Competition for stuff that is a basic human right, namely health makes no sense. Everything needs to be done to try to keep the cost as low as is humanly possible. Free market has zero intrest in keeping costs down.Nothing bankers did during the run up to 2008 was or is illegal. How many people lost everything there? Again, you feel that preferable? Why is that superior, to saying there are certain things you can't do. Not allowing people mortgages you know in advance they can't pay back for instance? Btw the current bad ecoomic times you blame Obama for started there.Free markets in itself isn't bad. Free markets without any oversight is the problem. The banking crisis being a perfect example. Once you say the goverment has no right to regulate how profit is to be made, pretty soon. Profit will be made on everything even when it is against the common good.I've come to the conclusion that the average American is either too stupid or too preoccupied with stupid shit to look further into the future than about a year. The really sad thing is that the major proponents of 'free markets' are the people who will be the easiest to replace via automation and AI.You sound like Thom Hartmann
How Rich is Too Rich For Democracy?
And you will see here Search Results that this all started in the 1970's. Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman, Jack Walsh of GE. They broke the social contract with Americans and the only responsibility of a corporation is to maximize the profits of it's shareholders. I'm ok with that. That's what corporations do. But that's why they shouldn't be in charge. The government should. Corporations need to be regulated. Don't like the tax system in America, don't sell your shit here in America. Republicans think the corporations call all the shots. They do, but they shouldn't. But unfortunately, they do. And half of America approves of it. They don't think it will hurt them. They are wrong. And if it won't hurt them, how about their kids? Will their kids be "valued" by a corporation or will they pay an underpaid temp worker. I don't like the way America is headed either. But that doesn't mean I want Trump to be president. That man is a con man.
It depends what you mean by "oversight." Giving a way to redress things like fraud, sure. Government providing "oversight" being a euphemism for controlling markets, no. That's just a version of socialism. Government only has a role in ensuring free markets by providing civil and criminal courts. Government never itself makes markets freer
That whole thing was a cluster by both parties. Clinton started the policy of forcing banks to make subprime loans and the fed funded it with free cash. W came in and said wow, that's not going to end well. Then in typical useless Republican fashion continued and even expanded the policy.
That had nothing to do with free markets, that was a pure government manufactured crisis. And again, free markets ARE NOT SYNONYMOUS with being pro company. Free markets are about pro CHOICE. Consumers can fire any company they want. Employees can fire any hirer they want. Companies have to compete