by Michael Andoscia

Created on: June 03, 2008

The free market is a myth! Those who spout free market principles and ideology in the same breath that they defend our current economy are either uninformed or lying. What we have today is, in fact, socialism. The worst kind of socialism...corporate socialism.

The government intervenes in the market, especially the oil market, all the time; and the oil billionaires don't bristle. Why? Because usually the government intervenes to the benefit of the oil firms. The government offers subsidies and tax breaks, while at the same time refusing to mandate how these subsidies are used. The government creates policy that benefits the oil robber barons, making it easier for them to drill in protected lands...lands that belong to all of the citizens of the United States. The government negotiates trade deals with foreign countries that benefit oil companies. The government changes laws and/or refuses to enforce laws that demand mileage standards for automobiles; or the government creates loopholes like the light truck and SUV mileage exemptions. Oil companies do not exist within a "free" market. The market is stacked in their favor.

Take a look at the government as it stands. How much money does the oil industry spend in campaign contributions? So far they've donated over $14 million dollars and we are just in the primaries. Over 215 million oil soaked dollars have been pumped into national politics since 1990. Are these industries just doing their civic duty? Of course not. They are buying access.

And do they have access! The President, Vice President and the Secretary of State are all shills from the oil industry. Cabinet heads and assistants for all upper level cabinet posts all profess a "free market" ideology that is friendly to big oil.

So if industry has the "right" (read "power") to convince (read "bribe") the government to support its interests, then why shouldn't the common man and woman be able to do the same? If government can intervene to the benefit of big oil, then why shouldn't government intervene to help the average man and woman make ends meet, or drive to work, or help them bring their children to soccer practice?

The free market mantra is just meaningless noise. We've been listening to it since the labor disputes at the turn of the century. During the Great Depression the free market drones repeatedly and blindly spewed free market balderdash until the nation was in ruin. Now the the Milton Friedman Fan Club uses the free market shiboleth to qualify any political or economic debate, despite the fact that the term applies to nothing more than the ghost of Adam Smith. The free market has no more application in the real functions of the political economy than a Calvin and Hobbes comic book.

So the real question is not, "should the government intervene?" but rather, "will the government intervene?" And, if so, will the government intervene with real reform measures that make it easier for working Americans to make ends meet?

The answer is no.

And the answer will remain no until working Americans assert more pressure on our so called representatives than does the oil industry. We don't have the wealth of the industry, but we have the strength of numbers and we have a growing sense of collective anger. It's time for Americans to demand more, to demand to be truly represented in government, through our actions in the voting booth, in our lives, and through our participation in the political process.

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