Let's change the rules

Let's say we're playing football.  I pay off the refs to change the rules.  I get to have 20 men on my side, you get to have 5.  I get unlimited downs per possession, you get one.  If I throw an interception or fumble the ball, it is given right back to me.  If you somehow manage to score, 50% of your points go to me. 

And when you complain that this is not fair, I will counter that "You are just envious of my success.  You're engaging in class warfare.  You're trying to re-distribute my wealth of points.  You are punishing my productivity.  And if I don't get all the points, then I may stop scoring altogether.  And we should know that I am the only one capable of scoring (evidenced by the fact that I am the only one with any points in this game), so you need me as a point-creator.  Once I get enough points, I'll trickle some down to you.  But until then  go out and get your own points.  Your situation has nothing to do with me.  The answer is not to tell me to stop stealing from you, its for you to find someone to steal from.  And if you can't then you don't deserve to eat." 

I don't think this game can last too long.   

Who hates regulation?

The ones who hate and fear regulation and oversight the most are the ones who are doing things that they shouldn't be doing.  Who fears the cops?  Criminals.  Who hates speed limits?  Speeders.  Who hates spy-cams?  Well everyone has a problem with them, but people who are trying to do something in secret hate them more. 

So look at the people who are calling for an end to regulation.  Why do they want it?  The people who want to dismantle the EPA obviously want to pollute.  The people who want to fight financial oversight obviously want to keep ripping people off. 

how to divide the profits

Lets say that I have a company that makes 1 million dollars of profit.  I could hire 16 employees at $50,000 and pay myself $200,000.  It is justified because I am taking the risk and making the innovation.  Or, I could hire 20 employees at $10,000 each and pay myself $800,000.  How is that salary justified?  Because I can call myself a job creator.  We need to create jobs at any cost?  Or we need to create jobs at the least cost.  Which is better for me and which is better for America?  Screw it, abolish the minimum wage and let me hire people at $1 and then praise me for all the people I can "employ".

working together to move a log

So the house republicans and democrats are in a room and there is a large log in the middle that needs to be lifted.  The log is called the economy.  The dems pick up their side and say, "hey, help us lift this thing."
Reps:  No
Dems:  Why?
Reps:  Because you want it. 
Dems:  OK, what do you want?
Reps:  A bunch of unrelated shit.  Like an oil pipeline through the heartland and the removal of authority of the EPA to restrain our polluting buddies.
Dems:  Well, that has nothing to do with the ecomony, but this is so important, we will agree.  Now will you please pick up your side of it?
Reps:  No.  We won't work with you on anything.  Whatever you want, we will kill, even if its something that we want too.  Then you'll get blamed and we'll get rewarded.  So fuck off.
And the media reports read, "Congress Unable to Work Together"

Unintended consequences

So congress just passed a bill that will reward employers for hiring unemployed veterans.  Now, I am all for helping the troops, but I find this particular tactic interesting.  They say that the returning vets have a disproportionately high unemployment rate?  Why is that?  Rather than paying employers to hire them, why don't we find out what's holding them back.  Maybe we need to do more to make sure that they are not broken (physically and emotionally) when they return to civilian life. 

I will not go so far as to say that this is a grand conspiracy, but I will allow that it could just be a fortuitous (for some) unintended consequence.  If there is an angry mob at your ivory tower, which are the ones who are the greatest threat?  The big guys, the tough guys, the ones with combat experience, the professional soldiers.  With this Occupy Wall Street movement starting to scare the 'haves', getting the soldiers out of the masses will help neuter the mob. 

example for regulation

If I own a gas station, I sell 3 grades of gas for 3 different prices.  One day per week, I could switch the tanks and sell 87 octane at the 93 octane price, and no one would ever know.  If I can get away with it, shouldn't I?  Is this someplace where the government could regulate and try to prevent this sort of fraud from occurring?  Or should we all have to test all the products we buy ourselves to ensure their purity? 

Question for the Free Marketeers

"The government that governs best is the government that governs least."  That means that the best situation would be no government at all.  "The free market will take care of things if the government would just get out of the way.  Everything would be fine (and much better) if the government would just stop interfering in the market."  These are common sentiments I hear from my friends who advocate the free market.  So how far does that go?

The Free Market is unregulated.  If you have an advantage, you should use it.  If you are publicly traded you MUST use it.  So if I have extra cash (which must be deserved, because wealth proves worth- those with money are better than the rest of us because that money proves that they are smart, innovative, hard working, risk-takers and job creators (while having a lack of cash proves that you are none of those things)).  So if I have the advantage of extra cash, what should prevent me from giving a bribe to public officials to direct public tax dollars towards my company?  I can use my money to buy commercials to sway public opinion, but that is very inefficient.  It is much cheaper and more direct to give that money directly to a politician to ensure that he votes in my favor, regardless of public sentiment (or impact).   Should that be allowed in a Free Market arrangement?  If not, how do you prevent it if not through government regulation?