For free markets to work, we need the following:
-Bankruptcy without bailouts to clear dead wood.
-Abolish patents as these simply limit free market competition and are a ploy to try to claim ownership on something that usually is one tiny fragment of human knowledge.
-Public tax records for everyone. Sunlight is the best disinfectant (and the best way to allocate resources)!
-Wealth tax instead of income tax.
Think this one through, what’s the incentive to invent or make a thing of there’s no protection? Because someone wants to?
So why call it free market?
"Profits for the taxpayer" - did you get a penny of the "profits"? The only people who profited were the executives of the bailed out companies - who deserved to lose their jobs, not double their wealth.
Can you explain how they were rekless?
If i go to cassino and bet my life saving on black that's rekless. If I go to cassino and bet your life savings then 50% of times I am genius investor, or 50% of times i am really really sorry for your loss.
The problem is that those corporations are playing a game they cannot loose. Its only logical for them to push risk (therefore profits) more and more. They themselves created 'too big to fail' term.
I am not trying to make excuses for them, they are the people who captured regulatory institutions, and de-facto are self regulating - and in practice we all know where that leads. They are responsible for what happened and is happening.
I would also..
- allow government to compete on the free market.
- allow government to force-purchase static businesses that are profitable but not innovating.
- require government to monitor such port folio and privatize where innovation is failing. Privatization of this kind should not be rushed and aim to get good value for the assets.
- print money against the new government assets minus earnings from privatization
So then we should disallow government from regulating the market? There is a conflict of interest in your conjecture.
I and many other people have a laundry list of skills that I could offer to others only if I fill out piles of paper work.
If little jimmy wants to wash 1 car he needs to register a business and get the business bank account?
If big Joe has 100 car washes and he is earning a stable income without expanding or innovating to much government could make a bid on it and offer him a job.
If say the US gov wants to force-purchase the google search engine it should pay handsomely for it. Say 1800 billion. Alphabet would do just fine bidding on the advertisement slots and selling them to their customers. (Such a large purchase should probably involve a referendum)
It is our government. If we want it to sell beer in town hall it should be up to us. If you and many others are against it it obviously shouldn't happen.