From: Dick.Gray@bull.com To: extropians@extropy.com Date sent: Thu, 17 Dec 1998 13:31:08 -0700 Subject: Re: The Education Function Send reply to: extropians@extropy.com
>
>
> Joe continues his tirade against Mike:
> >I'm also talking about government GIFTS to corporations; free
> >airwave franchises which would bring billions if sold and bid on in
> >free markets, ridiculously low assessments for mineral rights,
> >grazing rights, water rights and logging rights (far less than their
> >market value) on public land (our land), subsidized irrigation to
> >corporate agriculture, and cut-rate electricity to corporations.
>
> Funny, Joe, I thought you were arguing *for* "government" action and
> *against* a free market???
>
> Which way do you want it?
>
> Dick
>
I'm arguing for a free market economy with regulations whose sole purposes are to protect civil rights of employees and clients from executive bigotry, the planet from fiscally tempting but environmentally irresponsible pollution, and consumers from monopoly-facilitated price-gouging, under the auspices of a periodically democratically elected government to provide the previously enumerated essential protections and services which only government can provide, and to faithfully translate the reasonable components of the peoples' will ( this excludes discrimination in any form) into accountable action by means of their elected (and electorally defeatable) representatives. You, however, deflected my question rather than answer it. To repeat; are you in favor of corporate welfare or not, and, in either case, why? Joe