...the dying pangs of capitalism.

I think we are living through the demise of the American-style capitalist system. As we know it. And that brings me joy. Time to celebrate. Oh, it'll be painful to finally get things right. But we'll end up with a nice blend of capitalism and socialism. With government intervention. Yes, eventually we Americans will recognize that our longtime perceived enemy, socialism, really is our friend. Our savior, so to speak. Give free rein to the free enterprise capitalist, and he'll be ruled by greed. By the quest for unlimited profit. Which really amounts to unlimited exploitation of the many for the benefit of the few. And the common good be damned. From my perspective, unfettered capitalists are immoral. Because their motive is to get rich in the material sense. And it doesn't matter who they step on. Doesn't matter that they create an ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor. We end up with the filthy rich and the abjectly poor. And a shrinking middle class. So that one is either rich or poor. The haves and the have-nots. I want the predominant class to be the middle class. And that can happen if we allow government to impose socialism. Yes, democratic socialism. A society in which the middle class establishes the rules. And allows, for instance, for universal health care under a single-payer system. With the government being the payer. Not private insurance companies out to reap obscene profits. Yes, let's proudly call it socialized medicine. And let's have expanded social security. Yes, another socialized program. And let's have government-sponsored social programs that serve the truly needy rather than the big private corporations. And let's turn down our nose at the war mongers who like wars because they create an opportunity to make profits off weapons and misery. Yes, I know some of us feel that we're in the midst of an economy similar to the Great Depression of the 1930s. But sometimes, we have to be down, way down in the pits, before things begin to look up. Today, I'm an optimist. Celebrating the dying pangs of capitalism. --Jim Broede