4 ms·

Indeed. The free market is a concept only applied to other countries, never to the US.

anoncoward111 8y ago
As an American, I've been thoroughly and continuously shocked to see how roughly 50% of voters seem very devoted to supporting mercantilism and cronyism, as if this somehow makes their lives better. But then again this is also the same demographic that lines up to pay $50,000 for a truck that delivers marginal value compared to a $6,000 used Nissan or Mitsubishi. Especially when the majority of truck owners don't haul anything heavy (concrete, tile, metal).
- peteretep 8y ago
  > seem very devoted to supporting mercantilism and cronyism America was arguably made great via the free markets and market forces. People know this instinctively. However, these same firms now push this idea to become rent-seekers, and I don't feel like we've seen an adjustment from the left of politics to counter this, or point out economic market failures. cf: safety regulations. Seen as hurting business. Yes, they stop individual companies making super-normal profits. But that's because they're stopping these same companies from selling the common good for profit. Wildly off on a tangent, I wonder if we're not going to see someone running on an anti-corruption platform at some point soon, where corruption is explicitly inclusive of: lobbying, rent-seeking, gerrymandering, and so on.
  - anoncoward111 8y ago
    I hope someone does run but I'm not optimistic they would deliver. I am biased. I hate regulation because it isn't applied fairly. My gf's parents had their dry cleaner business shut down by NY state, who fined them $50,000 for allegedly failing to dispose of chemicals. They never paid, NY state never sued. However, Lawrence Aviation Co DID dump chemicals in NY state that permanently destroyed the water supply in Port Jefferson NY. The owner was fined $100,000, a small percentage of his networth compared to my gf's parents who are paycheck to paycheck. He served 1 year in prison despite potentially poisoning the 100,000 people who were on the local water supply.
    - shanghaiaway 8y ago
      American-style democracy aka managed democracy aka inverted totalitarianism
  - mrunkel 8y ago
    Also arguably, America was made great by an abundance of exploitable resources, a government that was only occasionally interested in health and safety regulations, and a steady stream of low cost easily exploitable immigrants. :)
  - philipps 8y ago
    Another important factor was blatant disregard for other country’s intellectual property - something the US now criticizes China for. A well researched book that covers how the UK and later the US “borrowed” technology from other countries to fuel their economic development is “Kicking away the ladder”.
- Shivetya 8y ago
  well let us be honest here. that 50% crosses both political sides and isn't just limited to what they spend on vehicle purchases. A more common example than your slightly extreme car choice would be in cell phones. people line up to buy thousand dollar cell phones all the time when phones that are half if not a quarter of that work just fine. This is what makes any free country work. Respect for private property which includes money earned from one's labor to make the purchases wanted without recrimination by the government we live under. As for trucks, most actually are used to haul something but just like passenger cars many will have time where they are not fully employed to the extent their ability permits. just driving into work the majority of cars carry only a fourth of the people they could carry and many of them can be fifty, sixty, or even more tens of thousands of dollars. Don't worry about it, focus on yourself and be better
  - loudmax 8y ago
    I haven't seen actual figures, and it would be difficult to measure, but I have a distinct impression that most trucks in the suburban area I live are used to commute to work, not haul anything. Around here, they're status symbols, not work vehicles. Also, in case of accident, the amount of steel in those trucks protects their drivers by increasing the lethality to other vehicles. So, I don't entirely not worry about large trucks driving around me. And then there's fuel efficiency. Other people's bills at the fuel pump is not my business, sure. But then, there's a pretty solid scientific consensus that man made climate change is on course to have a drastic effect on living conditions on this planet. But I concede that you're free not to believe in the scientific method if you don't want to. So focus on yourself, but do pay attention to others.
zaroth 8y ago
This comment feels like flame bait, but FYI the US runs the largest trade deficits of any country in the world. Our current account deficit is half an order a magnitude larger than the #2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_current_account_balance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_current...

As an American, I've been thoroughly and continuously shocked to see how roughly 50% of voters seem very devoted to supporting mercantilism and cronyism, as if this somehow makes their lives better. But then again this is also the same demographic that lines up to pay $50,000 for a truck that delivers marginal value compared to a $6,000 used Nissan or Mitsubishi. Especially when the majority of truck owners don't haul anything heavy (concrete, tile, metal).

peteretep 8y ago
> seem very devoted to supporting mercantilism and cronyism America was arguably made great via the free markets and market forces. People know this instinctively. However, these same firms now push this idea to become rent-seekers, and I don't feel like we've seen an adjustment from the left of politics to counter this, or point out economic market failures. cf: safety regulations. Seen as hurting business. Yes, they stop individual companies making super-normal profits. But that's because they're stopping these same companies from selling the common good for profit. Wildly off on a tangent, I wonder if we're not going to see someone running on an anti-corruption platform at some point soon, where corruption is explicitly inclusive of: lobbying, rent-seeking, gerrymandering, and so on.
- anoncoward111 8y ago
  I hope someone does run but I'm not optimistic they would deliver. I am biased. I hate regulation because it isn't applied fairly. My gf's parents had their dry cleaner business shut down by NY state, who fined them $50,000 for allegedly failing to dispose of chemicals. They never paid, NY state never sued. However, Lawrence Aviation Co DID dump chemicals in NY state that permanently destroyed the water supply in Port Jefferson NY. The owner was fined $100,000, a small percentage of his networth compared to my gf's parents who are paycheck to paycheck. He served 1 year in prison despite potentially poisoning the 100,000 people who were on the local water supply.
  - shanghaiaway 8y ago
    American-style democracy aka managed democracy aka inverted totalitarianism
- mrunkel 8y ago
  Also arguably, America was made great by an abundance of exploitable resources, a government that was only occasionally interested in health and safety regulations, and a steady stream of low cost easily exploitable immigrants. :)
- philipps 8y ago
  Another important factor was blatant disregard for other country’s intellectual property - something the US now criticizes China for. A well researched book that covers how the UK and later the US “borrowed” technology from other countries to fuel their economic development is “Kicking away the ladder”.
Shivetya 8y ago
well let us be honest here. that 50% crosses both political sides and isn't just limited to what they spend on vehicle purchases. A more common example than your slightly extreme car choice would be in cell phones. people line up to buy thousand dollar cell phones all the time when phones that are half if not a quarter of that work just fine. This is what makes any free country work. Respect for private property which includes money earned from one's labor to make the purchases wanted without recrimination by the government we live under. As for trucks, most actually are used to haul something but just like passenger cars many will have time where they are not fully employed to the extent their ability permits. just driving into work the majority of cars carry only a fourth of the people they could carry and many of them can be fifty, sixty, or even more tens of thousands of dollars. Don't worry about it, focus on yourself and be better
- loudmax 8y ago
  I haven't seen actual figures, and it would be difficult to measure, but I have a distinct impression that most trucks in the suburban area I live are used to commute to work, not haul anything. Around here, they're status symbols, not work vehicles. Also, in case of accident, the amount of steel in those trucks protects their drivers by increasing the lethality to other vehicles. So, I don't entirely not worry about large trucks driving around me. And then there's fuel efficiency. Other people's bills at the fuel pump is not my business, sure. But then, there's a pretty solid scientific consensus that man made climate change is on course to have a drastic effect on living conditions on this planet. But I concede that you're free not to believe in the scientific method if you don't want to. So focus on yourself, but do pay attention to others.

zaroth 8y ago

This comment feels like flame bait, but FYI the US runs the largest trade deficits of any country in the world. Our current account deficit is half an order a magnitude larger than the #2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_current_account_balance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_current...