philbymon wrote:
The funniest part of all these discussions is that you, Craig, along with Glen, J Haley, & Ryan, all seem to believe that we actually HAVE a "free market."
For the most part we do Phil.
YOU still decide where and how, to spend your money. THAT ALONE gives you the power in the free market system. The exceptions to this are monopolies on energy, like electricity or natural gas. Other than exceptions like those, YOU CHOOSE what you buy. No one puts a gun to your head. You can buy from a mom and pop store, from a huge chain... you can go into another state and purchase, if they have lower taxes or other advantages, you can buy online, you can buy from other countries. YOU STILL CHOOSE where your money goes.
I agree with you that super-corporations, parent companies of thousands of smaller companies, can at times wield a great deal of economic power, as well as receive some political favoritism, which would make it difficult, if not impossible for a mom and pop operation to compete, but even there, much of that is the nature of the beast. Why should a small business be EQUALLED against a much larger enterprise, through government insistence? In other words, like the Walmart situation, where it is claimed that they destroy small businesses, because they can better afford to buy in bulk internationally, and charge better prices for their products. And? I like better prices, and easier return policies, etc...
The solution to surviving and even thriving, in the shadows of huge corporations, is creating NICHE markets. Offering products or services that a bigger corporation cannot. Business requires adaptation. You MUST adapt to thrive. Or be creative, a visionary, pursue a new idea. Businesses like Microsoft, Amazon.com, Google and yes, even WalMart... all had small origins, but devoted originators. Sam Walton, was a very hands-on owner. He travelled far and wide to make the best deals he could on new products. He often transported these products HIMSELF in the back of a station wagon, back to his store, and he would pile them high, in bins right in the customer's faces, in the walking aisles of the store, and slap a cheap price on them, to move them in bulk, but especially, to get people into the store, where he could then sell them everything else they purchased, but at a better mark-up.
Things he discovered himself, are now pretty standard business practices. He simply realized the methodology himself, with common sense, and he worked harder than anyone else in his stores, and his success allowed him to open new stores, and repeat the process to the point, that the Walton family, is one of the richest families in the world.
philbymon wrote:
When you turn market control over to the wolves that now control it, there also can be nothing free about it. This was why we had to have the gov't step in, in the early years of the last century, & write the anti-trust & anti-monopoly laws - to assure a fairer market place.
Who "turned control" over to anyone? They go out and SEIZE IT dude. People in history, like Rockefeller are hard working, very disciplined, smart... and ruthlessly competitive. Rockefeller too, came from humble origins. He learned accounting, and rose through the ranks of businesses he worked for, through hard work and disciple. In all seriousness, these two qualities... hard work and discipline, are generally the backbone of ALL great success stories you will hear about, as well as the things that are often lacking in those who do not succeed.
That is just a generality of course. But even in my own life, I am a very, very intelligent person, as well as creative and intuitive... but I have always lacked discipline, where managing money is concerned. I come from humble circumstances, just as one of my favorite uncles did. But unlike me, my uncle CHOSE to be VERY DISCIPLINED and so I continue to struggle, whereas he, is a self-made multimillionaire MANY times over.
I could blame the government for my life. But that would be a self delusion. I have no one to blame for my lack of discipline, than MYSELF.
Several times, I have built my life up, to become pretty successful, through self-discipline and hard work, only to have a very emotionally painful event... like a divorce, become an obstacle, where I grew lazy again, and stopped practicing the behaviors that got me where I was in the first place. Then I get depressed more about being poor and struggling, than I was over the original event, and I end up clawing my way back up to stability, and prosperity. But it's a terrible cycle, that has not served me very well in life. People like my uncle, on the other hand, do not let their emotional setbacks affect them in this way. They don't take 2 steps forward, only to take 3 steps back. They continue to progress and stay disciplined DESPITE whatever circumstances they face. So, they become multi-millionaires, while I bounce around like a yo-yo.
That's not the government's fault. It's my fault.
Too many people come here from other countries with NOTHING, and within years, they understand how things work here, and they work hard, save and sacrifice, and end up being business owners enjoying a higher standard of living, than complaining, lazy, undisciplined Americans, who GREW UP speaking the language, and lived here their entire lives. How is this possible? Because the person from the impoverished country, RECKOGNIZES the opportunities here, and SEIZES THEM, whereas many of us, get a little money and buy a new amp, a new LCD TV, spend a little extra at the bars, buy cars on credit we don't NEED, but sure do feel good driving.
The opportunities here are nearly LIMITLESS!
There is NO ONE to blame but OURSELVES for NOT CHOOSING to seize, protect and INCREASE our stature in life.
philbymon wrote:
I maintain that, between the gas conglomerates, the banks, the food conglomerates, the building supply conglomerates, the insurance lobby, medical & pharmaceutical conglomerates, & the "5 & dime" conglomerates like Wally World, we no longer HAVE a fair market. I find it difficult to understand how you cannot SEE this.
See what? That YOU shop at Walmart, because of the value of the products they offer and the low prices and large selections, and then
BLAME THEM for
YOUR DECISION to reward them with your money?
Walmart would disappear if people stopped shopping there.
The consumer holds the power.
You can choose to stay fixated on what you see as the deficiencies of a mega-retailer like WalMart, but why do you continue shopping there? Because you get a good selection, find pretty much anything you need there, and at a very reasonable price. You are right, that it will force mom and pop stores to ADAPT or FAIL, but when you can buy a microwave from WalMart for $50 bucks, rather than $150 bucks at a small store, then you have another $100 bucks to either pay bills, or buy something else you need or want. WalMart and others, afford you a HIGHER STANDARD of living, because your money can buy more there.
Back in the seventies and eighties, union workers and the Detroit faithful, encouraged us to "buy American" and decried the successes of Japanese automakers, trying to force the government to institute further taxes and penalties against foreign car makers. But the Japanese, insisted... "You know what? American car manufacturers won't even put the steering wheel on the right side of the car, for selling their vehicles here!"
What arrogance and laziness!
They put the wheel on the left side for us! But we can't even do that to be competitive over there? When gas prices went sky-high, they designed more fuel efficient cars, while we, at first just continued making large gas guzzlers. What happened? We bought foreign cars. But what was the result of that? American car makers, were FORCED to change their practices, and start designing more fuel efficient, safer, and more economical vehicles. Today, many American cars are just as efficient, and as well built as their foreign competitors.
THAT is the free market system at work.
Thank Capitalism, NOT labor unions.
There "ARE" truly unfair practices that powerful companies can engage in, and YES, you and I would agree, that there is a role for government involvement in those instances.
But unions? Socialism? The idea that we should GUARANTEE a job to someone and GUARANTEE it for life? That is DESTRUCTIVE, and results in lazy, undisciplined and unadaptive behaviors. It literally works AGAINST survival itself, and the opportunity to thrive. It fosters a species of SHEEP, who obey, because they are "safe" and guaranteed a .50 cent raise per year, and pay "protection money" to mafia-like entities (unions), so they can work at the same boring and dead-end job for the rest of their lives, and they can do the bare minimum job performance, and never fear being replaced, because they have the corporation by the balls.
That merely results in a lazier, less productive work force. A sub-par product being offered at inflated prices, and less capital being retained by the corporation for expansion and growth.
When we instead have to WORK HARDER, and THINK FOR OURSELVES. Guess what? Chances are, we plan better, make better decisions, practice more frugal behavior, and make a FAR BETTER FUTURE for ourselves, than paying mafia-dues to guarantee ourselves a .50 cent raise each year, and a menial job that we can, oh joy... keep for life.
I don't think that really benefits the nation.
Nor does it provide incentives to grow as individuals.
It more often, just keeps us STUCK in the same station in life, which our kids will then emulate, so that GENERATIONALLY, an entire family may simply hold the same social and economic status for decades upon decades, until SOMEONE in that family, decides it is time to break the cycle, and is willing to WORK HARDER and SACRIFICE MORE, to provide a brighter future for his descendants.
