Originally Posted by me
the most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.
Originally Posted by LowerLobe
What a load of unadulterated rubbish....Tell that to the tens of thousands if not millions of people world wide who have lost everything over the years since the inception of the stock market....both parties benefit....you don't sell used cars or real estate do you?
I believe you've misunderstood what happens when a person buys shares. They want to own part of a company in order to have the opportunity to experience capital growth / dividends from ownership in a company should that company make a profit. They want that and pay for it. They benefit as they get what they want - an opportunity. If they want a more certain outcome then they are
free to choose numerous investment options where the probability of return is higher. Share investment is not like the provision of labour where you agree to provide labour in return for a guarantee of payment for that labour (that's why we have laws making it illegal not to pay someone for their work, but no law guarantees a certain return on the purchase of a share in a company.)
In a non-free market (socialism) the government "owns" a company on behalf of taxpayers. If you don't want your money invested in that company you have no choice - the government has taken your money and is investing it against your will. You no longer are
free to choose as you must follow the "collective" opinion.
Originally Posted by LowerLobe
How about a lack of intervention in the greed which pervades the corporate sector even after the melt down....I will give you one example ..Bernard Madoff.
There are already laws against what he did. He breached the conditions of the private arrangement he had made with investors. As I said before, that is what government is for - enforcing agreements between individuals who choose to enter into an agreement.
The "shame" at QANTAS is the influence of unions. They lower employment and cause great harm those at the bottom of society.
Originally Posted by CactusJack
Unfortunately Darth is actually not like cancer. Cancer eventually rots a human being away.
Well to continue the human body analogy (and at risk of sounding crass) I guess unions are like maggots. Eating away at the flesh of individual companies which make up the economy. The bits of meat they chew on are actually the poorest in society. Whilst you may believe you are getting one over Dixon with industrial action or a given "EBA" you aren't (the recent payout should prove that to you), you are pushing those at the bottom off the ladder off the bottom rung.