The Failure of Capitalism - Part 2

Joe the General Motors CEO has tried to get the darn bailout twice now.  First time, he tooled into Washington in his private jet - that didn't go over well.  Can I have 60 billion please, along a tax exemption for the fuel bill.  Try again, the pols said.  So he drove up next time in a Volt, a car they've neglected to market to any consumer.  Better to sell what the people want, even as it helps destroy the planet, as long as we can maintain that huge profit margin. 

Well, one can only rape the marketplace for so long.  Then you go cap in hand to Washington.  Or Ottawa or London or Berlin or Rome or Paris.  Perhaps next time, Joe will share a ride on a scooter, with his buddies from Ford and Chrysler.  I thought capitalism was only supposed to reward companies that produce a better product.  If the big three fail, why wouldn't something new and better rise in their stead.  Because then, those entrenched executives, along with the politicians they help fund, wouldn't get their bonuses.

In the meantime, while the economy collapses, it's politics as usual.  The president-elect's magic touch is tainted by the cynical greed of the Illinois governor.  Despicable and depressing.  But then I read a survey which notes that the great state of Illinois is only rated the sixth most corrupt state of union.  It seems the some southern states are better.  Or worse, depending on one's point of view.  Who knew.  And why is corruption so expected, so accepted, that they put together rating surveys.  This from a country that markets itself as the world's beacon of democracy.

And of course, some Republicans view all this with myopic gleefulness - putting their own priorities before that of their own country.  Oh and the ogre of neo-con movement, Newt Gingrich is making a comeback, believe it or not.

Politics in Canada is little different.  Democracy becomes a sap for the common man, a way to ensure the status quo prevails.