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I'm sorry, but this is a very simplistic view of how capitalism works.
Allow me to tell you about capitalism from my perspective.
I'm an engineer working in an engineering firm. My employer secures contracts for engineering projects and I work on these projects. I get paid for the work I do, benefits like insurance and retirement, etc. My employer charges the clients about 3x what I make. So, my employer is able to make a profit from my labor. I also profit from it with my salary.
My husband and I own a business. A real estate business to be specific. We buy distressed properties, spend real money to have contractors fix them up, and rent them out. Our tenants pay us each month. And in return, they get to live in a home with all the appliances and whatnot provided.
Dave Ramsey put it best. In capitalism, you make money by serving others and get paid for your services. At its core, it is actually a very moral system.
Do I believe in unregulated capitalism? Of course not. It's human nature to look for every possible way to maximize benefits/profits, including cheat. We need regulators to make sure everyone gets a fair chance.
I agree with you for the most part. Capitalism is the only moral system. No other system comes close.
Government regulation is nothing but slavery. Introducing slavery to a moral system is in no way a good idea.
Government should only play a role in capitalism by stopping some people from lying, cheating, stealing or harming others.
No. Per capita HC expense in this country is 11k. Somebody has to pay it.
Yep. NOT $20,000/year. You're FINALLY learning.
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The bit about the college in Germany is severely funny. They actually accept way too many, it is not hard to get in at all. But then huge number drop out, that's the system, but everybody gets a chance.
Germany separates their students into vocational and college-bound tracks by ability while they're still quite young. Let's do that in the US, as well. It would stop dumbing-down the highest-ability US school kids.
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As opposed to you I'm informed.
Apparently, not. I had to correct you on MUCH of your misinformation.
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And I also understand math. I pay 12k property taxes (most of it for K12, all of this is covered with income taxes in other countries). About Europe, I said essentially zero, you know when it is like 50 times less.
Also, apparently, not. Sorry, but only a very few European countries have no property tax. The article I posted lists which they are. Meanwhile, this is how Germany does it:
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"Assessed Value EUR 1,000,000 (e.g.)
x Basic real property tax rate x 0.35 percent
x Muncipial multiplier "B" x 464 percent = Real property tax burden = EUR 16,240 (or approx. 1.62%)"
Multiplier "A" is used for Real property used for agriculture and forestry, only.
Multiplier "B" is used for Constructible Real Property or Real Property with buildings.
Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) is the economic development agency of the Federal Republic of Germany
Last edited by InformedConsent; 07-13-2019 at 11:09 AM..
I agree with you for the most part. Capitalism is the only moral system. No other system comes close.
Government regulation is nothing but slavery. Introducing slavery to a moral system is in no way a good idea.
Government should only play a role in capitalism by stopping some people from lying, cheating, stealing or harming others.
I agree for the most part. I'm quite leery of your last sentence. Too many people include WAY too much under the category of "harming" others. That's why we have idiots demanding that an entry-level minimum wage job should provide enough income for a middle class lifestyle for a family of 4 (or whatever).
I'm sorry, but this is a very simplistic view of how capitalism works.
Allow me to tell you about capitalism from my perspective.
I'm an engineer working in an engineering firm. My employer secures contracts for engineering projects and I work on these projects. I get paid for the work I do, benefits like insurance and retirement, etc. My employer charges the clients about 3x what I make. So, my employer is able to make a profit from my labor. I also profit from it with my salary.
My husband and I own a business. A real estate business to be specific. We buy distressed properties, spend real money to have contractors fix them up, and rent them out. Our tenants pay us each month. And in return, they get to live in a home with all the appliances and whatnot provided.
Dave Ramsey put it best. In capitalism, you make money by serving others and get paid for your services. At its core, it is actually a very moral system.
Do I believe in unregulated capitalism? Of course not. It's human nature to look for every possible way to maximize benefits/profits, including cheat. We need regulators to make sure everyone gets a fair chance.
As an educated professional and aspiring capitalist (via your real estate business), you are near the top of the capitalist food chain. So yes, capitalism works quite well...for you.
You’d have a whole different perspective if you were a factory worker in China or cobalt miner in the Congo.
Germany separates their students into vocational and college-bound tracks by ability while they're still quite young. Let's do that in the US, as well. It would stop dumbing-down the highest-ability US school kids.
Apparently, not. I had to correct you on MUCH of your misinformation. Also, apparently, not. Sorry, but only a very few European countries have no property tax. The article I posted lists which they are. Meanwhile, this is how Germany does it:
Multiplier "A" is used for Real property used for agriculture and forestry, only.
Multiplier "B" is used for Constructible Real Property or Real Property with buildings.
Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) is the economic development agency of the Federal Republic of Germany
I said per capita. Would you like to multiply by 4? I'm also waiting to see how 70k per year per kid prorates over working career.
Most guys and women can't think up brilliant inventions or a new service many people want to make them fabulously rich. True how anybody can be an owner, but many go bankrupt trying to be successful business owners. The people who succeed may succeed quite outrageously well, so that explains why there is a lot of inequality in society.
Are you serious? How many people who own dogs do you think would be more than happy to pay you $50 to $100 to walk through their yard and pick up dog poo? In more affluent neighborhoods the answer is plenty, and they'd be happy to have you do it on a maintenance of every other week or even once a month @ $50 each time. 10+ yards a day, rain or shine, 6 days a week and you're at $3K/week or about $150K/year, walking around getting exercise, with a minimal investment in tools and supplies, listening to your favorite music on your mp3 player.
I've written on here about how I mowed, trimmed and edged lawns during the summers while I was in college and I typically made $40K to $50K just during those summers, all while also mowing yards of elderly and incapable people for free. That doing stuff for free for elderly also brought me a ton of paid business because a lot of people admire those who help others and they decide that's who they want doing their service jobs, and they're willing to pay for that work.
Capitalism doesn't have to be someone becoming a billionaire. Capitalism is having the opportunity to provide goods or services to people who are willing to pay for those goods and services, even if many consider that work menial and/or beneath them, yet that is why so many are willing to pay others to do that work.
Would everyone like to become a billionaire? You bet, but if they don't have that one incredible idea, then are willing to follow up on implementing that idea, then marketing it and selling it to others willing to pay, there's still more than plenty WORK that people need done and many of those people are willing to PAY someone to do it. Capitalism doesn't mean you have to hire employees. It doesn't mean you have to expand beyond yourself and your niche, it just requires you WORK at something others are willing to pay you for or that you come up with an idea to sell a good or service to those needing it.
If you like driving and seeing new places, save up some money working for someone, get a CDL (commercial driver's license) and buy a semi-truck and become a trucker, then WORK! That is capitalism. Make wanted crafty things that people like and want and sell them on EBay. That is capitalism. Go to every yard sale and auction around you, finding and buying things you think others want as cheap as you can then sell them online. That is capitalism. Sitting on your tail, asking, no demanding others pay for the stuff you want just because you exist, that is NOT capitalism.
Capitalism has a lot of people fail, mostly due to poor money managing skills, poor work ethic or a bad idea. Those failures should never be considered a failure. Someone who believes in capitalism should view those failures as an opportunity to learn from what happened then modify their next attempt by eliminating those failure creating problems out of their new attempt.
People who say, "I'll never be Bill Gate or Jeff Bezos... therefore I'm not even going to try to do my own thing" will always be forced to work for someone else, at the pay that someone else is willing to pay. They will be doomed to the dictates of others for the rest of their lives. For a lot of people that's fine. I even retired early from working for others, but that wasn't because they provided me with such a great retirement package that I could. I was able to retire at 50 because all my adult life I paid myself first, saving and investing, not touching that other than to occasionally shift some of my investments to other investments I thought would do better because it wouldn't matter if I had a Bill Gates or a Jeff Bezos idea and followed up on it if I didn't manage my earnings, paying myself first, saving for my future.
You likely have no idea how many people have won serious money in a lottery, then a few years later were completely broke and likely in worse shape than before they won the lottery because they don't know how to manage their money. This was why in my first post in this thread I said our schools should be teaching basic and intermediate economics including learning to budget and stay within that budget no matter what. Some people will fail and continue to fail if they never learn basic economics, learn to save, learn to sacrifice and learn to WORK where they provide a wanted good or service to those who are willing to pay for it.
Capitalism works like a charm. Other than mismanagement, the biggest problem with capitalism is not a fault of capitalism, it is a fault of statism where government starts dictating what you can and cannot do in your pursuit of happiness... money to retire on or just following your own passion, marching to the beat of your own drum as long as you can get others to pay you to march to that beat.
I for one LOVE capitalism because it has given me, a person who probably should have been a dismal failure because of the circumstances I grew up in, an unlimited opportunity of chances to succeed. I failed several times but still didn't tap into my savings. If I can succeed (mind you I'm no billionaire, that's for sure) anyone who is willing to work hard, doing something they enjoy doing as long as others are willing to pay for what they are doing and as long as they can and will manage their money properly, anyone of those people can succeed. That's the beauty of capitalism. It brings the potential, the opportunity of prosperity to everyone who will work at it, and if they fail, try again, learning from their mistakes until they get it right.
Capitalism is NOT comparing our lot in life to Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos. It is being successful enough at doing what we are willing or love to do, as long as others are willing to pay us for it. Capitalism is opportunity for everyone.
But then again, that's just MY opinion, for what it's worth.
As an educated professional and aspiring capitalist (via your real estate business), you are near the top of the capitalist food chain. So yes, capitalism works quite well...for you.
You’d have a whole different perspective if you were a factory worker in China or cobalt miner in the Congo.
The problem with places like China and Congo is they actually do not have capitalist system. They are more or less either communist or feudalism.
My family immigrated here to the US from a communist country. My dad was a professor before the communists took over. After they took over, he was "assigned" to be a day laborer. My brother was also assigned as a "laborer". My mother, who was a teacher before they took over, was assigned to a sweat shop. My sisters were also in the sweat shops. I was destined to be either a laborer or a sweatshop worker.
The problem with these other systems is they do not allow people to explore their full potential.
My family waited in line for 10 years to legally immigrate here to the US. Yes, 10 years. We are now all in the upper middle class. All thanks to the regulated capitalist system here.
As I said before, I don't believe in completely free capitalism. It leaves too much room for corruption and cheaters to thrive. Hence, back in post 68 I said I believe in some kind of combination or balance to help everyone thrive, not just those who have managed to get to the top of the food chain.
I said per capita. Would you like to multiply by 4?
Why? Why is anyone who cannot afford to provide for children having any? That's the height of irresponsibility, not to mention an automatic recipe for a lifetime of constant financial hardship and struggle.
As an educated professional and aspiring capitalist (via your real estate business), you are near the top of the capitalist food chain. So yes, capitalism works quite well...for you.
You’d have a whole different perspective if you were a factory worker in China or cobalt miner in the Congo.
You are still wrong.
The Chinese factory workers benefited greatly from capitalism. It’s actually one of the remarkable stories about capitalism. Even the factory workers are making a few dollars a day, it’s still enormously better than laboring in the field, making a few $ a month and dying at age of 35.
Capitalism is the only moral system and no other system even comes to close.
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