One of the oldest and most fundamental rules that guides business success is finding a need and filling it. The process can lead to some unexpected or strange alliances. Right now, for example, cities are working to cure the blight from the subprime mess, and all levels of government are facing up to the fact that they spent more money than they have. In both instances, the cure is capitalism.

With the presidential election moving to the next phase of politically driven accusations, business both large and small usually become targets. Capitalists are often painted as being only about money and tainted with the suspicion that they don’t deserve what they have earned. Not only is that view an ignorant one, I happen to believe that fundamental capitalism is the system that can cure many of today’s civic ills.

Topic “A” for many communities these days is the problems brought to City Hall by foreclosed, forlorn and for sale houses. For example the city of Lancaster California has embarked on a $4-million purchase and renovate program to buy foreclosed houses that have been sitting empty and blighting several neighborhoods. The city hopes to purchase and renovate 41 houses for $4.1 million, (roughly $100,000 each) and sell them. If it were a reality TV show we’d call it “Flip This Neighborhood.”

Too often, media references to business, especially the big ones harkens back to the so called Robber Baron mentality of the late 19th and very early 20th centuries. Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie and other famed capitalists weren’t really robbers or barons. Yes they were smart, relentless and competitive businessmen but they also were the glue in the civic life of many cities and towns. Carnegie Hall doesn’t bear the name because he played there! Henry Ford was a major supporter of schools and hospitals. HMO pioneer Henry J. Kaiser wasn’t a doctor; he was a concrete and gravel titan. J.P Morgan was the key player in preventing the collapse of the country’s financial system in the days before a strong Federal Reserve Bank. At the time government at all levels was generally underfunded and ran by amateurs. Does that sound a bit like what we’re facing in 2008?

Here’s another example of capitalism riding to the rescue. The financial condition of the world's most exclusive dining hall and its affiliated Capitol Hill restaurants, and cafeterias have became so dire this year that, without a $250,000 subsidy from taxpayers, the Senate won't make payroll next month. In June the Senate agreed to privatize the operation of its food services and put it under the control of a contractor. The House is expected to agree -- its food service operation has been in private hands since the 1980s.  

Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairman of the Rules and Administrations Committee, which oversees the operation of the Senate, said she had no choice. "It's cratering," she said of the restaurant system. "Candidly, I don't think the taxpayers should be subsidizing something that doesn't need to be. There are parts of government that can be run like a business and should be run like businesses."

So, as the financial limits of government are being revealed daily, my form of capitalism (Hustle-ism) is being embraced by more people. To me capitalism is creative and aware. It is the source of much that is good about American life. Yes, it can be corrupted by rampant greed and ignorance, but when applied with the greater good in mind, no system works better. Just look at the foundation established by Bill and Melinda Gates which is dedicated to bringing innovations in health and learning to the global community.

Speaking of health, our system is crying out for overhaul. We now spend $2 trillion a year on health care in the United States: 16 percent of GDP. It is simply staggering how much costs have gone up in a short period of time—not in the last 500 years, not in the last 50 years, but in just the last five years. The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released a report showing that health insurance premiums have doubled since the year 2000. It may be time for the capitalist cure.