Rather than shooting down Fee’s points you ought to give them consideration and find a way to address his issues which are also the prevailing ones in the public’s mind.
Drop all the textbook stuff about Capitalism and Socialism. No matter what Keynes or Friedman say, you can not defend $20-$40 million dollar payouts to executives of failing corporations who have ripped away jobs, wages, and benefits from the vast Middle Class.
Keep on that track and you will get a lot of attaboys from the country club set, and collaterally a lot of unemployed Republican politicians.
Your point is askew. Fee was whining about a $23,000 bill IN A HOSPITAL and then Fee complains about capitalists.
Do you know the medical care industry is one of the most regulated in this country ? And that the compensation of an exec in Mobil Oil Co, for example, has absolutely no relationship to a hospital bill ?
But instead pander to an obviously idiot public who believes if the rich sell their mansions, that one will suddenly be able to demand their neighbors or their employer pay for ones health insurance?
I didn't cite any "textbook stuff about Capitalism and Socialism." I don't run the corporations, the stockholders do. Therefore, I don't have to defend the payouts. It is a red herring. If the corporations and the stockholders don't decide on the payouts, who does? The federal government?
Thank you, thank you oldbill. My leadership approach was shaped by the military service and study of great military leaders. The first thing you learn as a 2LT is that one may have the rank, but you must earn the respect of the men you lead. You do that by leading by example. Many civilians do not know that officers eat last in the chow line. Officers may sit in separate tables then the men to avoid the issue of fraternization, but they eat the same food as the men. You sleep in the field with the troops, share their discomforts, risks and etc. The consequences is the men will follow you into hell and back because the officer may be their leader, have certain privelages and more pay, but he is one of them in many ways. I do not see this in the free market proponents. They see the world from an individualistic viewpoint only. Maximum personal profit that is legally permissible and the market can bear, is their motto. Sadly they do are not able to see that this approach is providing ammunition to their opposition to win public opinion. The other dangerous axiom is make fast money before it becomes a problem, and hopefully I made my clean get away before the whole scheme collapses (i.e dot.com bubble, housing bubble, and now subprime bubble). We see this attitude in politicians when it comes to government finances, and we see this attitude in elderly when it comes to Social Security and Medicare. They all know what they are doing in the long run will collapse, but they figure that they would be long gone when it does happen and leave it to the future generation to clean it up. And if the future generation can not and end up suffering from it, they simply don’t care because they got what they want out of it.