COMMENTARY: “Capitalistic Cronyism”
In recent days, we have encountered an apt term that helps explain the offenses that have repeatedly occured here in Lancaster and throughout the nation, resulting with the top one percent of the population ever growing richer over the past two decades while the balance remains the same or declines. It is called “Capitalistic Cronyism”, the working among a group of the already very wealthy to further enrich themselves at the expense of the rest of society.
We need look no further locally than the building of the Convention Center Project against the wishes of almost 80% of the population and the ramming through of the relocation of the Norfolk Southern railroad yard without proper consideration of alternative locations. Now we see the apparent determination of Lancaster General Hospital, a public foundation, to waste its vast profits resulting from market dominance on an unneeded and unwanted new hospital in West Earl Township, in direct competition with the healthy Ephrata Community Hospital.
Now that we have the word for the disease, let’s see what we can do to eradicate it so that Lancaster and the nation’s business can be conducted on a level playing field.
If you ask citizens if they want to pay taxes in order to have firefighters and policemen, they’ll still say no. Enough countians wanted the convention center. Besides, it’s not up to them. We elect our leaders. You may disagree with the convention center plan, but at least admit that honest and honorable men can differ.
The Norfolk Southern relocation was not rammed through, no matter how many letters you copy and paste from the lawyer representing the white cracker bourgeois of Hempfield. F&M has repeatedly explained why the alternative sites will not work. The rest of this is smoke and mirrors from a NIMBY mob.
Is Lancaster General healthy? Then why complain about its market dominance? Which is it? Is competition healthy or wasteful? Evidently, LGH thinks there’s a market for what it has to offer.