At 02:11 PM 9/17/01 +0200 Baardwijk, J. van DTO/SLBD/BGM/SVM/SGM wrote:
>This poses an interesting problem: should whoever rebuilds the WTC be paid
>only the real costs, or should he be allowed to make a profit?
>
>The former will go against the very principles of capitalism. The latter
>however would mean that someone would be making millions of dollars in
>profits because of (IOW: he would be profiting from) the deaths of several
>thousand innocent people...
Its not interesting at all. In America, we see absolutely nothing wrong
with making a profit.
In this country, twe have an entire industry devoted to profiting from
death - the life insurance industry.
After earthquakes, hurricanes, forest fires, and tornados, not a second
thought is given to the fact that the construction industry will profit
from the rebuilding effort.
Indeed, we have an entire industry devoted to *making* death - the defense
industry. Many companies in this country profit from the production of
cruise missiles, stealth bombers, handguns, and once upon a time - even
nuclear bombs.
In America, profit is considered *good*, indeed, it is considered the very
essence of what drives us to create more good. And indeed, in America we
let farmers, hospitals, and schools all earn profits - even though we all
need food, health, and education just to survive.
And yes, Jeroen, workers *do* earn a profit. If a worker would happily
take a job for $40,000/yr, but is offerred $50,000/yr, then that worker has
earned a $10,000 profit. More importantly, it is very common for workers
to own stocks in the companies that they work for, or have a union-brokered
profit-sharing deal, that allows the workers to benefit directly from
increased corporate profits.
That's why Adam (and also myself) reacted with such bafflement to your
"question", because to Americans, it really isn't interesting at all.
JDG
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"Freedom itself was attacked today, and Freedom will be Defended."
-U.S. President George W. Bush, 09/11/01
