All Things
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Deficit Reduction Deficit ReductionThe current negotiations about tax reform and reducing the deficit by increasing the income tax for the super rich have the air of high drama. Many observers have the feeling that we are witnessing a carefully...
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Patriotism and Capitalism Eduardo Savarin, native of Brazil, attended Harvard University where, as luck would have it, Mark Zuckerberg was his roommate. In this way he got to...
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p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Taxes It's tax time again. No one likes paying taxes; everyone feels done to. The news of people who pay no taxes sells a lot of newspapers. What is really going on? General...
- Raising The Minimum Wage ???
Raise the Minimum Wage?? I have suggested raising the minimum wage in several recent blogs, as a method for reducing the demand for illegal immigrants as well as to help alleviate domestic poverty And thereby, indirectly, alleviating some problems in...
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Paying big business to send jobs off-shore. Would you believe it? The US government, the government you and I elect, has had a tax policy for 50 years or more that encourages companies to send jobs off-shore. President John F. Kennedy spoke out against...
All Things
Istheskyfalling?
Leftists,readersofMarx,socialists,communists,anarchistsandothershaveheldforalongtimethatcapitalismwasboundtocollapse.Itwouldbebroughtdownbyits internalstressesandstrainsthatproducedasteadyseriesofcommercialbubbles,recessions,depressionsandlarge-scalecalamities.Itwouldbefollowedbysocialism—asocietymoreequal,morefree,morehumanethanours.
Butinsteadofcapitalism,itwasthe(supposedly)socialistSovietUnionthatcollapsedandreinstalledaversionofcapitalism.ItwascommunistChinathatemergedfrommasspovertyandunderdevelopmentbyadoptingcapitalistmethodsfororganizingitseconomy.
Todayweare,onceagain,inadeeprecession.Unemploymentdoesnotrecede;povertyadvances.Banksandfinancialgiantsareneverthelessmakingalotofmoney.Theyarethrivingandinfirmcontrolofthegovernment.Contrarytoleftexpectations,capitalismisinthesaddleeventhoughthepeoplearesuffering.
Itlooksasifweshouldsurrenderthehopethatcapitalismwillcometoanendtobereplacedbyamorehumaneandlivablesociety.Mustwegiveupthesocialistdreamandprepareourselveswithcapitalismforever?
Many people think so; capitalism is here to stay. But thereisanotherandmoreominouswayofreadingcurrentevents.
Sincetheearly1970s,realwagesformostpeoplehavestagnated.Inrecentyearstheyhavebeguntodecline.Accordingtothegovernment,familiesearningbarelymorethan$22,000arepoor.(Couldyouandyourfamilyliveonroughly$2000amonth?)HalftheworkersintheUnitedStatesearnedalittlebitmoreat $26,000ayear,$4000overthepovertyline.More and more people are moving below the poverty line. Exceptforthenowfamous1%,UScapitalismisnotdoingwellbythemajorityofAmericans.
Butthere'smore.InthecapitalismofAdamSmith,dailytoutedbyconservatives,somanyenterprisesinanygivenlineofbusinesscompetedwitheachotherthatnoonecouldaffectpricesbytheireconomicdecisions.Whetheryouraisedyourpricesorloweredthem,marketpricesremainedunaffected.IntherealcapitalismofAdamSmiththerewerenomonopolies,nooligopolies.TherewasnoGM,noBoeing,noWalmart,noBankofAmerica,orMicrosoft.Whatwecallcapitalismtodayisaverydifferentkindofsystem.Inthelast40or50yearsAmericanbusinesshasbecomenotablymoreconcentratedandthatprocesscontinues.Therearefreemarketsonlyintheintersticesofthismonopolyeconomy.
Traditionally,capitalismwasassociatedwithdemocracy.Inthe1970sMiltonFriedmanclaimedinhisCapitalismandFreedomthatcapitalismisapreconditionfordemocracy.
Butaseconomicpowerhasbecomeconcentratedinfewerandfewerhands,politicalpowerhasbeentakenfromthepeopleandplacedinthegraspofthebusinesselite.Accordingtosomereports,thenumberof lobbyistinCongresshavedoubledinthelasttwoyears.SincetheendofWorldWarIIcorporatetaxeshavebeen cutby moreorless1/3.Individualincometaxeshaverisenby25%.Addtothat,thatsomeofthelargestcorporations,suchasGeneralElectricorExxon,managednottopayanytaxesatall.The GAO reported in 2008 that “two out of every three United States corporations paid no federal income taxes from 1998 through 2005.” Whileourgovernmentbecomeslessresponsivetoourneeds,largecorporationscanprettymuchhaveeverythingtheirway.
Atthesametimethereareominoussignsthatourtraditionallibertiesarebeingslowlyundermined.IntheCitizensUniteddecision,theSupremeCourtallowedwealthycorporationstospendasmuchmoneyastheypleasetosupportcandidatesinelections.Thatobviouslygivescorporationsdisproportionatepoliticalinfluence.
TheUSAPatriotAct,passedafter9/11allowsourgovernmentnewpowersofsurveillanceoverordinarycitizensandlimitsthegovernment'sobligationstoletusknowwhentheyaresnooping.TheCIA,originallyfoundedtooperateoutsidetheUnitedStates,isnowdoingintelligenceworkintheUnitedStates.Wehaveaddedanothermajorsurveillanceagencytoalltheotheronesalreadykeepinganeyeoneachofus.
TheConstitutionguaranteesthatpersonsarrestedthatwillbearraignedpromptlyandtoldwhattheyarebeingaccusedof.Intheso-calledwaronterrorat least two American citizensfoundthemselvesinjailwithoutarraignment,and,for long periods, withoutaccesstolegaladvice.Ourgovernmentalsohasasignificantnumberofcitizensofothercountriesunderindefinitedetentionwithoutrecoursetolegalprocesses.
Morerecentlythegovernmentkilledtwo Americancitizens—Anwaral-Awlaki and his assistant-- whowereaccusedofencouragingandevenorganizingterroristactivitiesintheUnitedStates.Thatisaseriousdeparturefromconstitutionaltradition.Ifsomeoneisaccusedofmurderingsomeoneelse,thepolicedonotsimplyshoothimdead.Eventhoughheisaccusedofaveryseriouscrime,heisentitledtoatrial.ButiftheaccusedisaMuslimimaminYemen,ourgovernmentiswillingtosimplymurderhim.
Thesearesmallbeginnings.Maybetheyaretemporaryaberrations.Butperhapstheyarethebeginningofthesuccessorsystemtocapitalism:aneconomydominatedbyglobalcorporations,whosewealthallowsthemtocontrolnationalgovernments.Theyusetheirpoliticalpowertopillage the national treasuryinordertoincreasetheirprofits.Theykeepwageslowwhilethesocialsafetynetis slowlybeingshredded.Thegovernment,beinginthehandsofthecorporations,islikelytotaketheirsidewhenthepeoplefinallyrebel.PoliceactionsinOaklandareonefineexampleofthat.Equippedwithmoreandmoresurveillanceagencies,readytoignoreconstitutionalprotections,thegovernmentisgetting readytoexecuteAmericancitizenswithoutbenefitofatrial.
Maybecapitalismisnotcollapsingaspredicted.Maybeitismorphingintoanewfascismthatruleswithanironhandtobenefitcorporatebottomlines.
Thenext50yearswilltellwhichitwillbe.
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Deficit Reduction Deficit ReductionThe current negotiations about tax reform and reducing the deficit by increasing the income tax for the super rich have the air of high drama. Many observers have the feeling that we are witnessing a carefully...
-
Patriotism and Capitalism Eduardo Savarin, native of Brazil, attended Harvard University where, as luck would have it, Mark Zuckerberg was his roommate. In this way he got to...
-
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Taxes It's tax time again. No one likes paying taxes; everyone feels done to. The news of people who pay no taxes sells a lot of newspapers. What is really going on? General...
- Raising The Minimum Wage ???
Raise the Minimum Wage?? I have suggested raising the minimum wage in several recent blogs, as a method for reducing the demand for illegal immigrants as well as to help alleviate domestic poverty And thereby, indirectly, alleviating some problems in...
-
Paying big business to send jobs off-shore. Would you believe it? The US government, the government you and I elect, has had a tax policy for 50 years or more that encourages companies to send jobs off-shore. President John F. Kennedy spoke out against...