$640.00 to fill the tanks...

Jose wrote:

Capitalism is ruthlessly fair. It treats everyone the same, regardless
of race, creed, or political affiliation. It is the ultimate
democracy, and its basic rules are immutable.


No, it is not.

Capitalism is sort of mostly fair when it's practiced by equals. But
capitalism makes some powerful and some not. The next generation
inherets this, and at that point it becomes inherently unfair.

Small companies are far more influenced by individuals than large ones.
This allows large ones to get away with more. If they become large
enough to become monopolistic and get away with it, the key has been
thrown out.

Large companies can purchase more votes than small ones, or individuals,
and those votes keep them large and influential, despite any quality
issues with their products. WalMart, with its decrees about RFID tags,
may well be the biggest threat to privacy there is, but it is largely
unstoppable because there is little of equivalent size with sufficient
coherency to fight it.

Nobody forces anybody to shop at Wal-Mart. If people are worried about
their privacy, they can simply shop elsewhere. That will correct the
problem quickly.

Matt

Jose wrote:

Capitalism is sort of mostly fair when it's practiced by equals. But
capitalism makes some powerful and some not. The next generation
inherets this, and at that point it becomes inherently unfair.

Nothing in life guarantees you "fairness". Just exactly what is 'fair'?
What you define or what Jay defines it as... or what the government
defines it as... what how Fidel Castro defines it as?

Sorry, but whenever someone intervenes into the 'fairness' game
things go to hell.

"Jay Honeck" wrote

I'm up against it every day, in my business. Two days ago, a $60
million (that's not a typo) Marriott Hotel opened up less than 5 miles
away -- and our phone stopped ringing. We went from having a
gangbusters August, to being behind last year, in two days.

The fact that this hotel was built entirely with taxpayer's money, by
the City of Coralville, might surprise you. On the other hand, in a
socialist area like the one I live in, this kind of thing happens all
the time. (The University of Iowa has a government-built-and-owned
hotel, the Iowa House. They also have a government-owned-and-operated
daily newspaper, the Daily Iowan, that I used to compete against in my
previous life.)

You know, after reading your post an hour or so ago, I have gotten more and
more ****ed-off. Since when does a government have the right to tinker in
direct competition with the private sector?

You need to get together with the Sheraton owners, and do some lobbying to
get some kind of new law passed, or a new damages suite, or forcing the
issue to the highest court, or something.

I will be among the first to contribute to a legal defense fund, for *that*
cause !!!

Damn, just damn !!!
--
Jim in NC

Jay Honeck wrote:

Of course . . .
there is always the
message that capitalism needs to be reigned in lest it go crazy and
crush the weak and weary.

Well, I should think you'd want them taught "the facts of life". The
final sentence above is pretty much an emperically proven fact, is it
not?


Capitalism is ruthlessly fair. It treats everyone the same, regardless
of race, creed, or political affiliation. It is the ultimate
democracy, and its basic rules are immutable.

It isn't always fair, because not all of the information or costs are
available.


Is this fair? Will the Marriott kill us? Will we survive the next two
years, between them and the new $80 million dollar casino hotel they're
building just south of town? I have no idea -- but I'll keep swinging
for the fences in the meantime.

That's capitalism -- and I don't want my kids teachers sugar-coating
it. All that will do is weaken them for their upcoming battle, in a
field called "life".

If the hotel was built with public funds, then this isn't capitalism.

Matt

ktbr wrote:
Jay Honeck wrote:

None the less, it seems we are running headlong toward the same
end.


The lure -- and illusory rewards -- of bribing us with our own money
are far too great for any country to long resist.

If you want to see America's future, all you need to do is visit any
inner city convenience store that sells lottery tickets, right after
the first of the month. It's really quiet pathetic...

Exactly. And it is sad to say, but public (government) schools are
doing a fine job of insuring new generations will go forth with
limited understanding of the real power of economic freedom and
just how precious it is to maintain.

I have a public school education and you won't see me buying lottery
tickets, or participating in any other kinds of bad economic decisions.

Granted, I didn't learn anything until I got out of public high school.