Russo Loco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Skip -
>
> I'll have to disagree - a little. There's no
> question in my mind that UNFETTERED capitalism
> often runs amok - like a giant game of monopoly in
> which almost everybody loses. We need a new "Magna
> Carta" to keep the greed-heads under control, and
> prevent abuses like false advertising, selling
> faulty or impure products, monopolies of basic
> commodities like clean air, fresh water and -
> these days - energy and medical care, and above
> all to prevent the corruption of government by
> lobbyist "campaign contributions" bribes.
>
> But there's also no question in my mind that
> small- and medium-scale HONEST capitalism is a
> good thing: witness the companies running the
> D&Sng and the SLRG. This kind of capitalism, that
> can recognize and respond to a need or want
> quickly - without the delays of a large government
> bureaucracy - is at the heart of our modern
> quality of life.
>
> It's the abusers and greed-heads, mentioned above
> - the giant banks and monopolistic
> health-insurance companies - that have caused the
> current economic crisis, and IMHO they MUST be
> reigned in and their "too big to fail"
> conglomerates and multiNAZIonal businesses broken
> up.
>
> Russo (not so) Loco
I'd have to agree mostly. I was a onetime cog in the capitalistic wheel myself, but in my work and travel experience all over this country and much of the world, I have seen too much of the abuses of large corporations, insurance companies, the military/industrial complex, etc. Capitalism is based on greed. It is as simple as that.
I wish that my first and favorite railroad, the Illinois Central, had not been so greedy that almost no steam was saved, and to my knowledge, the few that exist don't run. That's just one example of many. GC Ry is another.
Skip Luke
Switchman (ret): Grand Canyon Railway;
Engineer (ret): Georgetown Loop RR Inc., Sumpter Valley Ry., Monticello & Sangamon Valley;
Dispatcher(ret): Illinois Central, White Pass & Yukon, Burlington Northern Ry.
Mariner, Musician, Miner