What If...

[henry quirk]

"For every rule made there are dozens of people plotting to get around it."

Sure, but that's how it 'is'. One reg, 500 regs, doesn't matter: someone is gonna (try to) navigate 'round it.

So: if folks naturally and normally try to break the rules, isn't it better to have a handful of sensible, easily understood, demonstrably enforceable regs than volumes of overblown, self-conflicting, arcane, almost impossible to enforce regs?

Isn't 'mind your own business, keep your hands to yourself, or else' better than 10,000 loophole-plagued codifications that favor the guy with the fatter wallet?

#

"Capitalism has never been "self-regulating and -responsible", quite the contrary rape and pillage the gospel."

When did I bring up capitalism? I didn't, but: since 'you' did...

I've been unambiguous: I'm no fan of capitalism. By defintion, it favors 'capital' and therefore lends itself to melding with 'state'. I favor 'free enterprise' which is all about the individiual.

Having said that...

Capitalism (even the state capitalism we're saddled with now) can be self-regulating cuz the folks who transact 'can' self-regulate. Absolutely, capitalism (in any form) discourages self-regulation. Much easier to bilk folks who've been taught to 'not' cover their own keisters (who've been taught to rely on others for protection), but this is not the same as sayin' capitalism (more accurately, 'capitalists') 'can't' self-regulate.

I'll concede tte point, however, since -- at this late stage of American capitalism -- it's unlikely the big fish will ever play by the same rules foisted up on the small fry.

So: do we toss capitalism out and replace it with state socialism? We're more than half way down that road already. Here's the thing: at some point state capitalism becomes indistinguishable from state socialism. The Central Commitee or Politburo is really no different than the Board of Directors.

Now, I know we have democracy (one man, one vote) as the bulwark against the concentration of power, but -- really -- how's that workin' out for us?

When you and me step into the voting booth, we merely get to choose from a selection arranged by other folks, folks we don't know, don't have the ear of; folks with agendas that may not mirror our own.

We think we can reform the process by addin' layer after layer of regulation to it, but, practically speaking, we just muddy the water makin' it easier still for us to get hoodwinked.

So: I suggest, have suggested, will continue to suggest, we should move in another direction, one encouraging self-direction and -responsibility for each and every one, where 'government' is properly seen as limited proxy, where corporation stands as naked to the world as the corner independent. Remove 'their' protections and privilege, don't chain and hobble 'me'.

Yep, some stuff, some people, are gonna get (really 'need' to get) wrecked. Killing' cancer isn't easy or painless. Healthy cells are whacked hard gettin' to the cancerous ones.

*shrug*

'nuff said (cuz nobody agrees or gives a shit anyway).