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I understand what you're saying and to a measured extent it has some merit. The question eventually becomes who do you trust more with your future? A corrupt bank executive or a corrupt group of elected officials? Either one has the capability of making your life less productive. Which is the worse of evil? Common sense has left the building in both places and have been replaced with insanity.
But you don't get to vote for the bank executive, you do get to vote for the government official.
And I'm not saying the government is the solution, most of the time it isn't. But it doesn't make the fact that unbridled capitalism is bad, and it needs some controls put on the free market to function correctly. People want to make sure that in our country, you don't starve to death, or go to the hospital without care.
I think the government should be one of those "break glass only in case of emergency" things.
Which is why the blanket statements of "well capitalisim is always good" and things like that aren't true. To be specific, you have to talk about each and every little thing, in detail, weigh the pros and cons, and move one. Takes time, a lot of communication and discussion, and most people don't like that. They want an answer now, and a simple statement to remember instead of discussing reality.
Memphis my friend, this is where we come to a parting in the road I believe. In my mind, in order for capitalism to thrive, it has to be unbrideled and allowed to flourish. Now while we agree that there does need to be some regulation as to health and safety standards, it is my contention that even these be looked at realistically and determined to be necessary. To insinuate that the government should have the ability to control salary, wages, or other compensation, is a recipe to undermine our overall belief system of opportunity.
But, we must have some sort of a wage standard don't you think? Otherwise, there would be alot of people stuck at a $3.00 an hour job.
You must have missed it, but I clearly stated that if I get a chance to relocate to Germany through my company in the next few years, I WILL!
Comparing the USA to Germany and the Netherlands is a bit like comparing apples and oranges but there are so many ways this American system could be improved.
I absolutely agree with the OP though- This current system is unsustainable- this American way of doing things where no one gives a ****, where workers are laid off after having worked for a company for 30 years, discarded like trash and left to fend for themselves is IMMORAL.
I ran a comparison- USA vs Germany- average American pays under 30% in income tax, in Germany, it is about 50%.
Although, Americans are paying 20% less, they are still responsible for their own health care, which is not subsidized and quite frankly, very expensive! In addition:
The average American university student graduates with about 30 K in debt, in Germany, it is under 1000 dollars because most universities are "free" or in some states, tuition averages $500 euros/semester.
Cost of daycare in Germany is very low or sometimes "free"- here in the USA, there are families that pay more than $500/month just in daycare.
Anyways, I could go on and on but my point is : I truly believe that a mix of Capitalism and Socialism is the way to go. I am not saying that the German or the Dutch model would work here but there are so many ways we could improve the way we do things here.
What we seem to have lost in this American society is HUMANITY- the realization that American workers are important and should be respected-They are not just numbers that can be exploited to make someone wealthier.
You must have missed it, but I clearly stated that if I get a chance to relocate to Germany through my company in the next few years, I WILL!
Comparing the USA to Germany and the Netherlands is a bit like comparing apples and oranges but there are so many ways this American system could be improved.
I absolutely agree with the OP though- This current system is unsustainable- this American way of doing things where no one gives a ****, where workers are laid off after having worked for a company for 30 years, discarded like trash and left to fend for themselves is IMMORAL.
I ran a comparison- USA vs Germany- average American pays under 30% in income tax, in Germany, it is about 50%.
Although, Americans are paying 20% less, they are still responsible for their own health care, which is not subsidized and quite frankly, very expensive! In addition:
The average American university student graduates with about 30 K in debt, in Germany, it is under 1000 dollars because most universities are "free" or in some states, tuition averages $500 euros/semester.
Cost of daycare in Germany is very low or sometimes "free"- here in the USA, there are families that pay more than $500/month just in daycare.
Anyways, I could go on and on but my point is : I truly believe that a mix of Capitalism and Socialism is the way to go. I am not saying that the German or the Dutch model would work here but there are so many ways we could improve the way we do things here.
What we seem to have lost in this American society is HUMANITY- the realization that American workers are important and should be respected-They are not just numbers that can be exploited to make someone wealthier.
Now I'd add, Americans should expect more of all of their fellow citizens. Too many are content to do jobs long-term that formerly held by teenagers, and frankly, even if we assisted them even more indeveloping, too many are unwilling to invest their time and energy. So it is a two way street, but I do agree, our path the last few decades, independent of party in charge, is a path to the end of the America I grew up in.
My niece is considering leaving for Europe after graduating from a US college, and I'd be hard pressed to argue why it would not be the prudent course of action.
It seems like anymore "corporate greed" is the new term for "Other people get hired in at a higher salary then me and I am jealous.
Oh, plllleeeeeaaaassssseeeee..instead of one sentence Eddie Haskell comments, look at the facts. Fortune 500 profits,executive pay are at ALL TIME highs, while US median income has declined during the same period. Now the execs could not reverse the median decline even with payscales more commensurate with past eras, but in former eras, their income trajectory (be it up or down) was in sync with overall US median income levels.
In short, they could not win, while their corp, and nation, lost.
In most corps, stock options are huge part of exec pay, and it is quite common for them to get them at 20-25% of present stock prices. So if for example, the corp stock fell 25% under their reign, they would sell options at 75% of the price they received them at, purchased at 20-25% of the value at the time they recieved them. In laymans terms, it is af if an NFL team started the game up 35-0. 99.999% of such teams would win the game.
70% of Americans support social security and medicare, for todays retirees, and all of tomorrows, 0 changes to those systems.
While thats impossible with medicare, it'll have to change some, its possible to fix social security.
And it sure as hell doesn't mean privatization.
We are all socialists now.
One who gets it!
In the context with which most of the morons on here equate socialism; the U.S. is arguably one of the largest socialistic entities there could be.
An early post referred to Italy, Spain, Greece, the U.K. as those "others" who are failing.
Well hello; you have all of the markers present in your country that you use to measure those "others" as failing. AND you are failing at the same rate!
Nationalized health care: Medicare, medicaid etc.,
Government mandated pension system: Social Security is what again?
Unemployment insurance benefits: ooopsy.
Welfare: Oh brother; no need to go there! You lose that one.
Food stamps: Not sure anybody else even has those available.
Government issued Obama phones: Another unique to the U.S. feature.
Sub prime mortgages for people who can't provide a down payment or make the expected monthly payments: Well; while not having comparable programs, those "others" ended up with the fall out anyway thanks to you and your banking deregulations making a "free-for-all, free-fall" of the markets virtually inevitable. Frank and Dodds should be the name on a soup kitchen in Poughkeepsie.
Unrestricted immigration: How many 7/11 stores can a country of 350 million sustain? You're gonna find out shortly.
Illegal immigration: About 12 million more than those "others" and all from ONE source easily identified and which would be easily controlled given a federal governement with any balls at all.
Government mandated vacation weeks for years of employment is perhaps the only area where you markedly differ to any great degree, but in all other respects you have actually exceeded those "others". and make them look like pikers at the International "feeding at the public trough" competitions.
Oh, plllleeeeeaaaassssseeeee..instead of one sentence Eddie Haskell comments, look at the facts. Fortune 500 profits,executive pay are at ALL TIME highs, while US median income has declined during the same period. Now the execs could not reverse the median decline even with payscales more commensurate with past eras, but in former eras, their income trajectory (be it up or down) was in sync with overall US median income levels.
In short, they could not win, while their corp, and nation, lost.
In most corps, stock options are huge part of exec pay, and it is quite common for them to get them at 20-25% of present stock prices. So if for example, the corp stock fell 25% under their reign, they would sell options at 75% of the price they received them at, purchased at 20-25% of the value at the time they recieved them. In laymans terms, it is af if an NFL team started the game up 35-0. 99.999% of such teams would win the game.
And you are proving my point. So a company wants to pay the CEO lets say 5 million a year, what is wrong with that? They were hired to do a job at a certain pay. Just like you were hired to do a job at a certain pay.
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Now I'd add, Americans should expect more of all of their fellow citizens. Too many are content to do jobs long-term that formerly held by teenagers, and frankly, even if we assisted them even more indeveloping, too many are unwilling to invest their time and energy. So it is a two way street, but I do agree, our path the last few decades, independent of party in charge, is a path to the end of the America I grew up in. 
