Great thoughts all....and I like to read and learn from your threads, Chip. My wife grew up in the former USSR, and she has told me what it was like under communism. The stores were always understocked and long lines were the norm. She and her sister would often take turns waiting in line for sausage and bread. Almost overnight, when the Soviet Union fell, this changed...she will tell you that the stores went from "nothing" to "plentiful"...and it wasn't just quantity it was also variety. In the USSR, there was one vendor...the government....and everything was rationed. Funny thing, she tells me of how various Americans she meets (she is currently in school in NYC), usually very young and tremendously naive, practically argue with her about her experience. "Oh it will be different this time...socialism can work"..but as you have said Chip it never is!