Capitalism ≠ Free market
Oct 7th, 2011 by tamara
For some reason, many mistake a free market as synonymous to capitalism. The 2008 crisis proves that this is not the case!
Free markets provide perfect competition, letting the market regulate itself, whereas capitalism now is made up of 5 gigantic companies controlling the entire market!
If that is not enough, then those 5 companies take the money that the small companies and hard working class make, and ask the US government to pay back their debts!
And if you believe that the US is out of the financial crisis, according to Jack Cafferty from CNN- the current reports indicate that: “Almost half of Americans – 48.5% live in households that get some kind of government aid” (Jack Cafferty CNN’s blog) while tax payers are decreasing.
In case you worry about the welfare of the management of Lehman brothers, they are certainly not part of the 48.5% of Americans households that receive government aid.
According to THE TIMES Christine Seib in New York, Lehman Brothers’ Richard Fuld ‘sold’ his mansion to his wife for $100 (worth 13.75 million dollars) (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5594623.ece).
In my opinion, it is safe to say that CAPITALISM is a failing economic system.
citation: Cafferty, Jack. “How long can we go on with almost half of Americans living in households that get government assistance?” CNN blog. October 6th, 2011 <http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/06/how-long-can-we-go-on-with-almost-half-of-americans-living-in-households-that-get-government-assistance/?iref=allsearch>
Seib, Christine. “Lehman Brothers’ Richard Fuld ‘sold’ mansion to wife for $100″ The Times, 27 January 2009 <http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5594623.ece>