We tried that for hundreds of years. Didn't work. Especially fell apart when long distance transport and industrial processing destroyed accountability at the production end.
The problem is the common one - the existence of a functioning market requires sufficient information on both sides and the ability of either side to walk away from the deal.
Examples: trans fats. labeling of allergens (or anything else). rbgh milk.
Or marketing. It's standard marketing to push and claim exactly what the product least possesses (an artificial consumable pushed as "the real thing", etc) - and in politics, the marketing effort can become the substance, the product.
I beg to differ - it ushered in the modern era.
I'm not sure where you example of trans-fats is going?
As a customer you can choose to ONLY purchase food that has a been FDA approved. That's your choice. Just so long as the funding for the FDA is through a private means - then I fail to see why it's going to be anything other than more efficient. Not to mention the internet has changed the way information in shared. Inter-connectivity opens up new possibilities. For example,IF you want cheap rates on your health insurance from company A then you'll buy most of your food from companies that are healthy and company A will have a monetary incentive to make sure those foods really ARE good for you as they'll lose money if they're not by having higher medical costs. IF you think the health of Americans has been any better with the FDA - you might want to take a look around you. Also, with cheap 'free' insurance there is no intensive to remain healthy. I've actually heard of patients telling their health care providers to go stuff themselves (in Australia) - they were NOT going to change their life style and they WERE going to come in and be fixed.
That's true.
Also, you people keep referring to the free-market from a hundred years ago as if that's going to be the same market today? That makes no sense. We have smart phones that can make nearly free calls to anywhere in the world. That said, life was way better in the free-markets of the USA compared to other regulated markets. Which is why we surged past them like they were standing still. Of course, the market is the people. We have our own culture and way of doing things. It's just that when it's 'free' and not skewed by the government, it functions best to meet our direct needs and desires. Our 'dollars' are our direct vote on what we do and do not want.
Of course, we'll NEVER have a free market until we do away with the USD and income tax. It's good to see Ben is going his part in bringing that ugly chapter to a close. Let's hope he succeeds
Lastly, I find it interesting I posted NOBEL PRIZING WINNING mathematical research that definitively proves the bigot will go out of business in a free-market - yet, you chose the police state. That says something about people. So, it really doesn't matter if it's proven that a free voluntary monetary system gets rid of bigotry? You people don't care. All these years of demagoging the public has finally did it. It actually convinced most people they really would be better off NOT being free and having personal liberty but instead being ruled, trying to steal from their neighbors, being petty and jealous of 'the rich'. Most Americans just do not want to live freely and prosperously because then they'd have to face the real world. What they instead want is to live in the delusion that the government is looking out for them. IOWs - they just want to be ruled. And, so you are. That's a fact. I known plenty of people who work in government - your welbeing is the last of their concerns.
Welcome to all of Human History.
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Not to interject a Romney remark, I heard that turd saying 'China's a currency manipulator'. HAAA!!! That's some funny shit. So, he's going to 'help' us by forcing China to raise the value of their money. Double Ha!!! Bernanke has been doing this since QE3. It was made clear that our inflation will be exported until the BRIC nations relent. Well well well, that will be interesting indeed. We'll call it the Walmart Tax. Soon you won't have to worry about buying all that cheaply made Chinese TVs, appliances, and gadgets. Of course, they won't be made in the USA either - you just won't have to worry about buying them yourself. That's when your life is really going to be much much better. Pffffff.... I look forward to the day
The demagoguery will be interesting. And there will be the Cows all lined up in neat little rows, each side led by the nose, red on one side, blue on the other, all marching off to the big red barn.
We're going to give those 'rich peoples' a peace of our minds they'll moo.