Reply #11: Ninety percent of economics writing is the same as tobacco companies telling you smoking is healthy.

[AdHocSolver]

What the right-wing refers to as "free", "uncontrolled" markets are really markets controlled by the multinational corporations through cartel agreements such as NAFTA, the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, etc. These agreements are designed to PREVENT real competition which would reduce their profits.

"Privatization" means the removing of government control for the public benefit and replacing it with corporate control for private benefit.

Economics is NOT rocket science. Find a decently written college-level economics text and read up on supply and demand, the effect of supply and demand on price, what a market is, competition, monopoly, oligopoly, cartels, etc. -- the basics. You have to understand the definitions. Other concepts to learn are inflation, money supply, interest, currency devaluation, etc. Learn how these concepts are interrelated.

The basic concept to understand is that corporations want to increase prices and profits by increasing demand (through advertising, or selling an addictive product like tobacco), and by reducing supply by keeping production low (eg., don't build refineries) and eliminating competition.

Then, learn what a Ponzi scheme is. This is what the stock market is all about. The corporations want to "privatize" Social Security so that they can sucker the young people into giving their savings to the corporations by buying stock which will initially drive up the stock's price, but whose price will eventually tank causing the young people to lose their retirement savings. For an example, read up on Enron.

Warning: Most of what the pundits, stock brokers, bankers, and economists tell you is pure bullsh*t, designed to confuse you, and obfuscate the techniques they use to steal your money. If they leave you more confused than ever, then they have accomplished their goals, and you can be sure they are shoveling manure.