FFM

‘People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or in some contrivance to raise prices.’ (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776 Oligopolies destroy free markets. Until we do something about their destructiveness we will never bring back the glory of our economy to the heights of yesteryear. Below is a list of some of things that happen as a result of our government failing to do its job as protector of our "free markets"

FCC allows Comcast  to buy NBC. "As is normal in media mergers, the F.C.C. imposed a long list of conditions on the deal. They were outlined in an F.C.C. news release on Tuesday. The conditions are intended to ensure that Comcast plays fair when dealing with rival programmers, cable providers and broadband Internet providers. Many of the conditions are intended to remain in place for seven years, an unusually long period of time." New York Times, January 18, 2011

"If lawmakers want to enhance their safety, and that of their constituents, they should recognize that the true public menace is the well-dressed gun lobbyist hanging out just outside their chamber door." New York Times Editorial, January 11, 2011 That lobbyist is standing in line with thousands of other lobbyist handing out money to take away our free markets. More

China makes us look like a small country. There is no turning back and we cannot defeat them in a war unless we are ready to destroy the world. Our best weapon against them is capitalism and freedom. The gradual disappearance of their repressive government will defeat them from within; not from outside military might. Our best weapon against China is the Chinese people. They do not want the world destroyed no more than we do. Our policies should be focused on spawning freedom by encouraging free markets and free enterprise. Our best weapon is forcing China into being a "fair trade" partner. It is not only in our economic interest to increase exports to China, but it also is our best weapon to help put the future military strength in the hands of the citizens of China and out of the hands of a centralized, controlling, political elite.

For some time I have been trying to understand why the stock market has recovered significantly since the crash of 2008/2009 while the housing market is still falling.Well, I finally arrived at a premise that makes some sense. It is supply and demand. One of the bad guys, Wall Street, seems to be the winner from this disaster. Not only were they bailed out by the tax payer, but now the product that they are selling is in demand and competition has been eliminated.

 Mr. President, What were you thinking?? "He is a top executive at JPMorgan Chase, where he is paid as much as $5 million a year and supervises the Washington lobbying efforts for the nation’s second largest bank. William M. Daley also serves on the board of directors at Boeing, the giant defense contractor, and Abbott Laboratories, the global drug company, which has billions of dollars at stake in health care reform." New York Times 01/06/11 We barely survive a depression brought about by wall street greed and you appoint someone from Wall Street to be your Chief of Staff. Mr. Daley may have the qualifications, however it shows no respect for the ordinary citizen of this country.. I live in Michigan and I smell the odor all the way up here.

Our government needs to see to it that our free markets work to the benefit of its citizens. We need more competition in the health insurance industry; not less by giving the power to the government. Where does it say that markets will work more efficiently with fewer competitors in the marketplace? When Adam Smith talked about "rational self interest” and competitive markets in his book Wealth of Nations he envisioned many consumers interested in buying goods and services from many producers. This “free market” system best serves the private and public good. He was not talking about producers, insurance companies, controlling markets and being too big to fail. As a nation that was founded by mostly Christians, one of our core principles is that it is a morale obligation of those that have been blessed with superior talents and gifts to help the needy. This includes providing basic health care to those who are in need but not in a position to afford it on their own. Chris

This recovery does not feel like one because for the average American his net worth has not recovered and in many cases it is still falling. His nest egg continues to fall as home prices continue to slide. Our economy is so dependent on the consumer and the consumer, along with corporations, are focused on getting their balance sheet in order.instead of consuming. The individual who is working is not in the mood to run up debt and consume. He is more consumed about building wealth to offset the decline in in house values. He is thinking rationally. This is why it is critical that we focus on improving our exports. The primary engine for economic growth, internal consumption, has shifted his priorities to savings. the solution is exports .