Re: MLB - I would not be opposed to stiffer penalties for breaking the limits, but I hate the cap, which is absolute.
I think if you've got the money and are in a window where you have a few years to contend, that team ought to be able to tip the scales for a few years.
The Yankees don't just tip the scales, they knock them over and set them on fire. I think they exceeded the spending limit by over $100 million last year? The problem right now is the penalty is stiff enough to deter most teams, but not the Yankees. I think a better system would place a progressive penalty for violating the limit which gets steeper each successive year the team exceeds the limit.
In the case of the Rangers, it does not translate to success, but it does translate to long-term viability. The Senators or Sabres cannot survive as many seasons of failure as the big-market US teams.
In the case of MLB, it should be the same. People point to the salary caps in the NFL and NBA, but it's really the revenue sharing (their local broadcast revenue is a pittance, except for the Knicks, Nets and Lakers).
But the point about socialism is that you have to recognize that a sports league is a single enterprise with franchises. In terms of revenue, the teams do not compete against each other.