Ken's Comments

A big debate these days is Socialism versus Free Enterprise.  I say neither.  I say we need a new direction - Fair Enterprise. I'd say the failures of socialism are self evident.  You can look at the extremes like the experience of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the various "republics" of Eastern Europe that were satellites of the USSR, or Venezuela, where socialism was accompanied by brutal totalitarian regimes.  Or you can look at the European socialism of France, Italy, and Greece, where the people would sooner bankrupt the country, paralyze the government, or commit acts of violence than give up the giveaways to which they have become accustomed. With a history like that to point to how can anyone advocate socialism in front of an audience and not leave the stage covered with fresh vegetables thrown at them from the seats?  The answer is that unfortunately big businesses in the US have corrupted free enterprise.  Large companies...

Want to get an understanding of what happened with the housing market and the financial meltdown of 2007 and 2008?  Go see the movie "The Big Short" or read the book of the same name on which the movie was based.  It's a brutal expose' of the games that were played in the financial markets to create the housing boom that led to the housing crash. We're far enough removed from the tragedy that the movie was entertaining and had a number of funny moments. At the same time the events of that time were tragic and it was criminal what people throughout major companies and the agencies - both public and private - created to monitor did. Some thoughts. 1. Why did it happen? The financial markets encourage greed.  The goal is quick money not steady, stable results.  Maximize profits, make money each quarter.  Money is lent based on numbers - what is your credit score.  Money is no longer lent based on evaluation of risk.  D...