Religion of peace?

[Tris]

But in a capitalist society, profits come before everything else - be it the environment or human need. So it will always be an issue, regardless. Us being less concerned about energy dependency isn't the cause of the problem, it is an effect, and one that makes no difference either way in the big picture, because the State's objective first duty in this case is to be sure oil execs bring home fat pay checks.

Normally I agree with free-market economics. However, there are certain times when security interests take priority over the concept of free-market economics.

Pretty sure that oil company execs would bring home fat pay checks if we turned off the tap to China, etc. and sold the oil domestically.

Also, part of the problem is that people no longer think long-term. Yes, short-term it might be cheaper (read that more profitable) to not have work place safety requirements, building requirements, etc. However, when the thing falls apart, it can cost way more than the savings.

One company up here comes to mind. They never got inspections on the $16M building, never applied for a building permit, never paid any of those costs. Probably saved ~$150,000 or so immediately by not doing any of that. They went ahead and built the building without any inspections whatsoever.

However, the building was built by a contractor who built a similar structure in Equitorial Guinea, and built the building to those specifications. The water piping, etc. all ran right along a minimally insulated, guess uninsulated is a better term, sheet metal roof.

The structure was built in Northwest North Dakota. Those of you who live in colder climates can probably see the issue immediately As could have been predicted even by myself, the water pipes froze and exploded. The company had a $16M swimming pool, had repair costs, had move-in delays, and had increased fees and penalties for not getting the proper inspections.

We no longer have capitalism, which seeks to reward those who risk capital in starting new businesses and expanding older ones. What we have is more akin to short-term greed, which is a terribly destructive force.

The CEO's, CFO's, Presidents, Chairmen, Directors, board members, etc., of most modern large businesses did not place their own capital at risk to found the operation. They truly are playing with other people's money, not their own. Just look at all the execs who got nice fat pay checks and nice fat bonuses while their companies wound up getting bailed out to keep large portions of their sectors from utterly collapsing. True capitalism says that those folks would be out in the streets trying to figure out how to pay for their mansions, luxury cars, yachts, etc.

Pretty sure that execs of the caliber of say Andrew Carnegie's Mr. Schwab are still fairly few and far between.