[OT] Nation bashing

[rextorres]

Originally posted by Andr&eacutes Lescano:
[QB]But it was made to sound so sweet back then.
Privatizations would give us more efficient services. Relatively small and weak local companies fusioned themselves with large multi-national ones.
Little did we know that all infrastructure and resources of those companies bought below their real price was just being emptied and sent back to the new owners home.

To be fair I must say that this was not only done by American companies but also by many european ones.
The great companies that control the world has grown beyond nationalities and here the “great power from the north” is most times associated with the USA.

Exchange rates were against us, our goods were too expensive and imported goods looked cheap. We were suffering a severe de-industrialization, exporting flour and importing cookies.
But we were too busy with all cheap imported goods we didn't have before that we didn't see it.
“welcome to the 1rst world” they said, and we were stupid enough to believe.
[QB]

Well the same sort of thing happened here in California with out of state power companies. We deregulated the power industry and all of sudden their were power shortages in the state when all that was really happening was speculation. The power industry was manufacturing shortages to drive up prices.

A lot of people here believe that govt just gets in the way and so are against regulations. Ironically - at least in this forum - some middle class and lower class (at least that's what they've professed) are against govt regulations when they are the very ones one who these regulations protect (rich people don't need protection they can afford to pay for their own services). Argentina and (power in California)is a perfect example of what can happen when "govt gets out of the way so business people can do business".

[Aloofi]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Many westerners fall into the trap of confusing "Christian" with "religious" because Christianity is so dominant amongst western cultures.[/QB]

I think all westerners are christians, wether they actualy practice Christianism or not. What I mean is that Western culture is a by product of Christianism, so their mindset is Christian, and so their values, understanding of the world, and even their business practices.
I don't belive there is such a thing as Human Culture, and the people that belive that do so because they think that everybody in the rest of the world think like they do.
I have found very diferents ways of thinking around the world, as well as diferents concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, justice and injustice.

[Aloofi]

Originally posted by rextorres:
Argentina and (power in California)is a perfect example of what can happen when "govt gets out of the way so business people can do business".[/QB]

Hey, all that its nothing more than Corpcrimes.
We should declare war on all corporations.
They only destroy small business and pay low salaries. And when the Corp's stocks are in free fall the big stockholders bail out thanks to inside information and the little ones lost even their lunch money.

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by rextorres:
Argentina and (power in California)is a perfect example of what can happen when "govt gets out of the way so business people can do business".

I don't know anything about Argentina, but California I do. Rex I'll say this for you. You are consistant. Wrong, but consistant.

The problem with the California power companies wasn't a lack of regulation, it was half regulation. They relaxed some of the rules aboout production and distribution, but kept the artificial price limits for residential power customers. That's a good way in the short term to get votes, but it's not exactly a good way to do business.

Geoschmo

[rextorres]

crud. Rex, I accidentally hit edit instead of quote on your post. And since I am a moderator it let me do it. Can you edit it again and put what you said again. Sorry.

Geo

[ February 13, 2003, 23:35: Message edited by: geoschmo ]

[Mephisto]

Originally posted by rextorres:
crud. Rex, I accidentally hit edit instead of quote on your post. And since I am a moderator it let me do it. Can you edit it again and put what you said again. Sorry.
Geo

Yea, I know THAT feeling, Geoschmo. One is typing away happily and post it only to find that you have edited instead of quote the post. Happend to me, too.

[Fyron]

The good ole Democratic state legislature of California forced the power companies to sell off most of their power plants to third parties, who were then able to jack up the prices and create false shortages to make huge profits.

A lot of people here believe that govt just gets in the way and so are against regulations. Ironically - at least in this forum - some middle class and lower class (at least that's what they've professed) are against govt regulations when they are the very ones one who these regulations protect (rich people don't need protection they can afford to pay for their own services).

No, they most likely believe that the role of government is not to be big brother and to get its hands in places where they do not belong. There is nothing ironic about it. The role of government is to interact with other nations, protect us from hostile invasions, and provide a minimum amount of services that can not be provided by private companies. I can't speak for everyone, but I am against government regulation of things that the government has no business in regulating, and for regulation of the relatively small spectra of things that the government needs to have a hand in.

Argentina and (power in California)is a perfect example of what can happen when "govt gets out of the way so business people can do business".

It is a good example of government officials not knowing what they are doing and fubaring everything, yes. Many states have deregulated energy markets that run perfectly fine. The only thing that allowed the crooks to create the power shortage was the piss-poor way in which the energy market was deregulated in CA. If it had been done properly, the energy crisis never would have happened. Now who was it again that allowed all this to happen? Ah yes, those guys that want to regulate everything under the sun. They usually end up not knowing how to go about anything right in the first place.