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If the European Union countries with intense Capitalism at the top and a social safety net for the bottom is any indicator there is a better way than our safety net for the top and sleeping on the street for the bottom. I say we let the people with the money be the capitalists and put their money where their mouths are.
It often seems to me that the word capitalism is as wishy-washy as socialism these days. What does capitalism mean today? Simply that we sell and buy stuff, stuff made by companies. In this respect practically the whole world is capitalist. However, the US and a few other countries have hijacked the word as meaning their extreme form of capitalism that goes way beyond the economic system, but infiltrates culture and everything else, just like Islam in Muslim societies. And that is what many people around the world don't like about the American idea of capitalism. Thus the word as such has become like a curse despite its originally neutral meaning, just like socialism has become a curse because of the perversions it has been associated with.
It's fine for them (big business) to be a player in policy decisions--they shouldn't be able to control the entire game though. That's what we have now--they run the show. Get the money out, and they have a voice just like the rest of us.
How are you going to 'get the money out?' I don't believe you can. Even if you enact super-tight campaign finance reform, the money will still find it's way to DC. It will go underground, with Mexico-style corruption. There's nothing magical about US soil that makes full-blown corruption impossible to occur here.
The anology I use is the war on drugs. We tried to 'get the drugs out' by guarding the borders, sending out multitudes of cops and drug-sniffing dogs etc. It didn't work. As long as there's a demand out there for mood altering substances, drug sellers find ways to get them to market. Similarly, as long as there is so much influence in DC to be peddled, and so much access to big bucks via high taxes, influence buyers and sellers will find ways to make deals.
Be careful what you wish for. By passing ever-tighter campaign restrictions, we could easily create a far worse situation than we have now, just as we did with the 'war on drugs.'
IMHO - We should figure out a way to keep business a separated from government as we do religion. Limiting campaign contributions to a reasonable maximum and preventing donations from all companies big or little would be a start. Requiring federally licensed media to provide air time would be another. Perhaps requiring all debates to be only aired on the PBS stations. Just looking for ideas.
Politicians should be selected on platforms and personality not on how many bribes the can gather.
Check out Canada's election finance law.
Corporations and special interest groups of any type are not allowed to contribute One single cent to the political process.
Only private citizens are allowed and the max. they can give is $1100 a year.
Of course, this law produces a much freer country and system but it also has ather benefits.
Because we have separated the politicians from the money they can not afford an ongoing election mode and have to stick to business.
I think it's very damaging to the entire USA that the electioneering goes on 24\7 365 days of the year.
I can barely stand the 40 day campaigns we have here.
Corporations and special interest groups of any type are not allowed to contribute One single cent to the political process.
Only private citizens are allowed and the max. they can give is $1100 a year.
Of course, this law produces a much freer country and system but it also has ather benefits.
Because we have separated the politicians from the money they can not afford an ongoing election mode and have to stick to business.
I think it's very damaging to the entire USA that the electioneering goes on 24\7 365 days of the year.
I can barely stand the 40 day campaigns we have here.
At least there is a cap on it. In the USA "electioneering" is now a media joke, similar to reality tv, and most of the intelligent voters are tuning out in disgust.
Capitalism is an evil, sick, deplorable system that sucks the life out of the working and middle class while making the rich even richer. It is a putrid, vile system built upon deception, greed, avarice, and exploitation of the most vulnerable. It does not build society, on the contrary, it slowly destroys society. In a capitalist system, the corporate masters turn the rest of us -- at least those lucky enough to not be among the millions of unemployed -- into slaves, forcing us to work long hours in unsafe conditions for extremely low wages. Capitalism is like cocaine -- it gives a nation a quick economic high, followed by a long depression and painful addiction to corporate dollars. If the addiction is not treated, it will take away the economic life of this country.
Yes, smash capitalism! Replacing capitalism with a planned, participatory social economy is absolutely essential to building a just society and returning the people of the United States to prosperity.
Also, before you call me a liberal, I'm not. I am a democratic socialist, and proud of it.
Who wants to destroy capitalism? Don't say OWS, because it's not true. Wanting to cut big business out of funding elections is NOT trying to destroy capitalism. I'm a small business owner, I love making money, and I support OWS. Big business just needs to get it's fingers out of politicians pockets--that has nothing to do with a free market.
Thank you, and very good post. This is what the OP and most other right winged pawns just don't get. It isn't that people don't support capitalism. I work for a small business. I hate unions. Yet I am for OWS for protesting against the top tier corporations who force the rest to pay their way and can manipulate elections for their benefit. I feel this isn't hard to understand, but people like the OP it is a very difficult task to grasp.
Nothing works perfect. A 100% capitalistic market is just as haywire and broke as a 100% system fully operated by the government. I like to see the people democratically elect politicians who speak for our best interests such as protecting our environment, controlling monopolies, etc, and not seeing the government control to much of business. But in America it is just large corporations buying politicians anymore.
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