Jake, this is a bit long winded, but please read through.
Paulie, I am for capitalism, the type of government regulation that helped the greatest generation build the greatest middle class through the first of 1970s that the world has ever seen. The great middle class has deteriorated in the last thirty years since the beginning of Reaganism and deregulation.
No, it has deteriorated because we've changed from people who want to be informed and involved in the important issues, to people who want to get fat sitting in front of the TV watching useless, mindless crap.
You'll notice that as technology has advanced, intelligence has decreased.
You say 30 years ago was when the middle class started to deteriorate. Well 30 years ago was when the TV started becoming a mainstay in just about every American household. Now instead of just having a magazine or newspaper to read for entertainment while still having to move around and learn about things that mattered, you could just sit down and let the Honeymooners entertain the shit out of you all day long. Who needs financial education when you can just sit on your fat ass and laugh all day?
You're right, capitalism needs regulation. The constitution authorizes interstate commerce regulation. The EXTENT of such is the real argument when it comes to that.
But you can't discount the fact that America has just simply become a country of IDIOTS over the last 30 years, and the TV plays a major role.
Merely blaming regulation, or lackthereof, is a crutch with which to relieve oneself from taking personal responsibility.
Capitalism hardly ever beats me. Why? Because I educate myself on money and I know how to benefit from the system.
Jake, most people can't make that claim. I think that's our BIGGEST problem.
You'd have thought with the advent of the internet things would have gotten better, but they've actually gotten WORSE. Because the TV doesn't spent time talking about the INFORMATIVE sites, it only tells us that Myspace, Twitter, and Facebook are the coolest places to be.
At the end of the day, we're just a collectively dumb and apathetic country, Jake. Regulation isn't going to smarten us up, it's only going to enable our stupidity and relieve us of the financial due diligence we're seriously lacking as a society.