[MD] The American Ruling Class

[Arlo Bensinger]

[John]
I agree that an absence of laissez faire is what caused the current 
situation- but I doubt a heapin' helpin' of it is gonna cure our current ills.

[Arlo]
Was there ever a time in American History where we had more "laissez 
faire" and things were "better"? I mean, the so-called "evil 
regulations" we've enacted since, say, 1890, have been in response to 
the reality such a situation created. Like I said to Mark about 
"responsible environmentalism", the so-called "evil regulations" 
placed on businesses in Chicago were the result of the reality 
non-regulation had brought... namely, a river that was flammable from 
sewage, garbage and rotting animals. Labor laws were enacted *in 
response* to labor abuses. Its the height of absurdity to think that 
everything was just peachy and then big, bad guvmint came along and 
forced everyone to abide by random, liberty-hatin' laws. Sure, I'm 
the first to agree that "power entrenches", that politicians can go 
too far in grabbing for power, but its ridiculous to think that the 
economically wealthy do not do the same.