Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to re: That was a hell of a lot of work.

Agreed.
Tom Brosz — (archived)

I did read too fast. However, given the prodigious length involved and the limited size of my bladder, you have to admit I can probably be excused for moving a bit faster toward the end.

At this point, our culture is on the opposite side of your satire. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I seen a businessman in movies or television shown as anything other than an amoral crook.

I've worked for a lot of companies, small ones, and large corporations. I helped start a few companies, too. Other people have their own stories, I'm sure, but I never worked for anyone who wasn't trying to do the best damn job for the customer they could and make some money doing it.

Almost everything you see around you that makes your life easier and more productive came out of the designers, financers, builders, and creators in the private sector. People who have risked their livelihoods in many cases (I did). I don't expect or want our culture to raise them to an elite class of rulers for this--the lowliest zoning inspector still has more power over my life than Bill Gates does--but just some positive press and a bit of respect outside of the business magazines wouldn't suck.

When I was a kid, there was the idea that building a business was a good thing. Now we are teaching our children that the productive are bastards, and the true heroes are politicians and interest groups that take wealth from the productive and distribute it to the cheers of the crowd.

There are nations with no private sector to speak of. They are not good places.

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