Do you think Governments should be allowed economic control

first of all, your economis outlook has a name, its called "leise faire" which basically means, government is completely out of the world of commerce, and lets businesses run independently. and i dont know if you've been living under a rock or something, but that is what the goverment has been trying to do, under every republican administration, or at least, some warped version of that idea (borrow and spend, fical conservatism; which is a misleading name btw, voodoo economics, etc. etc.) and all of them have failed.. every. single. time. so understanding your point of view, if we let businesses run by themselves without any real government regulation... then how do you explain, the government handouts to banks, and any other business thats "too big to fail"? which btw, thats complete nonsense, because no corporation should ever be "too big to fail" , in fact before your very eyes, the government has been trying to move to a more socialist idea. i dont think people really understand the benefits of socialistic programs (free health care, anyone?). because the every day person benefits from this, only media spin has made socialism a bad word, but i dont think anyone really understands the construct of this seemingly "fail proof" system. plus the proggresive tax system, which has never really let the middle class people down, tax and spend economics works like a charm (its only the rich that nag about it, because they fear having to pay for their wealth.) so my answer is, government needs to regulate businesses strictly, by enforcing regulations (not specifying here) that are more conducive to better business philosophies. capitalism, is just a fancy pyramid scheme that informed american public knows, and the only reason we dont move faster, is because the market is bear. fear, has kept everyone at odds and made them only sustain their lack of action, even our founding fathers knew the consequences of this type of system. do you know how long it tooks us to even develop a system like this? and do you know how many people along the way have opposed it? simply because they had foreseen this type of catastophe in which is occuring before us? so many in fact, that its almost prophetic with each quote recorded by each man that speaks on the subject.

The fact that you still believe that the "Western World" runs "Free Markets" after all the government interference and socialist bailouts is testament to how affective your politicians really are. Say what you will about American leadership and the American corporate system, but they are marketing geniuses. American leadership is feeding their citizenry crap and they have convinced the majority that it's ice cream. Here is a wonderfully pertinent quote that is usually applied to investing: Go for a business that any idiot can run - because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it. Peter Lynch If you insist on democracy as the system of choice, then you better keep things simple. People don't get a "next life". We pass our problems onto future generations. If we act irresponsibly, then we hinder our progeny and force them into a life of servitude.

Personally I disagree with you, because I believe that a certain amount of regulation of the economy is necessary. During the Great Depression, part of FDR's new deal was a set of banking regulations that were set up to prevent banks from taking high risks, among other things. This means slower growth but less likelihood of collapse. The regulations expired in the early 1990s and now, look at the mess we're in.