"Well, That's Capitalism." Bunk!

A man hears of his neighbor's loss of pension at a major airline, after working there 30 years.

The man says approvingly of his neighbor's setback, "Well, that's Capitalism."

To which I say, "Bunk!"

It's greed that drives the economic engines of America these days ... unrestrained greed - that with a pen-stroke, wipes away pensions and benefits ... or foolishly puts in amateur refs for NFL football games because, in spite of 9 billion in revenue and everyone prospering, NFL ownership smells a chance to make even more by taking away ever-more from their first-line refs.

This isn't Capitalism.

It's greed.

It's insanity (which, of course, is what greed is).

Capitalism has always favored the wealthy, of course (every economic engine of the world does, including Socialism and Communism). But as the United States grew, folks like Teddy Roosevelt csaw the need for restraint, and if the owners of capital couldn't help themselves, then government, of the people, by the people and for the people, would.

Our best years have always been times of great fairness - when strong government restrained the greed of the Robber Barons.

Both Republican and Democratic Presidents have acted to support The People, and The People have prospered.

But it unravelled with Reagan, and it's been going crazy ever since.

Like a pack of hungry wolves, the owners of capital (they're not the producers, just the owners) have smelled blood, and have gone after its workers, their unions, their wages and benefits ... and, now, are mounting a full-scale attack on Social Security, Medicare, and so on - all in an effort to "win the game."

If this is Capitalism, then we're all doomed.

But whose to say what Capitalism is?

There is no set-in-stone definition of Capitalism - it's an evolving tool that at its best, with good partnership between workers, owners and government, provides living wages and benefits and a reliable degree of social security.

Capitalism has always been a partnership between the three entities common to economy: owners, workers and government.

Keeping in mind the following:

1. Money in the hands of the few does very little.

2. In the hands of the many, it drives a healthy and growing economy.

And that's what Capitalism is all about.