I think you are mostly talking about laissez-faire. I don't believe in laissez-faire, which is what this current crop of idiot GOP members believes in. Laissez-faire capitalism is when you put a lion in a cage with 10 deer and then expect the deer not to get eaten. I believe in a regulated, level-playing field type of capitalism where you put the lion in the Savannah with 10 deer and a rough equilibrium emerges where the deer can procreate fast enough and run far and fast enough to escape the lion, so that the deer population never goes extinct.
In the US, we achieved my kind of capitalism and it has made us the wealthiest country the world has ever seen. But now, just as we have lost faith in our basic freedoms and have traded them away for the illusion of more security, we are now trading away our prosperity and our free markets for socialism and the illusion of economic security that brings. Not only that but Socialism is insidious. It literally steals from the future to pay for the present. That is exactly what Social Security does. Ultimately, Socialism grows like a cancer until it displaces private enterprise and you end up with a nanny state. Greece is the end state of Socialism's growth. 75% of Greeks are employed by the state and they can't afford those salaries anymore because there's no one earning enough money to pay taxes to pay for the government employees. Socialism is a closed system. All closed systems eventually collapse.
Let me tell you a true story that illustrates my frustration. My father is 85 years old. He's been in the hospital for 42 days now and has literally a team of doctors working on him. He has been battling all sorts of issues with his heart. He is getting the best care the US has to offer. Most of it is paid for by Medicare. Awesome, right? Anyway, the other day he was complaining to me over the phone about how the doctor forced him to do some procedure that he didn't want and he complained that Obama had turned healthcare into a system where the doctors were like dictators. I just laughed at the absurdity of his statement, but then I got angry.
I said, "Damnitall Dad, you are living in the Golden Age of health care. You are getting platinum lined hospital care to keep you alive another few years and you are getting it for free. Who the hell do you think is paying for that? It's me and your grand children! And before you complain to me again, think on this. When I get to be your age, those damned doctors are going to pull the plug, because there won't be any money left for me. This country is being bankrupted by the care you are receiving right now and the social security check you receive in the mail. So don't complain. You have it good and it's all downhill for the rest of us from here."
That shut him up. Then he laughed and he said, "You are right, son."
So you think on that, tejek. This country's wealth is not infinite. We have already burned through it at an alarming rate over the last 10 years alone and there won't be anything left after the retired folks and Baby Boomers eat their way through the remainder of our wealth. Medicare and Social Security obligations as per the law as it is written today stand at around $70 trillion dollars. By that measure, this country is already almost bankrupt.
So let's all have our bleeding hearts, but at the end of the day, let's be practical. Who do you think I'd choose, if someone forced me to choose between my dad, myself, and my sons? Both my dad and I would choose my sons. We'll bet on the future every time. That's what good parents and grand parents do. But you and people like you want to destroy my kids future with your bleeding heart for the old people today. That's just not smart and I'd say it's a damned site less kind. Everyone should choose kids over old people any day. Old people have lived their lives. Our kids are just getting started. At some point, everyone should bow out gracefully, instead of tearing down everything in their wake. |
