
smoking, etc. and the need for more grants. Environmentalists scare the public
with news of toxins and the end of the world to create jobs for counting fish.
These are all viable, healthy parts of todays economy. Everything is rosey
until the "cash cow" dies.
What I have heard from you is that you don't know how to milk the "cash cow".
You are not competing successfully and it is not fair. As I stated before, no
one is left to care. Get yourself a good lobbyist and learn to milk the
system. Do not waste your time here wishing for the way things used to be when
honorable men gave a damn about the country and acted in a spirit of
benevolance.
Your arguments are based on a nostalgic view of "the way things used to be".
Elected officials don't do anything except run for office. Congressmen have to
raise about $25k per day to be competitive. There is no time to do the terrible
things you think they do. Legislation is written by staffers and lobbyist -
usually working for some group or company trying to get money, get regulations
to beat down competition, or get a loosening of restrictions to increase market
standing. If this legislation provides funds or votes it is considered -
otherwise it dies. Think this is an exageration - I HAVE SEEN IT. Up close and
personal.
Please, do not quote the ode of the mindless bureaucrat, either. The government
consists of a President, a Vice President, 535 Congressmen, and 11 Justices of
the Supreme court. The 1.9 million "bureaucrats" on the civilian side of
government are bound by Federal law to do what the 537 elected members of
government tell them to do. The elected officials decide what the bureaucrats
should do based on that capitalist principle - "what profits me the most?"
As I stated earlier, everyone is on the take, trying to get a share of the
action. Lables like "liberal", "right-wing", "free trader", "pure capitalist",
even "Democrat" and "Republican" simply indicates what nonsensical set of sound
bites will be used. It is ALL foo foo dust.
It may be a bad opinion but it is mine.
Glenn Horter
