Corporate Take Over Once Again!

CL, I can feel your passion, but I'm afraid it's misdirected. Businesses can do this type of thing if they feel it needs to be done. We live in a capitalist society. The jobs created by corporations do not belong to any one of us, they belong to that corporation. If they want to hire or fire at will, they can do it. If they want to take those jobs to another country, they can do that too.

You need to focus your outrage towards your government. The reason businesses make those decisions (unless they are just losing market share), is because they are overtaxed and regulated by government. This country is slowly becoming a bad place to do business because of all the mandates, restrictions, and taxes imposed on them.

If you want Circuit City to keep these jobs or to pay their employees higher wages, go buy their products. A boycott will not accomplish anything except more possible cuts. There really isn't much else you can do, unless it involves voting for new politicians.

BE the change you want to see in the world ... today!

You are right friend. BUT, then again ... WE are the government. Just because they HAVE the right, does not make them right! This is one injustice out of many that are taking place right now in the 'land of the free, home of the brave'.

Our 'free' lifestyle is diminishing and our 'brave' rather have a dollar in their pocket.

We are all slave wage earners in one form or another. Sold out & lied to by the corporations that ARE controlling our government more & more! Their are more 'lobbyist' lining their pockets than 'US' right now. My pocket book is stretched to its limit. Only through my faith & thoughtful non consumerism have I 'chosen' to beat the government in its own trickery.

"WE are the government."

This was true at the time it was created, but today, people don't seem to understand that concept. Voters in this country continually elect politicians who work against our best interests. The worst part is, not enough people seem to care. They are OK with the government telling businesses and individuals what to do, and they sit back and welcome the "free" government handouts.

I disagree with your view on capitalism though. We are not "slave wage earners". Nobody is forcing you to work and there are millions of people who work for themselves. The people who are working for low wages are the ones who have either not yet realized their full potential, or they are low-skilled workers. Corporations are not evil for trying to make money. That is what being in business is all about and it is what drives our economy and enables us to have the quality of life we have in this country.

"Sold out & lied to by the corporations that ARE controlling our government more & more! Their are more 'lobbyist' lining their pockets than 'US' right now."

The reason this is allowed to happen is because voters do not care. There are far more registered voters than there are lobbyists in Washington. If the citizens of this country want to put a stop to whatever corruption is taking place, they can do it. Unfortunately, this is the problem we face today. People are too interested in how much they're getting "screwed over" by the "rich", or about what's going on with American Idol to do anything about it. We make excuses and worry about Sanjaya instead of being a participant in the process that influences our everyday lives.

I know you're frustrated, but without the private market doing what it does best, we would not be having this discussion right now (neither one of us would have a computer). Capitalism has contributed to our success which has made us the most prosperous nation in history. You have to trust that businesses know what they're doing. Their decisions won't always be in everyone's best interest. Sometimes decisions will be made that adversely affect a few in order to help more people in the long run.

Once again, you say many of the 'right' philosophical statements in behalf of US ... and I do agree in part.

We are talking apples and oranges in many instances. I do not 'believe' in the Capitalistic System which is really borderline Socialistic ... yet am born & breed in the shadow glory of what once was the USA. With all the great minds of knowledge in education, sociology, politics, law, medicine, arts, etc ... and so much that is truly unique still in some our communities and wild-lands, parks, nature reserves etc ... The HUMAN CORROSION seems to be steeping faster & faster.

"Man had better be without education than educated by his rulers; for then education is but the breaking in of the steer to the yoke." -- 1823

But yes I am sitting here engaged in a form of free capitalism myself ... we are fast becoming a 'third' world country ourselves. Our nation is one the most prosperous nation in history ... their have been many many other nations & cultures (now extinct) who were if not more so in comparison - just as prosperous - socially, spiritually, & economically ... For all the good they produced, they are gone now. Perhaps that is just the coarse and birthright of any nation. Part of the human evolution ...? Part of the coarse of history ....?

But our little experiment is 'Capitalism' is degenerating from the inside out. Our infrastructure is collapsing around us and like you said ... too many are STILL more concerned about 'American Idol & gripping against the 'Man'.

I still resist being assimilated on whatever front it may be.

Too many people are not properly educated and this is the result of our government schools. They are not educated enough about economics, history, politics, all of the things that give them the proper perspective about how our world operates. People are too willing to blame anything and anyone else for the problems they face in life and then wait for the government to come along and correct it.

Capitalism is not the problem. What type of market would you prefer? The quickest way to achieve third-world status is an uneducated, or miseducated society. Since our government educates a majority of the children in this country, and the government's sole reason for existence these days is to grow larger and become more powerful, we are quickly on our way to this achievement.

Like I said, your anger is misguided. This country has been capitalist since its inception. If capitalism was so bad, we would never have gotten to the point we are at today. This country would have died long ago. Capitalism is what makes our country exceptional compared to most of the world. Our country will meet its demise because of the way our population is educated, not because we have a free market.

If you have not read the Communist Manifesto, I would suggest you do. If you're not careful, some of your comments may begin to sound like those of Marx. I'm not saying you're a communist, but that your comments against capitalism come eerily close to what Marx thought of the system.

Or did Education create our Capitalistic System?

I am not angry at all ... just seeing exactly what America is without my rose colored glasses on. Yes, I am a baby boomer & yes I did wear rose colored glasses. But they have been stripped from my existence.

Perhaps by the high gas prices, or the lower wage earnings that don't go as far as they 'should', or the inflated housing market that is starting to bottom out; or perhaps because of the corporate downsizing that has taken too many of my fellow American's jobs and brought them to nothing, along with our unsecured borders, & a global economy ... and gee willikers ... but yea for Capitalism because it has brought me all of this too.

Let's get real.

There is also more to ALL of this than meets the eye ... as you stated ... we are not educating our children well. They are NOT prepared socially, mentally, physically, or spiritually (not talking just religion here either). A materialistic consumerism mentality will not be able to meet the social adjustments that are going to be needed in this century.

Or maybe our Imperialistic Capitalism has died and we just don't know it yet. These are its death throws ... ??? Mine too???

As far as Marx and his comments about Capitalism ... the Communist Manifesto ... Communism and all the 'nisms' ... I will never be affiliated with ANY party. Its just another of another. Party on!

I am thankful for the freedom to still be able to voice my opinion, write my opinion, publish my opinion, without being thrown in jail. I just looked over my shoulder too ...

BE the change you want to see in the world ... today!

"Did Capitalism Create our Education System? Or did Education create our Capitalistic System?"

Neither. Our government created the education system. Capitalism was around long before that time.

"Rose colored glasses"

I despise that phrase, but that's another issue. Listen, you apparently don't realize how much government regulations and mandates affect what businesses do, including downsizing and moving overseas. When government interferes with a free market, it no longer can be considered very "free". This is when artificial wages and prices become a serious problem. Feel good legislation like minimum wages, anti-"price gouging", "windfall profit" taxes, and mandated health care coverage affects how businesses can operate. None of these contribute anything positive to a free market.

And children in today's world aren't the beginning of this miseducation. The parents of today's children are just as uninformed and uneducated. This is why most kids aren't being corrected when they repeat the nonsense they pick up at school, from television, or on the internet. It's been happening for a few generations. Yes...even baby-boomers. There's a reason they've been labeled the "give me" generation.

"Imperialistic Capitalism"

Now you're starting to sound like a left-winger. If you cannot look at our current situation rationally, I'm afraid that none of this can be explained to you - and it appears that it does need to be explained. Your opinion on the matter seems to be skewed. You're confusing actions of our government with those of businesses.

Corporations operate where and in a way they can be the most successful. If that means they have to downsize or move to another country, then that's what happens. The only people you can blame are the politicians who pass the laws that make this necessary and the voters that put them in office. That's all I have to say. Be educated and be informed about politics, because those things will help you understand the intentions of our government and help us prevent becoming what you seem to think we are doomed to become.

All the rationals that you are pointing out are very logical and understandable. Also, nothing new.

Understanding how our government operates is exactly the key point of our whole discussion.

http://civillibertarian.blogspot.com/
http://www.bestcyrano.org/
http://watchingamerica.com/index.shtml
http://carolynbaker.org/archives/is-the-american-empire-about-to-collapse-by-chalmers-johnson

Just to name a few of the magazine sites that I read along with journals & books.
We could both go on ... but realize it all comes down to your perspective, my perspective.

Agree to disagree then. Maybe we can pick this up again sometime in the future. A future article perhaps.

"The future is not some place we are going to, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made, and the activity of making them, changes both the maker and the destination." -- John Schaar, Futurist

CL
BE the change you want to see in the world ... today!