Nevertheless, the US system is broken in favor of corporate malfeasance and predation. And the Dickensian nature of it looms large as a security threat — particularly when talking of the welfare of the population.

The argument that the market takes care of it is one that’s code for ‘give me what I want and to Hell with the rest of you.’ The market does not adjust to smash rogue companies. In many cases, it rewards them.

Here’s another particularly egregious example with national security implications.

Strangely, you assume that referring to the Soviet economics experience somehow insinuates that you are a communist (btw, I had not used that word). In fact, late Soviet economics was not actually driven by ideology, and it’s a serious mistake to believe that it was.

What it was was a perfect example of regulation-based economy that was supposed to excel at eliminating exactly the kinds of things you are writing about, along with the “capitalist greed”. It failed dramatically at that, and it would be helpful for your argument to understand why that happened, despite measures you seem to approve of being in place.

Also, there is a big difference between communist and socialist approaches, and one absolutely does not need to be a communist to approve of the idea of regulation. The trick is to understand why regulations, no matter how harsh, do not work beyond certain natural limits, and what these limits are.

Soviet economy provides classic and non-trivial examples of this – in pure economics terms, virtually untainted with ideology. Sadly, people tend to dismiss it with abstract references to “communism”, and then go about reinventing the same square wheel.

Sorry to have trespassed on your time.

“Please do not confuse the issue of passing and enforcing laws (including sanitation-related laws) with ‘capitalism’.”

[The rest -- longish sob story about how rotten it was in the Soviet Union, a place said to be packed with too much regulation -- deleted.]

I don’t. Nothing on this blog is communist, as you insinuate. Which is why you were spiked.

I’ve read how radioactive scrap metal can be found in the jewelry of women in Fort Lee New Jersey. \

I used to think it was just ‘greed’ that obviously cannot be eliminated, but now feel the capitalistic system, will always result in creators, sooner or later, decimated by lamprey.

Swindled is a well researched book that covers the history of adulteration.
You write similar to it’s author.