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>> I dont think it's that bad. Why are you so fixated upon 'free market'
>> when this is going to be the best path to achieving that? Sure the US could
>> give out contracts to everyone, but imagine explaining to the people that you
>> made all the other nations gain a bit of wealth without them even having to
>> suffer to get it? Free market means different things to different people. When I say free
market in this case, I mean getting the best value for the price. If parties
are excluded from bidding (ie trade) because of political reasons (like being
French), then you are unlikely to get the best value for price - in the same
way as if you say 'only people with a letter 'g' in their name can apply
for this job' then you are likely to miss out on the best deal. As for other nations gaining a bit of wealth without having to suffer, I don't
see the relevance. The best bidder (by definition) will make the Iraqis better
off. I don't think that would be hard to explain to the Iraqis. As for explaining it to the Americans, well, they chose to go do war (and I
support their doing so). But this doesn't mean they own Iraq. They claimed to
be liberators, not colonizers, and now they have to live up to that.
>> I believe a nation should be accountable only to its residents. 'Free Market'
>> clearly has its benefits, but I wouldnt get so carried away by the ideal that I
>> ignore the sacrifices made by the Americans to get to those markets in the
>> first place. I've never been to New York, but I am told that people come up and start
singing to you on trains, and if you even look at them, they demand a dollar
for singing the song. 'But I entertained you. You watched my
performance. You owe me a fair price for my services'. New Yorkers know
that the way to avoid this is to totally ignore them. Basically I have a problem with someone asking for money from a party
which did not choose something, and which was not negotiated. It costs about
$120,000 to raise a child. Should a parent ask for that money when the child
turns 18? The child did not ask to be born, and didn't negotiate a rate for
being raised.
I'll have the private school, the violin lessons, and the regular beatings for
misbehavior, thanks. Just put it on the tab.
While I think the Americans have done a good thing, I don't think the
Iraqis owe them money (or even oil). If they do pay the US voluntarily, I think
more highly of them, but that is all.
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