[fastpat]

Originally posted by Superman
It is as though we are coordinating by PM so that you can tee the ball up perfectly for me.

Len, and the rest of you, I have said many times that our differences here are blown way out of proportion. It is true. We are all Americans, and we all want the same things for ourselves and our families, and each other. Freedom. Security. Opportunity. Here, and in politics, are differences are caricaturized. In reality, it is only the details we argue about. At a table in a tavern, we would get along very well. With only a very few exceptions.

But there are differences. In my humble opinion, it is about PEOPLE. Not PROFITS. There is a theory that what's good for corporations is good for people. That theory is largely (but still not copmpletely) true, if you substitute the word "business" for the word "corporations." I have no use for a legal loophole that absolves managers from sociopathic decisions. And I think the main thing wrong with our political system is that we allow the corporation, as a kind of non-voting citizen, to participate in our public policy-making process.

Yes I so, Len. Your statement is a bullseye. I approach the whole situation as what is best for the employee, although "citizen" would probably be more accurate. And I support every effort they can make toward the goal of blackmailing the corporations. I am a bit of an anarchist when it comes to the corporate form of the business entity. And quite frankly, I think that one of the most obvious and most pervasive myths in our society is this notion that business should be largely deregulated. Examples abound and I am at a loss to explain why smart people can support this idea. Sure, "supply-and-demand" are the perfect mechanisms for determining prices and quantities. That's a no-brainer. And enlightened self-interest is a POWERFUL force for economic growth. I believe in many aspects of capitalism, and support those two concepts vigorously. But when someone suggests that markets are self-regulating, I chuckle. I chuckle sadly.

Thanks for the ball placement.

In short, you advocate corporate dominance of government so long as it's forced to fund social programs. That, my billowy friend is fascism pure and simple. You'll get to like the current government a lot I fear.