Businesses in the U.S. that don't want to be regulated often speak of the benefits of capitalism. But actually these businesses are not capitalistic at all. They are only profitable because of socialism: They are keeping the profits, and socializing the losses.

Sad but true. What a f* up situation where corruption and legal bribery enables this. Don‘t get me wrong, i still think some form of capitalism is still the best to make human endavour possible, but the human nature on the other hand cripples it to nothing but moneymaking for a selected few and misery for the rest.

I don't think I've ever met a socialist who would define socialism in that way.

To be clear, I agree with you about the fact that many businesses (especially in the energy extraction industry) can only make my by externalizing many of the real costs of production.

Brilliant and so true.

Im to the point with Americans and their voting Republican and pro-business and anti-environment and anti-socialism.... where I think the government should not fix anything and just let it destroy the place where the disaster happened.

After a few places got absolutely destroyed people would start paying attention.

Dumb people are incapable of learning unless they get burned on the stove a few times.

They were talking in the article about the Atlantic being the next target of the oil companies....

i think the problem is, as intuitive as that sounds, people are good at finding scapegoats and blaming others instead of looking in the mirror, and issues as large as those are so abstract at some point idk... i don’t know what the answer is exactly but i think it starts with ‘edu’ and ends with ‘cation’... just my observation....

but maybe you are right... i just shudder at how bad it would have to get for people to notice.

[edit] misspelling (thanks ipad)

> Dumb people are incapable of learning unless they get burned on the stove a few times.

I'm having a hard time not applying your statement to the entire human race. Not that I think we're all "dumb people", but we all seem to be exhibiting a serious lack of concern for the environment and the planet's future.

Also called "learning the hard way." Maybe we do need to get burned a bit to learn how to take better care of ourselves.

Why feel bad for people that choose their own fate?

You say that as if the people of Louisiana would have actually had a say in it or been able to stop this if only they would have voted differently. Unfortunately, most of this stuff is coming from federal agencies. Even if all of louisiana voted on a unified front against this, it would matter little.

Louisiana has 8 electoral college votes. 6 seats in the house and 2 seats in the senate.

This isn't enough to get any change done on its own. It doesn't take much to overpower Louisiana's voice.

Not to mention that they can't control the entire gulf to protect its share of the shore, nor does the state have the resources to actually do much about it (IIRC, there is a lot of poverty in the state).

Every time the people have tried to choose a fate other than deference to the extractive industry, they are overruled.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-oakland-port-coal-2018...

And beaten and arrested and ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakota_Access_Pipeline

Because its the rich who choose; the masses of normal people are stuck

They don't choose their own fate. Gerrymandering and voter suppression is very real. That's very true in the southern states, where minority rule is the norm.

This is an important comment. Also ignorant populace easily influenced by propaganda.

They don’t - the state environment regulator goes to the oil and gas lobby industry dinner and says “Jump? How high?” With a Democratic governor.