Is Capitalism on a self-destruction track?

[Eddie Ziv]

It seems to me that the old principle of fair exchange of products and services for money is all but gone. It became a feast of greed where the name of the game is "I am smarter than you and therefore, I can screw you out of your money faster then you can ever notice." (Yes, it a long name for a game, and yet it seems to be true)
Take the credit card companies' game which we often complain about in this forum, add to that the cell phone companies, the cable companies, the wall street wizards ("You could never understand what derivatives are"), the predator lenders, the greedy politicians.
It is all about grab it now because it will not be there tomorrow and that part may be right. They all behave as 2012 is not just another election day, but the earth's crust is about to collapse so lets enjoy it while it last. Last fall it seemed as if the skies are falling and about to take our beloved country with it. Well, it didn't but only because Washington managed to push the judgment day down the road.
I think that if we don't have a fundamental change in our behavior and approach to what called "free market" we will lose the core of our system.
Your thoughts...

[Michael Rossi]

I agree! All they did was push judgment day down the road slightly and have caused the inevitable collapse to be much worse.

I am also very concerned that the government has taken over the banking industry and many of our private industries (like cars). I'm not sure who is working for who? It's quite obvious to me that the government used the bank bailout to either control the banking industry or the banking industry used the government to pilfer the taxpayer (same thing).

Capitalism didn't fail us - we failed capitalism by not allowing it to work. When banks; car companies; Fannie and Freddie; etc; realized that they were too big to fail (long before 2008), there was no reason for them to follow business practices that would ensure viability. They were free to engage in wild speculation (gambling) because the taxpayer would bail them out. It's a disgrace. It was a win-win for these companies and a lose-lose for hard-working Americans.

We had better wake up or soon we'll be a socialistic country and we know the implications of that!!!

[Eddie Ziv]

I would strongly recommend to look at the December issue of PC World Magazine. They have an investigative cover story about how we, the consumers are cheated by the major corporations including cell phones companies, financial institutions, hotels, airlines, cable and internet companies, etc. using hidden fees and misc. surcharges. Facinating...

[Chris T.]

No, Obama has stepped in to save the day with "Behavioral Economics." :superman:

[Brian Levredge]

Originally posted by Eddie Ziv:

I would strongly recommend to look at the December issue of PC World Magazine. They have an investigative cover story about how we, the consumers are cheated by the major corporations including cell phones companies, financial institutions, hotels, airlines, cable and internet companies, etc. using hidden fees and misc. surcharges. Facinating...

The cost of owning and using a cell phone has gone down. Flying has become cheaper since deregulation. Now that the phone companies have gotten involved in the cable markets (FIOS, Uverse) my costs there have also decreased. I've always been one to research things before purchasing, as I'm sure most on this board are as well. It is fairly easy to find out in advance what those hidden fees are. The fact is, most people are too lazy to spend the time doing so.

As Mike said, we don't do ourselves any favors when the govt steps in and rewards bad behavior or a bad business model by bailing companies out. All that does is keep efficiency out of the market.