FREE REIN CAPITOLISM

There are two not so recent articles in the Waterloo Region Record dealing with tobacco companies. The first is in November 2012 and is titled "Tobacco companies want top Ontario Court to throw out $50B lawsuit" and the second is dated May 31. 2013 and titled "Court won't drop $50B tobacco suit". My comments are primarily from the more recent article although I couldn't get a link to it. The tobacco companies claim that Ontario's lawsuit is based upon a false theory "...that the companies conspired in the 1950's to withold information from Ontario smokers about the harmful and addictive ingredients in cigarettes.". In return the Ontario government says smoking is "the leading cause of premature deaths and illnesses in the province and costs the health-care system $1.6 billion a year.'. Also of interest is that every province except Nova Scotia has filed similar suits. In the U.S. out of court settlements between big tobacco and governments (state?) have cost tobacco over $200 billion.

All of this tells me that our government control of free enterprise is a joke. With such an obviously harmful, damaging product with little or no redeeming qualities why has this taken so long? Is the answer that both business and government were together making way too much money for way too long while individuals died and sufferred needlessly? May both parties rot in hell for what they have and haven't done.