Are Free Markets Really Free?
As with so much of the verbal drivel intended to distract us from what's really going on in our economy and markets (as well as our world in general), the idea that we in the U.S. have a "free market" has been a ringing bell that has been muted. We won't take up your precious time with a long detailed argument why this is so. Rather, we'll simply state it as our view. The problem with arguing the point is that the definition of what is a free market quickly becomes slippery and politically charged. In addition, big interests like our government, Wall Street, and clusters of the rich and powerful use the concept to further their interest to the detriment of the rest of us folks. They do this via constant repetition, pounding it brains weakened by lack of education, common sense, and overall inability to think logically. Seriously. With that in minds, here a quote from the always thoughtful Charles Hugh Smith: The propaganda of "free markets" promised ...