“The system is functioning precisely how they want it to function. Gridlock, complex laws, highly technical bills, and regulations that target specific groups have a commercial purpose for the Permanent Political Class.” EXTORTION, "How Politicians Extract Your money, Buy Votes, And Line Their Own Pockets, Peter Schweizer, HMO, NY, NY, 2013, p. 8.
most of the labor is being replaced by automation, or robots. if the rich can't invest in a robot, they have a duty to pay the poor a high wage to dig dirt for them. it is not the fault of the poor if the rich are too lazy to make robots to do their dirty work, and the poor should not suffer the consequences of that with 10 dollars an hour.
the rich don't produce enough to have billions all to themselves, and the countries debt is because the middle class is paying the bills of the rich and poor. to balance the budget the rich should be taxed more to pay for the poor, and that investment in the poor will make them into producers. trade should be banned with countries who pay their people 1 dollar a day for 12 hour work days, because America will not descend into that for its people.
Debt is ok as long as it is an investment in the general welfare and produces a positive multiplier effect on our economy, like Hoover Dam and the Fed. We simply need more "public sector means of production" to help lower the cost of government via capitalism. - - - Updated - - - just hearsay and soothsay. any problem our Republic has, can be "cured" with better aqueducts, better roads, and more well regulated militia.
What do the rich have to do with the conditions of urban neighborhoods today? They have been abandoned. The work that needs to be done in cities like Detroit and Baltimore will not be done until the remaining residents with very modest means pay to have it done. I have no problem with the government collectively subsidizing the very low income working poor, but common citizens, not just the rich need, to be able to hire unskilled labor to clean up and rehab their communities.
dude, if we were more "sovereign" over our politicians, we would have ended the drug war, last millennium.
They are making more money than ever before, and they are not creating Jobs Booms with their wealth. That is the problem. Why bother giving capitalists a tax preference for capital gains, if it is Only to enrich themselves and not also our Republic through a Jobs Boom.
Either that or the people would have voted to suppress demand. A criminal justice system that sanctions use while punishing sales is working for the smuggling cartels. At this point the drug war is a counter productive waste of tax revenue. As you point out there are far better ways to spend that revenue.
Just lousy social management. Why bother paying for a drug war that will never work, instead of upgrading our infrastructure?
Prohibition has never worked, in the entire history of our Republic. And, that Amendment has the Distinction of being Repealed (even without republican help), as a Bad idea in those then, modern times. - - - Updated - - - Should we ask Academia, for a book on how Socialists can merely use Capitalism for all of its Worth?
Review my posts. I have no interest in proposed tax cuts or efforts to balance the budget or reduce the deficit. The cuts are always temporary, and budgets and deficits will always trend up. It will take very radical reform measures or an economic crash to contract the size power and cost of government - even slightly. Neither is likely very soon. Big Government will always be a tool of a rich and connected political class.
Why bother giving capitalists a tax preference for capital gains, if it is Only to enrich themselves and not also our Republic through a Jobs Boom. or, enact war time tax rates even for war on drugs. How many politicians do we need to, "carry the day"?
Pay for it at the market cost of labor. Much of the urban work requires unskilled labor. If the market rate for that labor is too low government subsidies to active workers are very appropriate. Those who can work but choose not to should be maintained by a humane safety net - not by a worker's wage. You ideas about moving water etc. would require a great deal of highly skilled labor. They would be a far better use of government revenue than the war on drugs or the other futile wars since 1945 that have enriched the military industrial complex.
A flat tax is the way to go. Eliminate the tax codes. Do not every go to war unless a vital interest is clearly at stake. Since 1945 that would have meant do not go to war - period.
Prohibition could easily work, but it would have to be very cruel for the users. If they had thrown the rich swells at the 21 Club into Sing Sing we would know they were serious. Prohibition that sanctions use is designed to encourage smuggling. Of course, serious prohibition is not worth the trouble. Those books about socialism/capitalism have been written, but they are not necessary. A corrupt rich opportunistic political class always evolves around government.
There are but three ways to balance the Federal budget, reduce spending to equal the tax revenue collected, raise taxes to equal the spending, or a combination of both. In my opinion it would be anything but rational and reasonable to make any attempt without first identifying and eliminating any and all fraud, waste, and corrupt spending along with elimination, reduction, and/or convergence of agencies and employees where found not to be absolute necessary at the Federal level of government. States and/or local governments could much more cost effectively do much of what the Federal government does now, and do so with consent of their own citizens who could then hold their elected government responsible for bad decisions. Taxes on individuals and businesses should be collected at the State/local level of government to fund those levels of government fully with an additional amount of tax collected to fund their States share based on population alone. Federal laws could be written much more simply, clearly, and understandable by all as they would only state the intent of accomplishment allowing each State to fill in the details resulting in compliance. Would the majority of States insist on a mandatory minimum wage? If so the Federal law would simply state that each State must produce a minimum wage applicable for their State or perhaps even minimum wages based on the cost of living in different areas of the State. The Federal budget agreed upon by both Houses of Congress would simply be divided by the total population and each States share would be a multiple of their population times that number. The real question would seem to be "Would a majority of the people want a balanced Federal, State, or local government budget?" Or are we better off continuing to reduce the wealth of the wealthiest by raising taxes, redistribution of the tax revenue collected and monies borrowed using inflation as the means by which we ignore the debt accumulation?
the rich sent jobs away to countries where they work for 1 dollar a day and 12 hour days, to get richer. the rich who don't pay taxes to get richer, pay low wages for labor jobs and don't create new jobs, to get richer.
It does not work because it has never been seriously attempted. Corruption is the desired and intended result of phony efforts at prohibition. Tyrants can, of course, effectively prohibit anything. Yet another argument for avoiding prohibition movements.
Companies will move to reduce labor and other production costs to a competitive level, or be driven from the market by foreign companies with lower production costs. CP run "workers paradise" nations like the Peoples Republics of China and Vietnam are especially attractive to companies that have to compete internationally to survive. What is your solution? Tariff wall?
A majority of the people would vote to take the revenue going to bad government for their own personal accounts. A serious effort to reduce the size, cost and power of government would start with proposals like that.
America did fine for its people before trading with third world countries for cheap labor. the people once believed they were entitled to the dignity of high wages at one time in their history, they didn't believe it was okay to be taken advantage of by the rich like in communist countries as they do now in a crony capitalist country. immigrants unfortunately bring that mentality when they are okay with working for slave wages to make someone else richer, and that along with cultural division did not make America great today.
