“The Free Market is all you need to keep big monopolistic bureaucracies…”

Since there is no free market in a monopolistic system, a better way to make your point would have been something like:

“An unregulated free market can lead to big monopolistic bureaucracies…”

Maybe it sounds like I’m splitting hairs, but people might think I was a bit off if I said: Gravity is all you need to keep airplanes flying. There’s some truth in that but it is not the entire story is it?

Also, keep in mind some monopolies exist BECAUSE of regulation. Think of old Ma Bell. Once the government allowed competition, phone service on every level became orders of magnitude better.

And no, I don’t believe governments are “superior” or more moral or efficient or less corrupt than private enterprise. I am very well aware even the most enlightened democracies can be subverted by demagogues, public apathy, criminals, foreign interference, corruption, lobbies or crooked politicians on both sides of the aisle. That’s what’s happening in my country right now.

We have some ability to control our government. We have the vote, we can engage in political speech and action. We can run for office If necessary, we can go start a revolution. But there is no way we can modify or control capitalism except by government regulation of commerce; especially when its boosters keep telling us; “Let the businessmen do whatever they want and everything will be all right. They know what they’re doing. Trust them. The Free Fucking Market is all you need…its a Law of Nature.”.

Even with all its shortcomings, I have more faith in democracy than I do in business. The primary defining skill of any successful businessman is to figure out how to get AROUND the checks and balances of the free market. And of course, they have the resources to do so as well as the ultimate incentive. They can’t help themselves.

In spite of gravity, the atmosphere is filled with biplanes, baseballs, blimps and bullets. The whole point of human ingenuity is to find ways to subvert the so-called Laws of Nature.

The Free Market is all you need to keep big monopolistic bureaucracies…

The complete and total contradiction within that statement is enough to make an economist cry, or laugh.

And gravity is all you need to allow us all to float?

This is not religious, social, cultural, or ideological. Its all about money and power, and those two are indistinguishable from one another.. And in order to drive this program, they have learned that tapping into (and carefully nurturing) the bigotry, greed, ignorance and hatred of the common man is the best way to go about it.

Fascist politics is the alliance of the banker and the redneck. Its older than Babylon and evil as Hell.

Sigh.

What’s really incomprehensible is how many Americans have hitched their wagons to his star. I understand how some think he’s crazy, but are willing to put up with him because it furthers their agenda (the leadership of the GOP). But around a third of the adult population of the country is making excuses for this grotesque buffoon because they just cannot see the depth or extent of his dysfunction.

That’s not a problm with Trump, its a problem with America.

As RL pointed out, he doubled down yesterday and took another sharp turn down Demensia Drive.