Once again, Freelancer provides some much needed laughter in my day. It's funny how you say we need to end the "root cause", and when someone brings it up (those with the power of pen and paper and legislative authority), you completely ignore it. You really hate rich people don't you? ITS RICH PEOPLE'S FAULT, NOT THOSE THAT ENABLE THEM TO GET RICH!!!!

How hard is it to get through your head that people look out for their own self-interest. That will never change. Movie companies want better laws and favorable policies towards their property. PETA wants favorable policies towards eliminating animal cruelty. Small business owners want lower taxes on their business. Right-wing tea partiers want lower taxes and war with the world. Left-wingers want higher taxes on the rich, and more social service programs. Self-interest is the constant. We vote for things we want. There will always be "runaway non-human organizations", because there will always be things that consumers value greatly over others, and there will be someone greedy enough to provide that something to consumers. There is always going to be income inequality. It's up to the government to look out for the general welfare, see collectively what the country demands, and make sure that the laws they design are fair to ALL parties. That hasn't happened, yet you blame the rich people.

Answer me this question: MPAA bribes politicians. Politicians sign into law SOPA/PIPA. Whose fault is this? Not only this, but the MPAA has basically PUBLICLY come out and said that they will not support you if you don't look out for them. They've laid all their cards on the table. It's up to politicians to respond, but the incentive structure of government basically says "helping these guys is a great idea!"

Just fix the incentives WITHIN government, and you've solved your problem, without having to basically annihilate economic growth (and based on your economic policies that you've suggested in the past, that will happen)

Sir, you are a prophet.

Everything you said is invalid because these are the same people.

No, there won't. American corporations are uniquely terrible because of the uniquely terrible case law that leads to corporate personhood. Without this complete insanity we are forced to correctly acknowledge households as the ultimate owners of the means of production and individuals as the sole agents within the economy. Corporate personhood is effectively double-dipping in rights for the owner class.

MPAA bribes politicians. So the MPAA is innocent now, and it's all the government's fault?

You're right about one thing: you can't fault people for looking out for their own interests. You can't. The problem is, nobody is doing that. Bribery is illegal and our culture finds it abhorrent. So while you're correct that it's wrong to judge corporate executives for trying to make money, you are absolutely wrong by saying that they shouldn't be judged for engaging in criminal subversion. They should be, and harshly.

The number of times in human history that any agency has ever voluntarily corrected its own regulatory capture: 0.

Yes, there will. Many American corporations may be(and quite likely are) unique in just how terrible they are, but being terrible is certainly NOT unique to them. Perhaps you are correct that there will not always be "non-human organizations" at the heart of the problem, but someone else will always find a way fill that void.



i completely agree with you here! I don't know where you stand on the politicians accepting the bribes, but i think BOTH parties should be judged and dealt with harshly.

You should not be able to purchase legislation AND that legislation should NOT be for sale!!!

...not trying to badger you in particular Jon'C, i just enjoy arguing with you even if i do get proved wrong in the end

Yeah, of course. The difference is: instead of Sony and Bayer we used to have Jay Gould and John Rockefeller. When the revolution comes we won't know who to line up against the wall.

That's funny, the 90's music I was thinking of while writing it was Weezer.

Ya know, "your love is a heart-breaker"...

Love the 90's

You have misunderstood my post. I don't fault people for seeking what they think of as success. I fault the rules that allow them to do so to the detriment of the majority of humanity.



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I don't care for your stupid mind games.

Jon`C is right. The ruling class gets special privileges: bribery is legal if a corporation does it. But if I tried to do that ****, I'd be sent to prison for years (not to mention I don't have near as much clout of a corporation). There is absolutely no justice.

Even if someone does get fed up enough with a corporation's actions to try to hold them to the same justice as an individual (which never happens, btw), they only get a slap on the wrist. The corporation acts as a near-total shield from all accountability and blame. Even if corporations were beholden to the same justice as you or me, they'd still give the ruling class twice the protection as you or I get, because we have to bust through the corporation to get to them first.