> On 97-09-27 16:08:09 EDT, johnkc@well.com (John K Clark) wrote in a note to
> Joao Pedro:
>
> >Free-markets is not (at least for many people) the best solution
>
>
> It's easy to dream up something better, the trouble is they're comparing the
> free market as it actually is, warts and all, >>>> Snip <<<<
>
> John K Clark johnkc@well.com
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> I fully share John K Clark's confidence in the reliability of the market
> mechanism when its technical requirements are satisfied, but we need to have
> more public discussion on the one big wart that is the mother of all the
> little warts attributed to the free market by its many opponents. That big
> wart, IMHO, is the failure of corporations or governments to remove fixed and
> unavoidable costs from the variable cost data used by product lines or
> households to price their products and services in a competitive market.
>
> That big wart is very simple, a ten year old can understand it,
hmmm...should I be insulted? Maybe you could elaborate on the statement :
"the failure of corporations or governments to remove fixed and
unaviodable costs from the variable cost data used by product lines or
households to price their products and services in a competitive market"?
I'm older than ten, and I don't know what you're saying.
> but has been
> treated as an act of God in the media, in our schools, and on the internet;
> while the industrial nations have rested content with 5-25% unemployment and
> 2-3% sustained inflation, since the 1890's.
Well, I'd say my country(Canada) is an industrial nation, and no one here
is content with 5-25% unemployment(10% to be precise) It has been one
of the primary platform issues in the last two federal elections.
geoff.