First exit polls give victory to Henrique Capriles

[JDPriestly]

36. I would have agreed with you 11 years ago, but I'm really becoming less certain

that socialism is any worse than what we have.

Our politicians are corrupted by big money from big business -- and we have lots and lots of big business to corrupt and buy influence in high places.

And then I watch the horrible mistakes that big business, private companies make -- like Enron, like the BP spill, like the scandals in Iraq and Afghanistan with private contractors selling showers that don't work and going on killing sprees for which they don't have to answer. Then there are the pipeline breaks, the chemicals that aren't properly tested, the banks that gamble and then expect taxpayers and the Federal Reserve to bail them out, the recent refinery fires and other incidents forcing refineries in California to close and gas prices to skyrocket. None of these and a myriad of other similar problems caused by big business playing fast and furious without obeying regulations can be blamed on government.

When I was young, very young, the Monday news was filled with reports of traffic deaths. "aTragedies on the highway" they called them.

Car manufacturers kicked and screamed, filed lawsuits and tried to buy politicians, but our government finally put its foot down and required those manufacturers to put seat belts, airbags and other safety improvements into our cars. In spite of their claims that the safety improvements in our cars would cut their profits, it was not those improvements, but the outrageous excesses of the financial sector that endangered our auto industry.

We still have "highway tragedies," but not in the numbers that we had when I was growing up. And it is thanks to our government and in spite of private industry that we can travel more safely.

So, I think that both government and the private sector should play roles in our society and that right now, we are giving far too much credit and leeway to our irresponsible private sector. We don't have to become extremely socialist, but we should understand that when the private side, the corporate end of our society, becomes too influential and too strong (as it is today), its greed and sloppiness get us into trouble.

Both socialism and capitalism in excess and to the extreme can cause great harm.