Why we need a strong government to check capitalism.

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Just came across these pictures I took a few years back and that might be something a few folk may not have seen.

Those are Mill Coins, from several of the cotton mills in South Carolina. They are an example of true capitalism; the company looked out for the workers, provided stores where they could buy the needed products, owned the houses and the land the church was built on and the pastor worked for the company, the graveyard and streets, employed even the doctors and owned the hospital. The police and firemen worked for the company. The company owned the baseball team and the field they played on. It owned the school and the teachers

Now many of you may be familiar with "Company Money" from the folk song, John Henry, but these were not pile drivin' men but rather Lintheads. The dust and lint from the milling machines filled the air, covered their hair and clothes, filled every breath they took.

Now this wasn't slavery, anyone could quit work if they wanted. Of course you could not strike; strikes were broken up by the police, the State Militia, hired thugs or even the National Guard when necessary. But individuals could quit. And if your lungs got so bad you couldn't work you could still live in the house as long as the rent got paid; paid in Company Money. If you did quit you could keep your clothes and other possessions you actually owned but that was it. Leave town.

And there was the rub.

When you are paid in company money it can only be used in the company store. Go back and look again at those coins. They are non-transferable, could not be converted into US currency or even used anywhere BUT the company store. You could not even use it in some other company's store.

Often, the lint dust (or coal dust or ...) led to severe breathing problems that made it impossible to work. As long as you had a spouse and kids that could go to work in the mill, you could continue to live in the house. But if there were not family members that could pay the rent in mill coin, you had to leave.

You had to leave with absolutely no money. Even if you had saved your Company Money it was not convertible. If you had a car or truck, you might be able to take your clothes and furniture and pots and pans but few folk had a car or truck and if all you had was Company Money you could not even hire anything but a Company Truck with a Company Driver. If you were well loved in the company that might happen.

But that was long ago.

Actually, no. It is what existed even through World War II. Look at this next picture.

Look at the date on the coin in the lower right.

And the next time someone tells you we need a small government, to get rid of all the rules and regulations, the EPA, the Clean Air Act, the Fair Labor Practices and all the other governmental benefits we have implemented in the last half century, take a look again at these coins and the pictures of the Lintheads.

We need a 900 pound gorilla to act as a check against rampant capitalism.