The Free Market Jungle

 A pattern has begun to emerge in American commerce.  Traditional products which always have been viewed as positive, since Covid have become compromised.  Covid put the kibosh on American business, and transformed our nation into more of a socialist entity.  Because the government provides in excess of half of most revenue in America, technically we are socialist.  The difference being our "means of production" isn't owned by the people.  We manipulate our government into paying for most things, and there is a small group of elites who run the show.  Because of Covid, a lack of a mainstream, and the proliferation of wireless technology, America's economy has shriveled.  Subscriptions to wireless products became our economy, and these tethers are balls and chains around our ankles.  When you "subscribe" to a service, no longer do they worry about your purchasing products.  Their income is ensured with you yearly contract.  It is a bad idea these contracts, and subscriptions have quelled free commerce, its need, and its pursuit.  We don't really know what to do anymore except seek immediate gratification.  What was the American economy?  When times were real our economy was real.  Products related to real life were of importance, were needed, and were purchased providing a profit for businesses and laborers.  Whether it was furniture, kitchen appliances, gardening tools, or recreational products, what was being made and sold was relevant to American life.  We had a mainstream.  People interacted with and responded to America's products.  Then came subscriptions.  Contracts.  Legal agreements.  These are red tape that encumber the freedoms of America and other nations.  The "market" or place where communities gathered and traded dwindled.  We became stranded in our homes battling in invisible pathogen that dealt a serious blow to freedom and democracy.  We have yet to recover.  It is too convenience to order food rather than prepare it ourselves.  It is entertaining and gratifying and immediate.  The effort needed to create a feeling of accomplishment and fulfillment is absent.  We have become lazy, apathetic, and callous.  The visceral drive of survival has been medicated with bandaids, anodynes, and treats.  It is better to be hungry.  When the free market system becomes compromised, then products become compromised.  For example the motorcycle dealership where I go to have my bike inspected always has been reputable.  Why would I doubt their service or products?  Then unknowingly it was sold to a different party, and things change.  When I had my Honda CB-250 inspected, they replaced my quality custom spark plugs with plugs that were worn out.  When I got home my bike began to smoke for no reason causing me distress and worry.  Never would I have guessed any business would do such an unscrupulous thing, but they did.  It took me a year to figure it out.  Today with products having shifted to Chinese manufacturing, traditional quality has been compromised.  Things are not what they used to be, so buying online via Amazon or eBay is more risky.  Looking at a product and how it is made has become important again.  This is a blow back to the days of brick and mortar shopping, and it is good.  Considering the authenticity of the information on the internet today, it should be assumed that products also have become compromised.  Take a minute and research your purchase.  Look at it.  Read about it.  Follow up, because we are living in a jungle again.