In the land of hyperbole, communicating in anything besides absolutes fails to translate or be understood. You should have recognized that by now.

The list of businessmen and their accomplishments is staggerring:

A short refresher for the wanna-be Trotskyites among the new world.

Motor Vehicle
Airplane
Concrete
Air Conditioning
Ships
Combustion Engine
Refrigeration
Gasoline
Helicopters
Solar Power
Computer
Telephone
A/C power
Electricity
Dishwashers
Washers/Dryers
Insulation

Those are just right off the top of my head...

The list is almost literally ENDLESS.

Now when I think of the contributions of government to the quality of society, I come up with largely private sector companies paid in things like aerospace and defense. I see money thrown at private sector companies, not very efficiently and usually with far less than stellar results.

Furthermore when I think of the FDA and CDC involvement in the public good, I think largely of how the endorsement by such agencies ov private sector drugs has caused misplaced trust, because the agencies themselves are corrupt and incompetent. I think of the Dept. of Agriculture and its rubber stamping endorsement and promotion of most farm crops, including tobacco, milk and sugar - all of which have contributed to serious health problems.

The government as it assumes and consolidates power over the private sector just promotes such corruption. Which, in the case of the FDA, strengthens the bad drugs in the marketplace instead of letting the private sector marketplace judge on merit.

We are living in a world where moral ambiguity and the lack of societal disapproval permit businessmen and government employees to do things that are reprehensible. In a society where the government is viewed as the power-broker of choice and the justified busybody with the power of the gun and prison to enforce some peoples whims on the masses, we have ever more corruption and dissolution of the societal framework.

Humans will do anything if permitted to. A government can outlaw things, but the government is a reflection of the peoples morals. When the masses have no morals, the government has no morals and the businesses have no morals as well. We see this already in many 3rd world countries. Endorsing illegal entry, government endorsed religious murders and much more.

Mark's viewpoint is unfortunate. It is probably mirrored in millions of Americans who have bought into the solution to business corruption as being countered by government regulation.

Business corruption is countered by fundamental morality of the masses. If the masses are immoral, BOTH the businesses and government reflect this and the corruption is only magnified when the government messes things up.

Our auto industry is a case in point. The CAFE, EPA and all the rest have so messed up motor cars that big innovation has been nearly non-existent since the interference.

Throwing money at things does not fix them. Most large sums are intercepted by folks who are in a position to tap them. Politicians, CEOs - it makes no difference.

NEED is the driver of growth.
INGENUITY is the force that manifests solutions.

Money is only a small player in compensation, extra motivation, production and R&D.

Wealth is never created by the government. People NEED to understand this. Printing money is worthless. In Germany, after the war, you could obtain a 1,000,000 Mark note and it couldn't even buy you a loaf of bread. Supply and demand dictate value. Not government price fixing or meddling.

People are conditioned to think of government as the balancer of business impropriety. Largely government has paved the way for such impropriety and the politicians and agencies enable and enforce corruption on grand scales, harming the masses.

As we move towards a socialist state, giving indoctrinated folks wiggle room to even debate whether business or government has made this current world possible, and avoid thinking, is not real smart. It's like letting a suicidal teen play with ropes and razor blades.