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Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
They are pro-business, but they are often not pro-free market, particularly when it means being anti-free market. Look at the appointment of Cox to the SEC. Do you really think the "free market" will function better under Cox than Donaldson? Surely not, but regulated businesses had Bush's ear and wanted a friendlier regime. You see this pattern again and again with Bush Republicans.
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I think both the deregulation of the phone industry and the airline industry was a good thing. I actually know cox pretty well and trust his judegment.
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Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop And your view of Democrats is a caricature.
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Yes but an accurate one.
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Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop You cannot be serious. What threat are trial lawyers to the free market? And unions? Off the top of my head, more serious threats to the free market include:
Deficit spending's effects on interest rates
A permissive SEC allowing future Enrons
The effects of rising oil prices
Health care costs
Pension regulation (or the lack thereof)
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Small business are the back bone of the economy. That is where the new jobs come from and also the future Microsofts. They are also the most attached to free trade. Almost every Chamber of commerce in the Bay Area is a Republican strong hold. Most small business owners I have met, their biggest complaint is liability. Fear of Lawsuits. Any reform in this area is always obstructed by the trial lawyers. The California Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber of commerce almost always back the Republicans. And that is because Republicans are most pro-business.
As far as unions are concerned almost everything they support I am against. When Davis was Governor they passed laws that did not allow Silicon Valley companys to have a four day work week (with ten hour days). They pushed through a bill that would not allow Costco to sell food (luckily even Davis couldn't stomach that one), and they are always trying to limit the state governments ability to do competitive bidding for contracts. In addition, on a national scale the biggest road blocks to free trade deals (NAFTA, WTO and not the Central American Free Trade act) are the Unions. Unions don't care about creating new jobs, they just care about holding on to the ones that exist - no matter what the cost.
Privatising Social Secuirty is the biggest free market issue of the day. And we know which side the Democrats are on in that.
Deficit spending's effects on interest rates
The effects of rising oil prices
Health care costs
Pension regulation (or the lack thereof)
On the above issues I don't see how the Dems are any better than the Republicans.
