The real dangers to the American economy

[jertheber]

Originally Posted by tjarado

Costaexpress - you are banging your head against a thick wall named linda_d who is simply a rage-filled poster who rants the same stuff at every opportunity. Anger has fired up many who feel passionately that they are entitled to a much better life than they actually enjoy, for no particular reason other than they "want it".
And if they don't get it then the "system is unfair" so the government ought to even things out.
Maybe it should and maybe it shouldn't...
...but I want to be Queen of England, and that ain't happening either.

Another whine about the bottom class being the problem, facing the facts of our techno-economy and what that system implies for a nations populace is a difficult chore for so many. People are angry, they rant about the "entitlement" mentality of the poor but never mention that the same mentality abounds in the upper class. The recent handoff of our treasury to the lords of Wall street should have been a revelation for any thinking American, but, that would include the assumption that most of our countrymen are really paying attention and not watching TV.

The REAL danger to our nation lies in the fact that technology and energy aren't the same thing, without one you can't utilize the other. Capitalism isn't a well defined economic construct here in America, it's a theory that was greatly enhanced by technology and the abundance of cheap and easy to get energy. But to assume that a theory is the same thing as it's practical application is simply a fools view of how things work in human dynamics. Powerful people, not theories, are running the economies of nations, and that fact is the very thing that causes so much vitriolic discussion among the victims of that power. Concentration of power is what causes the concentration of wealth, this isn't rocket science, most people regardless of political affiliation know this to be the one undeniable truth about economics.

Despite all the theoretical differences in various economic constructs one thread of continuity runs through them all, and that would be the tendency toward wealth concentration. Socialism in the Scandinavian nations has brought a better spread of services and financial security to the citizens but the presence of an upper class is undeniable, even in the state-run economy of the old USSR the concentration of real wealth was a fact. Political power in Russia was the equal to western corporate power, if you were in the USSR power circle you were going to be well off financially. US corporate power and the political powerful in Russia were both reaping the rewards of a terrible imbalance, neither had democracy. The US had a type of free enterprise business system that over time grew into a system with less and less access, the small business owner was pushed aside by the burdens of federal compliance brought about by the giant mega corps that saw legislation (their lobbying) as the way to squelch any real competition.

There will NEVER be a system in any nation that displaces this imbalance, revolutions, strikes, protests, all have failed to force the powerful to concede to democracy. Power rules completely, and in our (U.S.) case it rules to our collective detriment. When energy production begins to wane we'll look back on these discussions as a thing of luxury, American's will be too busy looking for cures to the current techno-capital disasters caused by short sighted greedy people in power. We have become accustomed to thinking that EVERYTHING problematic has a solution, well, it just aint so. The best we can do as citizens is to try to hold the political establishment's feet to the fire, hold them to their promises, hold them accountable, but DON"T hold your breath waiting for any useful response

[malamute]

Originally Posted by Costaexpress

There are two leisure classes in America today: the super rich and the super poor who choose not to work. I never said that wealth would love to come here. But we should at least try to attract wealth. With our increasingly socialist policies, we are not going to be able to attract wealth. Then what?

I think we can attract many from the third world. Affluent Asians are coming here and spending money here.

Handing out things to undocumented immigrants is progressives' policy. If that policy hurts this society, then people need to speak up and wake up progressives.

I agree with your point that the fruit of your labor is going to someone else. Unfortunately it'll probably be more so in the coming years. I don't know how much you make. But I think socialism is going to be terrible for those making between $60k and $150000.

And much of our poverty is imported and we continue to import poverty like it's going out of style. Not many jobs but the administration is encouraging cheap illegal labor to pour over the borders by promises of all kinds of rewards. While we export the job, we have a ridiculous population rate increase also taking place.

[ContrarianEcon]

Originally Posted by John-UK

That is true. Socialism stopped the grinding poverty layer which was the fall out of Capitalism. Not much else, however a great achievement, but when applied to "full employment" does more. We need an economic system that does not create a grinding poverty layer, where most wealth does not trickle up the pyramid to the few at the top. A fair Capitalist system. There is only one, Geonomics.

I read a story about a person that had worked in a developing industry. He said that the inheritance tax killed economic growth. As a city grows it eats up surrounding farm land. Without the inheritance tax when the farmers die their kids tend to sell and use the money to start businesses in the growing city. The inheritance tax stopped this. The value of the land added by the common use (as you like to put it) was used for the common good.

This stopped happening when the inheritance tax was enacted.

You should really spend some time modeling what you are talking about to make positive that the unintended consequences don't run opposite to your desired result.

Simply reducing the inheritance tax and all other barriers to entry into the economic game would do a lot of what you are talking about. Upping the minimum wage to keep total debt down would do a lot more of what you are trying to do.