The Free Market.

Let me start this by saying that there is no better and faster way to high quality products at cheaper prices than competition between companies. Unfortunately though, in the U.S. there is this idea that government is needed to regulate evil and greedy business' that take advantage of the poor unsuspecting consumers. I will not deny that there are evil and greedy corporations in this country, but what most people do not realize is that it is the big corporations who go to their government cronies and request regulation. This is where they show how truly evil they are. In reality, regulation is a tool used by powerful business' to stop competition by making it very difficult for small business' to start up. Think about how easy it is for a corporation to comply with government regulations when they have separate departments dealing with all the different aspects of keeping the business running. They have their own lawyers, accountants, and whoever else they need to file the paper work and meet the guidelines the government(or they themselves helped) set. Now think about a person deciding to gamble everything they have worked hard for to open a business of their own. All of the work to meet government regulations rests on one persons shoulders. All the legal paperwork has to be taken care of by hired lawyers who are not cheap, and all the set guidelines regarding construction have to be met. It is very expensive and makes it extremely difficult to start a business. Odds are many people are too afraid to risk everything and dont even attempt to start a business. The difficulty of opening small business' is what stops competition.

The idea of the Free Market is that there would be no government regulations. You might be saying "Oh my God, if the government doesnt set strict food handling regulations I might get sick if I go out to eat!" or something like that. Well, heres the beauty of the free market: the consumers are the regulators. If you went to a restaurant and you got food poisoning, I highly doubt you would ever eat at that restaurant again. That is you regulating the market. You took a stand and decided not to support that company, and possibly told everyone you know not to go there also. The free market would require consumers to educate themselves about the companies they support, and make good decisions on whether or not to continue supporting them. That is the heart of competition. It is the consumer dictating what product is best and at what price. Once again, there is no other way to have the best products at the cheapest price.

Not only does regulation not allow for competition, it opens the door to government bureaucracies that are usually inept and a waste of tax payers money. Who would you rather decide what is best for you? Yourself, or somebody hired by the government who doesnt really care?

The free market also has some wonderful side effects. It breaks down barriers between races, it forces all different kinds of people to interact and look past their differences because the common goal is either selling or buying the best quality product at the best price.

Here is a link dealing with the myth that big business and big government are enemies.
Big Business and Big Government

And here is a video feature Milton Friedman, recipient of Nobel Prize for Economics 1976