There isn’t a situation where the free market hasn’t been the preferable solution to government intervention. The problem is that the market isn’t allowed to be free.
Lets look at worker’s rights, for instance. During the industrial revolution the workers were exploited, I guess. People needed jobs and were willing to work for a certain amount. They didn’t realize that the work they did was worth more than they were being paid (or was it)…
Later they began to understand how their work applied to the companies and formed unions to increase their barganing power with the employers. Once again, the free market worked. The unions, however became too powerful and at some point the employers said, enough. The unions had priced themselves out of the market. And again, the free market worked. The field was leveled.
The market works slowly in some cases (like wages/benefits, etc) or quickly — like the fluxuation in gas prices. However it does work, if we let it.
It makes no good business sense for a company to pay different amounts for the same work. Once that’s discovered, good people will leave. They will go where the good jobs are. Good companies will hire good people and will succeed, bad companies will be left with the dregs, be bought out by the good companies and all will be well.
The free market works everywhere except where the government is involved. Since there is no profit motive with the government, one has to legislate perfection. And that’s not possible. Nordstroms has a great reputation because they do a good job and they do a good job so they can charge top dollar for their products. The post office has a bad reputation because they do a bad job and are restricted by unions and the government from making the changes necessary. Since they have no competition, there is no free market to help.
The post office is a good example. All the "cream" on the top has been taken away by the private sector — FEDEX UPS et al have taken all the profitable overnight deliveries. Anyone using the USPS is either ignorant or foolish if they want overnight guaranteed delivery. Email, pdfs, and the ability to attach files has basically done away with first class mail. It won’t be long until on line banking will completely remove the need for first class mail for checks. Soooo what’s left — The USPS is delivering advertising circulars and magazines and it does so at a cut rate. I’m sure that if the law were changed and folks were allowed to put something in a home mailbox in addition to US mail — the USPS would be gone overnight. Or they would clean up their act. I can say the same for the DMV, City Permits department, HUD, FEMA, the school system, do you see a trend here. Competition and the free market makes things work. Lack of it causes nothing but headaches.
If we allow the government to tell us who can park in our lots and how much to charge and when we can open, we will become an extension of the post office.
The Free Market Rules!!!
JVH
