FWIW, little enough I suppose, I tend to lean fairly left of center. I also see that business represents that great American Dream we want everyone to have the opportunity to share in. It stands to reason that the junk and lottery-style litigation actively harming businesses are also actively harming all of us.

The ones at the top shouldn’t have to find ways to afford this mess, but even more I worry about the people below them who also pay through reduced employment options, impacts by cost cutting measures, product lines not funded out of fear, etc. It’s the effect on new job creation that bothers me the most – I fail to see how reducing demand for labor below its optimum level is going to be good for labor.

So I agree, we can have and need a justice system that enforces lawful behavior and produces intelligible liability verdicts without creating so much confusion and fear in the markets. And ultimately it will be “the people”, not just markets, who get precisely what we deserve based on our willingness to reform or not.

In the meantime, keep on rockin’, Walter. You too, Ted. Don’t let your detractors slow you down!