Fabula Canuckus Emendatio (Ooopsus)
I wanted to respond to some of the posts on the thread below. I know the Duck doesn't bother reading Canadian newspapers to back up his suppositions so I thought that Big Bubba the Munificent would do it for him. I couldn't get past this one story about a recent ruling by the Canadian Supreme Court. This one story started to really intrigue me the more articles that I read about it. I found some of the thoughts very interesting, in terms of the thread below, so I highlighted them in red. Seems to be trouble in the Socialist Paradise. Wonder why our Canadian cousins haven't noticed that world wide failure of socialism thingy that has been going on lately?
The Supreme Court has handed down a landmark ruling that invalidates Quebec's ban on private health insurance and delivers a caustic critique of the shortcomings of Canada's public health system.
The court noted, Mr. Ducky, and Ms. Hillary, "access to a waiting list is not access to health care."
On the face of it, the federal position is clear. "We're not going to have a two-tier health care system,"said Prime Minister Paul Martin after the ruling came down.
But a two-tier system has been taking root and growing for years, and the federal government has taken no effective action to stop it.
Martin's own doctor, Sheldon Elman, is the founder and CEO of the Medisys Health Group, which operates a chain of private MRI clinics.
The Prime Minister's Office has stated repeatedly that Martin uses his public health card, not his own money, to cover any services he receives.
All the same, it's estimated there are more than 90 private clinics in Quebec. Many of them offer diagnostic imaging, vital for the early detection of tumours and cancer. Some offer surgery at fees which run into the thousands of dollars.
The most aggressive private clinics operate in British Columbia, home province to Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
The Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver describes itself as "the largest and most technologically advanced private surgical facility in Canada" with six state-of-the-art operating rooms.
The centre's web site says it offers general surgery, laparoscopic surgery, gynecology, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and other services.
Earlier this month the Copeland Healthcare Centre, also in Vancouver, announced it will provide clients with "unparalleled levels of patient care" for a $2,300 annual fee.
Facility fees are banned under the Canada Health Act. When asked Friday why he has not cracked down on the private clinics, Dosanjh said:
"On the issue of the private clinics, the Canada Health Act violations, you know, I wrote to all the provinces, I received a response from one or two, I haven't thoroughly reviewed those letters, we're awaiting response from others, we're talking to officials."
It irks me that a prisoner can get quicker specialist consultations or surgery than law-abiding Canadians, but that's the law. Go bark to your MP about it.
Just last week, you may recall, a New Brunswick man who told police in Toronto he was planning a shooting rampage was jailed for three years. He wasn't actually going to kill anyone. The 44-year-old man, who had no prior criminal record, just wanted heart surgery. And he got it quickly while in custody.
Yes, he resorted to drastic measures to jump the queue, but people desperate for treatment will do extraordinary things. Some spend $50,000 to get surgery abroad.
First, of course, we must ask the usual suspects on the left -- the "health care activists", the CBC commentators, the union leaders, the Toronto Star columnists, the professors, the Liberals and last but not least, the NDPers, some of whom are calling for the use of the notwithstanding clause to strike down the Supreme Court's ruling (and oh, the delicious irony of that) -- just what it is that you are all so upset about?
This is exactly what you said you wanted -- an activist, interventionist Supreme Court broadly interpreting the Charter of Rights (in this case, both the Quebec Charter and Canada's) and standing up for ordinary people when gutless politicians won't act.
A year ago, supporters of Canada's government-run health care monopoly stood aghast as a Quebec doctor named Jacques Chaoulli and a hip-surgery patient named George Zeliotis presented the Supreme Court of Canada with an original argument. Medicare's waiting lists have become so dangerously long, they asserted, that legally banning people from paying for their own health care or purchasing private insurance violates the Charter of Rights' guarantee of life, liberty and security of the person.
What the hell does it take for Canadians to rise up in outrage?
A group of relatively wealthy Canadian men and women, in black robes and powdered wigs, have ruled unconstitutional the law that bans the private delivery of medical services in this country.
The case for marketplace solutions over a national health system was made at the forum by Sally Pipes, a conservative Canadian economist who heads the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco. Some of her indictment of Canadian health care:
• Canada has a severe shortage of diagnostic machines, ranking 16th in computed tomography scanners and 20th for magnetic resonance imaging devices. Pipes' elderly mom couldn't get an MRI and had to wait six months for a CT scan.
• Waiting times for a referral from a general practitioner to non-urgent treatment by a specialist can be 18 weeks. Pipes' mom had to wait one year to see an orthopedic surgeon about her knee and then another year for a replacement. Then it wasn't the titanium prosthesis she wanted.
• If he were Canadian, President Clinton's wait for bypass surgery would have been six weeks, instead of the four days he enjoyed in the states.
• "Illegal" private clinics are popping up all over Canada to fill gaps in the country's rationed treatment. The prime minister uses one in Montreal, Pipes asserts.
• Some 250 Canadian doctors head to the U.S. each year.
• Canadians routinely cross the U.S. border for timely and effective health care and pay out of pocket, including top politicians.
"The Canadian health care system is that of a Third World country," Pipes said.
The Supreme Court has handed down a landmark ruling that invalidates Quebec's ban on private health insurance and delivers a caustic critique of the shortcomings of Canada's public health system.
The court noted, Mr. Ducky, and Ms. Hillary, "access to a waiting list is not access to health care."
On the face of it, the federal position is clear. "We're not going to have a two-tier health care system,"said Prime Minister Paul Martin after the ruling came down.
But a two-tier system has been taking root and growing for years, and the federal government has taken no effective action to stop it.
Martin's own doctor, Sheldon Elman, is the founder and CEO of the Medisys Health Group, which operates a chain of private MRI clinics.
The Prime Minister's Office has stated repeatedly that Martin uses his public health card, not his own money, to cover any services he receives.
All the same, it's estimated there are more than 90 private clinics in Quebec. Many of them offer diagnostic imaging, vital for the early detection of tumours and cancer. Some offer surgery at fees which run into the thousands of dollars.
The most aggressive private clinics operate in British Columbia, home province to Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh.
The Cambie Surgery Centre in Vancouver describes itself as "the largest and most technologically advanced private surgical facility in Canada" with six state-of-the-art operating rooms.
The centre's web site says it offers general surgery, laparoscopic surgery, gynecology, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, ophthalmology and other services.
Earlier this month the Copeland Healthcare Centre, also in Vancouver, announced it will provide clients with "unparalleled levels of patient care" for a $2,300 annual fee.
Facility fees are banned under the Canada Health Act. When asked Friday why he has not cracked down on the private clinics, Dosanjh said:
"On the issue of the private clinics, the Canada Health Act violations, you know, I wrote to all the provinces, I received a response from one or two, I haven't thoroughly reviewed those letters, we're awaiting response from others, we're talking to officials."
It irks me that a prisoner can get quicker specialist consultations or surgery than law-abiding Canadians, but that's the law. Go bark to your MP about it.
Just last week, you may recall, a New Brunswick man who told police in Toronto he was planning a shooting rampage was jailed for three years. He wasn't actually going to kill anyone. The 44-year-old man, who had no prior criminal record, just wanted heart surgery. And he got it quickly while in custody.
Yes, he resorted to drastic measures to jump the queue, but people desperate for treatment will do extraordinary things. Some spend $50,000 to get surgery abroad.
First, of course, we must ask the usual suspects on the left -- the "health care activists", the CBC commentators, the union leaders, the Toronto Star columnists, the professors, the Liberals and last but not least, the NDPers, some of whom are calling for the use of the notwithstanding clause to strike down the Supreme Court's ruling (and oh, the delicious irony of that) -- just what it is that you are all so upset about?
This is exactly what you said you wanted -- an activist, interventionist Supreme Court broadly interpreting the Charter of Rights (in this case, both the Quebec Charter and Canada's) and standing up for ordinary people when gutless politicians won't act.
A year ago, supporters of Canada's government-run health care monopoly stood aghast as a Quebec doctor named Jacques Chaoulli and a hip-surgery patient named George Zeliotis presented the Supreme Court of Canada with an original argument. Medicare's waiting lists have become so dangerously long, they asserted, that legally banning people from paying for their own health care or purchasing private insurance violates the Charter of Rights' guarantee of life, liberty and security of the person.
What the hell does it take for Canadians to rise up in outrage?
A group of relatively wealthy Canadian men and women, in black robes and powdered wigs, have ruled unconstitutional the law that bans the private delivery of medical services in this country.
The case for marketplace solutions over a national health system was made at the forum by Sally Pipes, a conservative Canadian economist who heads the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco. Some of her indictment of Canadian health care:
• Canada has a severe shortage of diagnostic machines, ranking 16th in computed tomography scanners and 20th for magnetic resonance imaging devices. Pipes' elderly mom couldn't get an MRI and had to wait six months for a CT scan.
• Waiting times for a referral from a general practitioner to non-urgent treatment by a specialist can be 18 weeks. Pipes' mom had to wait one year to see an orthopedic surgeon about her knee and then another year for a replacement. Then it wasn't the titanium prosthesis she wanted.
• If he were Canadian, President Clinton's wait for bypass surgery would have been six weeks, instead of the four days he enjoyed in the states.
• "Illegal" private clinics are popping up all over Canada to fill gaps in the country's rationed treatment. The prime minister uses one in Montreal, Pipes asserts.
• Some 250 Canadian doctors head to the U.S. each year.
• Canadians routinely cross the U.S. border for timely and effective health care and pay out of pocket, including top politicians.
"The Canadian health care system is that of a Third World country," Pipes said.
posted by BigBubba at 11:06 AM
![[Link to THOMAS Home Page]](http://thomas.loc.gov/images/link.gif)
19 Comments:
I don't know what happened. I always check all of my links to make sure that they work. I don't know how error crept in. I don't know how the piece was published with the box checked not to allow comments.
All of the articles are very interesting. The articles make for fascinating reading on a Sunday. Ain't the Internet grand? I grew up an avid reader of whatever newspaper was the local one for my family at the time. Now my local newspaper is wherever in the world I care to go and if I choose it could be in whatever other language I may be comfortable with other than English.
BB,
I love writers who use Latin! I only wish I had more than a passing familiarity with it. But then, there always should be a special reason for using it (like something for REAL grownups), as the exchange of letters between Adams and Jefferson reveal, or as your title reveals.
but, back to the subject, I don't think that the Canadian Supreme Court was being particularly "activist". Didn't the author of one of the linked articles make the point that "life" was a Constitutional right in Canada???
And then as BB states, there's the "queue jumping" issue. Are we going to adopt something like a Canadian system where you have to commit a crime in order to "cut in line" for needed services? mr. ducky, how are we going to prioritize "need" and who is going to be responsible for performing triage, the clinics themselves or some government bureacrats? You claim that "money" isn't a "fair" way, so I think the burden is on you to come up with a "fairer" way.
and finally, why weren't the Canadians uniformly enforcing the restrictions on private clinics? Could it be that government health care monopolies don't work and need a "crutch" to keep them going???
Great piece of research BB!
Fatti Maschii, BB
-FJ
I am pausing along with the rest of the world to hear the Jackson verdict. I am hoping that when it is over there will be no more major trials, or California car chases, for at least a month or so. I am sick and tired of it all.
Farmer John, of course I started out messing around with "Anecdotalus Canuckus" knowing that was wrong. When I had to go back in to correct problems, I decided I might as well go for correctness in the title. Did I achieve it? Who knows? Canuckus is a shot, but a reasonable shot. The word anecdote is Greek, as I suspected, in origin.
Somewhere laying around the house I have my Dad's high school Latin textbook. I always wish that I had an opportunity to study it.
I have a lifelong love of words and language. I especially am fond of historical linguistics. Ain't the internet grand? All that information a keystroke away. The Library of Congress right here in my home. Wow!
I was watching a History Channel piece on Egypt yesterday. I heard a fascinating statement. We know that the Greeks, and their civilization, were behind the Romans. There was no one behind the Egyptian civilization. Wonderful link from the program,
Eternal Egypt
So, now the verdict is in. Big Bubba’s opinion? I think Jackson should have been found not guilty. I think the accuser’s family should stand accused of running either a scam or stupidity. I thought right from the very start that the charges were flaky and the DA had an axe to grind.
Yesterday I went a little crazy. Ok, I know I am already a little crazy so I am now officially a little more crazy. Why? Because I read this story on WND about Google. Actually to say I was furious would be slightly more accurate. I immediately started to weigh the possibility of moving this Blog. That would create problems, but, I refuse to support Google. Google is my favorite search engine, but, I am going to evaluate using others. Any suggestions?
I am tolerant of the politics of others, but, when their politics take the low ground of petty stupidity my tolerance level slips. I have absolutely had it with Google and their petty political games. I hope to be moving soon.
BB,
I have no idea whether or not you achieved a grammatically correct latin formulation, I suspect you probably came close...me I stick to "stock phrases" having no idea as to their correct formulation. But regardless, I think that as long as the general idea is put across, or it is google-able...it works.
And I enjoyed the Egypt link, I only wish that I had a faster connection so I could explore it in greater depth.
And it looks as if the internet will be the "next" political battleground, and so I don't look forward to mommy stepping in to regulate. I guess it was inevitable. Glad to see you taking a "market-based" approach, though.
Neptune/mr. ducky,
Looks like a socialism "love fest". No, I don't disagree with the majority of what was said, only I'd like to think that some kind of "golden-ratio" of economic individualism and socialism should be identified for levels of peace and war... (I know, everyone needs a "pipe dream".) I think the natural human mind maintain's a ratio around 50-50 in females with slightly more "slanted" numbers in males (due to brain hemisphere sizing and neuron densities: ego-superego)
As for the inertia/ lack of creativity comment...there you are wrong. The "right" is what makes the left so "creative". If their natural instincts and inclinations weren't so stifled, lefties wouldn't need to sublimate and use their noggin's. Once they start unleashing their non-sublimated passions, their creativity will drop like a a thermometer on a cold day in winter. You won't see a single "novel outfit" at a gay-pride parade. They all be the "same" in their "uniqueness". The more political power and control moves to the left... the more creative the right will get. (It's a viscious cycle - brain hemisphere size & neuron count imbalance). In other words...celibacy will make you smarter...unless you're "Elaine".
All,
As for the MJ trial, I've deliberately ignored it. I guess I don't really care if MJ gets off, he's paid a tremendous price and will always be suspect. Like Nietzsche, I'm not a firm believer that somehow the crime and the penalty always balance out on Themis' scales... Especially for those who are "creations" of the media. But for socialism's sake... a slap on a celebrity wrist once and a while couldn't hurt, otherwise average people will start to believe that the system is "rigged" (and they may not be far from wrong).
-FJ
MJ still on the TV. I have to get up early to go sign some paperwork and then off to Austin to see my sister, again.
Neptune, I am hoping to have my own web site within the next sixty days. I have a tentative amazing name for the site considering what I want to do with it. I am looking at a Houston based host. Need to decide on forum software. Don't like any of them that I have seen so far.
Farmer John, I have my Latin lists also. I keep them to help me avoid sharpshooters. I think many Latin phrases make a great contribution to our language and culture. The problem is the fashion is more and more crudity. Personally I have never mistaken crudity for intellect. I have both granddaughters with me today. It seems I spend half my time trying to convince them of the proper behavior for young ladies.
Mr. Ducky, of course we agree on many things. Homosexuality is not one of them. I have no qualms about my attitudes on homosexual behavior. I don't think homosexuals belong in any type of leadership, or role model, position with our youth. It is an aberrant lifestyle based on sexual perversion. There are, to be sure, many homosexuals in a committed relationship, however, sexual promiscuity is more common.
There is no such thing as a free lunch and that includes socialism. People who do not have to earn their bread and keep have no respect for their bread and keep. They especially have no respect for what it takes to provide them with their bread and keep. I have seen significant charitable work throughout my life provided by the Southern Baptists. I have yet to see any such effort that was provided on an unlimited basis, no questions asked. A helping hand yes, but don't ask me to carry you on my back for the rest of my life. There are those unfortunate souls who require cradle to grave care. However, folks need to take care of their own needs whenever possible so that they have self respect and respect for others who work to provide.
Thoughts on "socialism".
from Nietzsche, "Will to Power"
125 (1885)
"Socialism--as the logical conclusion of the tyranny of the least and the dumbest, i.e., those who are superficial, envious, and three-quarters actors-is indeed entailed by "modern ideas" and their latent anarchism; but in the tepid air of democratic well-being the capacity to reach conclusions, or to finish, weakens. One follows --but one no longer sees what follows. Therefore socialism is on the whole a hopeless and sour affair; and nothing offers a more amusing spectacle than the contrast between the poisonous and desperate faces cut by today's socialists--and to what wretched and pinched feelings their style bears witness!--and the harmless lambs' happiness of their hopes and desiderata. Nevertheless, in many places in Europe they may yet bring off occasional coups and attacks: there will be deep "rumblings" in the stomach of the next century, and the Paris commune, which has its apologists and advocates in Germany, too, was perhaps no more than a minor indigestion compared to what is coming. But there will always be too many who have possessions for socialism to signify more than an attack of sickness--and those who have possessions are of one mind on one article of faith: "one must possess something in order to be something." But this is the oldest and healthiest of all instincts: I should add, "one must want to have more than one has in order to become more." For this is the doctrine preached by life itself to all that has life: the morality of development. To have and to want to have more--growth, in one word--that is life itself. In the doctrine of socialism there is hidden, rather badly, a "will to negate life"; the human beings or races that think up such a doctrine must be bungled. Indeed, I should wish that a few great experiments might prove that in a socialist society life negates itself, cuts off its own roots. The earth is large enough and man still sufficiently unexhausted; hence such a practical instruction and demonstratio ad absurdum would not strike me as undesirable, even if it were gained and paid for with a tremendous expenditure of human lives. In any case, even as a restless mole under the soil of a society that wallows in stupidity, socialism will be able to be something useful and therapeutic: it delays "peace on earth" and the total mollification of the democratic herd animal; it forces the Europeans to retain spirit, namely cunning and cautious care, not to abjure manly and warlike virtues altogether, and to retain some remnant of spirit, of clarity, sobriety, and coldness of the spirit- it protects Europe for the time being from the marasmus femininus that threatens it."
-FJ
mr. ducky,
Funny how those countries that went through a "real" vs. "faux" Ayn Rand hell, like Chile, are never pointed to either. Guess a real land deed based upon purchase from the owner trumps a phoney deed issued to a peasant by the government after a failed attempt at "collectivization"... at least to a banker. One can get a loan. The other can't. Go figure. Access to capital. You gotta lay a firm foundation.
-FJ
Mr. Ducky, Please enlighten us on the following points.
1. Please point us to your citation for proof that any one single civil right, or any civil rights, have been denied to a group, or an individual, because of their sexual orientation.
2. How do you define “family values?”
3. How do you define “cultural wars?”
Farmer John, Methinks the words somewhat harsh, but true, "Socialism--as the logical conclusion of the tyranny of the least and the dumbest, i.e.,...."
To gain insight of the premise one need to venture no further than their nearest friendly government bureaucracy where equal opportunity and affirmative action have enabled even the dumbest of the dumb to climb to the very heights of the bureaucracy.
If I ever wrote a book about leadership, management and the government, my working title would have to be "Beyond the Peter Principle."
Mr. Ducky, I would never confuse socialism with the welfare state. Contrary to your thoughts, or accusations, I am all for a little healthy socialism. We have an absolute obligation to take care of those less fortunate than us in terms of physical and mental health. In most cases the burden for caring for such a person will overwhelm a single person or family. Sometimes there simply isn’t someone to provide for the needs. Unfortunately we have members of our society who would be content to watch their brother die by the side of the road before they would take a single penny from their purse. Most people of faith, and their faith based organizations are involved in charitable work. If there is still a need then the state needs to be involved insofar as an instrument of making society bear the burden as equally as possible.
It has been my humble experience that all to often those who crow the loudest about what the State needs to do fail a very simple test - “do you personally, or through your faith based organization, contribute money or personal services to help those less fortunate than you are?” Anyone who is familiar with the annual Combined Federal Campaign for the United Fund is familiar with the terms “fair share” and “super giver.” I have always been proud to have grown up with a father who spoke every year of being a “fair share” giver. That would be one day’s pay for the contributor. In my day we still had the “fair share” but the term “super giver” became common. A “super giver” is someone who gives, I think it was, two days pay. Here, in San Antonio, the “super givers” were given a coffee mug. The former little Ms. Bubbette has a large collection of my coffee mugs.
I believe in the Social Security system. It is a great idea, but, it needs to be kept financially viable. The system is in trouble now and the progressive liberal demoracists need to admit to the problem and start either coming up with their own solutions or compromise and work with the Republicans about their proposals. Their continued obstructionism, petty vindictiveness and outrageous verbal assaults are affronts to critical thinkers everywhere.
Mr. Ducky, I don't see any reason why we can't all have our Ann Coulter fun day here. Right now you are probably outnumbered, but you can fend for yourself.
I went to a local eatery for lunch the other day. I was tempted to call my waitress "Olive Oyl." Nice little girl. I found out she served a tour in the Air Force, obviously works and is doing her college studies over the internet. Oh, yeah. She has a thyroid disorder. She said sometimes the customers wear her out with their comments.
Howard Dean, as a leader, is as impotent as he is irrelevant. The Republican leadership will survive. Dean's survival is dubious.
mr. ducky,
I'm not so sure I'd be touting the virtues of socialism in Uruguay right now, the most recent period of economic growth in the 90's was spurred by a swing to freer market policies and de-nationalization of industries. Yes, the collapse of the Brazilian currency, and subsequent run on Argentinian banks in '99 brought right-of- center market economics in Uruguay to a screeching halt, and the recent trend has been to head for voters to run for shelter under the skirts of the mommy state, but with 3-4 years of recession/ negative GDP growth, what do you expect? Lets just hope that the government can re-collect its' wits after the most recent collapse and restore some level of confidence/ stability. Bankers hate political instability and nervous workers... The "risk" of making loans/default increases... as do the rates. But then, even if they become more socialist... do you think THAT will make bankers "less nervous"? The money's got to come from "somewhere".
-FJ
mr. ducky,
Where does the capital for socialist investment come from, when no return for capital investment is given, and all surplus value goes to the workers? It sounds like a return to the Middle Ages when Jews were the only group allowed to charge "interest" and Christians/ Moslems all borrowed from the Juddaic moneylender because no "other" source of capital was available. "Merchant of Venice seeks loan... willing to offer pound of flesh as collatoral".
I guess if you want to give a monopoly on capital to the Rothschild family (et al), then this is the way to go, but I don't think it was very "progressive" then, nor do I think it very "progressive" today.
-FJ
Actually, Mr. Ducky, what I think is why you "talk" instead of answer. You have no answer for question number one, just anecdote, idle speculation and obfuscation.
You have to be brain dead to “mess” with these folks,
According to the study, nationwide NASCAR fans can be described as predominately males (78%), married (73%), with an average age of 42 years, who owns a home (81%), with 3.4 cars per household. The median household income range is between $35,000 and $50,000 and almost all are employed full time (87%). © Performance Research 2003
If loyal southeast NASCAR fans are indeed “right wing” they are the element of the right wing who were so totally alienated and abused by the demoracist they left their ancestral party home for the Republican Party. Now the abuse continues yet the progressive liberal demoracists can’t figure out what is going wrong with their party.
mr. ducky,
But what if the risk they are hedging against (ie - a foreign currency fluctuation) actually materializes? Won't they be out considerably more than $2 trillion? Is government (you and me) going to underwrite that "additional" risk should things go "sour"?
And what happens when a "government" sponsored enterprise "fails"? Will the government simply throw more money at it like Amtrak (since they seem to be capitalizing everything)? Or will they "pull the plug" when an enterprise no longer "sustains itself" inlows >= outflows?
How is the government going to determine what or who to invest in, especially if they are required to treat all of their citizens "equally"? I must admit, I'm really scratchin' my noggin.
I kinda like the concept of high risk/ high return/loss. It keeps people from making "reckless" decisions, and directly punishes the "bad decision makers" instead of "the rest of us".
And finally, that "glut of labor" you mention is accomodated for in our current economy by the fact that things any idiot can do get compensated at a "minimum" wage rate, and the things that require tremendous investments in education or talent to perfect, like "brain surgery" get compensated at a very high rate.
If this wage imbalance were to be discontinued, and you raised the minimums and lowered the maximums... why would anyone work hard to become a brain surgeon? That same person could get drunk every night during his youth and simply lean against a shovel all day, for he would make as much as the fool who studied hard or practiced his art every day for many extra hours at a time.
-FJ
mr. ducky,
Long Term Capital Management LTCM was the hedge fund that got bailed out by a "private consortium" in '98 for $3.5B... probably by some of the same "vile oligarch's" that bailed out the country when the banks failed after the big crash of '29... and after numerous other financial fiascos that the US government was ill equipped and unprepared to handle.
They're probably the same guys that are forgiving all that 3rd world debt today, and provided all those loans to Weimar Germany after WWI in a futile attempt to stave off WWII.
Big capital always plays a "fixed game" because they "hedge" by whatever means possible, be it LTCM in the 1990's or Lloyd's of London in the 1690's. It lowers their overall profits (is that a bad word?), but keeps Shylock from ever collecting his pound.
So yes, it is only the "small investors" that can get hurt when they put all their money in an Enron or Worldcom... but that's only because the small guys aren't savy enough to spread out their risks. They also have to rely on reports that "Uncle" makes them print but read like flyers for snake oil.
And sure, I lost a fortune at the turn of the millenium along with everyone else, but I'm not going to put my money in Treasuries... I figure that's what my Social Securities is already in, and I need a "hedge".
And as for the railroads, they ALL started out as money makers. Somehow the government felt a deep seated need to subsidize rates and tariffs, and so they took them all over. And so, Uncle Sam got all the future "Shruggers" out of the way at one fell swoop. I suppose he claimed he was trying to help out the "little" guy. Can the airlines be far behind ;-) ??
The only thing different today that is different from '29 is that gold has been replaced with "faith", something much more difficult to measure and count. It was the "liberals" from Cambridge that convinced the world to make that switch (late sixties/early seventies), and so I haven't much confidence in the "science" behind it.
A smart man should have a small stock of gold set aside... for that rainy day when the faith runs out. You know that the Rothschilds and the other oligarchs do, and that they always will. They'll run the country if its' an oligarchy, they'll run it if its' a democracy, they'll even run it if is a communist dictatorship. They'll always run it, because they own it. Ask George Soros. He's a "hedger", just like Scaife.
-FJ
mr ducky,
As usual, you miss my point entirely. The railroads all started out as "money-makers". Then the government decides it's time to give the "poor" passengers or small-merchant's (shipping) a break, and the subsidies begin. The taxpayer foots the bill, so Mrs. Jones can commute to the city, where the "high paying" jobs are and she won't have to take in laundry anymore. Eventually, these subsidies destroy local "niche" economies and allow Home Depot, Walmart, and Amazon.com to monopolize the retail market. You get the "global economy". Capisch?
And as for gold, don't hedge, not even a little. Put all your money in US Treasury's. They say that when the Social Security "surplus" turns to "deficit" in a dozen years or so, Michael Milken is going to be made US Treasury Secretary. I can't wait!
-FJ
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