(05-06-2014 04:20 PM)JRsec Wrote:  

(05-05-2014 05:19 PM)TerryD Wrote:  Well, that just goes to show that we are all socialists, right?

Government granted/protected monopolies, government built stadia, etc...

So much for the alleged "free market capitalism" structure.

The more bored people are with their lives the more they crave live entertainment. And, you have to admit Terry things are pretty boring for the average American. Even the evening news conjures up images of Soviet coal trains that once frequented the broadcasts of Tass. I can tell you also that the last line item people who are suffering economically give up is their television bill. In 20 plus years of helping people try to get out of debt and in helping the poor find coping strategies that donations could grow into lifestyles of success, entertainment more than food, more than pets, more than most other expenses, is the last item upon which they are willing to compromise. Even the most logical and rational of those I worked with were hesitant to examine their television bill and consider it to be negotiable. The U.S., like Rome, truly is controlled by the coliseum and circus. Take away live sports, dancing with the stars, jeopardy and wheel of fortune along with other such shows and the revolt would be instant. Placate the masses with banality and they'll never think long and hard enough to ask questions that would lead to reform. So when you want to know why big business and entertainment is subsidized, voila.

Oh, I agree, JR. "Bread and Circuses" has been the way to rule by controlling the mob for, oh, about 10,000 years, (5,000 at least), by my guess.

The ancient Romans were the best at this, but not the first ones to use it.

But, people under the illusion that we have lived in a "free market" or
"capitalist" economic system are seriously mistaken. That was my only comment.

We really never have. The railroads in the 19th Century were government subsidized, for one example.