money - Trump, Clinton, Bush

The life of Donald Trump is all about collecting as much money as possible for
himself. The Clintons have been the same way ever since they left office. And
Jeb Bush, is another one, giving as many speeches as possible and obtaining sweet
consulting contracts from wealthy donors, so now he is a rich man too.

But.....is that what America is all about ? Being able to come to America and be
successful is still one of the most talked about things in the world.

You get money for yourself, and the invisible hand requires you to give the best
products or services. That is why we have so many great products in America.

Only the politicians don't do that.

You get money for yourself, and the invisible hand requires you to give the best
products or services. That is why we have so many great products in America. Originally Posted by VitaMan

I would disagree with the invisible hand of the market requiring best products / services. There are plenty examples of huge companies out there which produce terrible products and services (Comcast, Wal-Mart, etc.) but have leveraged their large market share or collude with other similar companies so that there's a virtual monopoly on the market.

Just look at the cell phone / cable providers if you want to see at how the major companies have all banded together to create a monopoly where in most areas of the country, you have no option except to use their crappy product.

Market forces do force innovation and improvement in some areas, but once a company gets large enough / controls enough of the market, it becomes cheaper and easier to just buy out / suppress the competition rather than continuing to truly innovate.

If you're complaining about capitalism you just need to leave on out of here with that commie talk.

Hah, I'm not saying that capitalism is bad, but unfettered capitalism isn't the magical panacea that many people seem to believe it is.

Economies historically seem to work the best when there is a relatively free market that is also balanced by other limiting forces (governmental oversight, unions, etc.) to prevent corporations from running amuck.

My comment was meant for OP. Unless you have something you would like to share with us?

I am impressed, never thought I would read a discussion on economic forces and the invisible hand on eccie. The real question is what impact will this presidential election have on the overall economy. I believe there initially will be an economic slowing leading up to the election and lasting till about May 2017 as "Joe Six Pack" realizes he still has a job and life goes on no matter who is in the White House. I do have friends in other countries that worry about Trumps overall temperament

Hah, I'm not saying that capitalism is bad, but unfettered capitalism isn't the magical panacea that many people seem to believe it is.

Economies historically seem to work the best when there is a relatively free market that is also balanced by other limiting forces (governmental oversight, unions, etc.) to prevent corporations from running amuck. Originally Posted by jbravo_123

Over-regulation and cronyism have stymied competition, the heart of true capitalism, which no longer exists in USA. New business creation is in a death spiral for the simple reason that the current regulatory burden is fatal to small business but just a speed bump for the Microsofts, WalMarts, and the like.

If you buy cheap shit you are supporting the things you decry.
Nobody makes you shop at Walmart or use Comcast as your cable provider.

The issue is when the government decides to favor one over another and then you get crony capitalism which rips the taxpayer off as an example Solyndra comes to mind. Those people ripped us off so bad they took the 5th and nothing has ever been done. Buddies of the left win again.

When it comes down to it, the invisible hand of reproduction is likely much more powerful than the invisible hand of economics.

All the sex sites in the world say little about reproduction. Yet, all the interest generated is for nature to accomplish one thing.

My comment was meant for OP. Unless you have something you would like to share with us? Originally Posted by Fishpie

Ah no, I thought it was directed at me.

I am impressed, never thought I would read a discussion on economic forces and the invisible hand on eccie. The real question is what impact will this presidential election have on the overall economy. I believe there initially will be an economic slowing leading up to the election and lasting till about May 2017 as "Joe Six Pack" realizes he still has a job and life goes on no matter who is in the White House. I do have friends in other countries that worry about Trumps overall temperament Originally Posted by Snafu75

Under Clinton, I think things will be more of the same of what we saw under Obama. I expect the world markets to take a hit if Trump gets elected, at least initially, as uncertainty (whether justified or perceived) makes markets unhappy.

Over-regulation and cronyism have stymied competition, the heart of true capitalism, which no longer exists in USA. New business creation is in a death spiral for the simple reason that the current regulatory burden is fatal to small business but just a speed bump for the Microsofts, WalMarts, and the like. Originally Posted by Don T. Lukbak

Certainly overregulation is a bad thing, but likewise on the other side, too much deregulation (such as what caused the housing market to crash) is also a bad thing. There needs to be a careful amount of regulation in order to allow smaller businesses to grow without too much interference from the large corporations yet enough regulation to protect citizens from harmful business practices.

Certainly overregulation is a bad thing, but likewise on the other side, too much deregulation (such as what caused the housing market to crash) is also a bad thing. Originally Posted by jbravo_123

Deregulation like the Community Reinvestment Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commun...investment_Act ? What a great idea that was, forcing lenders to finance unqualified buyers, repealing the laws of economics, mandating that turds have clean ends to grasp, throwing the 5 C's of credit out the window...hell, that was such an outmoded concept anyway. Of course most lenders were more than happy to be coerced into quick profits, depending upon their cronies in Congress and FNMA to bail their asses out when reckoning day dawned...as it most surely would/did. The sorrowful thing was, excepting Lehmann, their pals in government came through...nevermind the fucking that gave to taxpayers.

This clusterfuck is illustrative of the fact that classical, Adam Smith capitalism in USA has died, or rather got killed. RIP, free enterprise.