I am a capitalist first and foremost. I believe that government should only meddle in capitalism to keep it honest. Yet, I may have to alter my thinking – here is why.
Our government has tinkered with the tax code, making it an unintelligible maze of regulations and loopholes. We have interfered with the credit markets by using Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE’s) and the Community Reinvestment Act to foster the banking business’s reduction of lending standards and in the process made so much credit available to those who were not credit worthy, that we robustly expanded the money supply with bad credit. Our tax policy has been a force in driving companies to leave our shores and produce or service off shore, taking jobs with them. Our unions have, over time, made a number of our core industries, particularly the auto industry, unable to compete on the world stage due to work rules, current compensation, and legacy compensation, driving jobs off shore. Our government has embraced trade with countries who simply do not treat our exported goods with the same open armed approach as we do there goods.
To date, this cacophony of regulation, bad lending practices, and union rules has been our overarching economic plan for financial stability for the last thirty years. Our government intervention has been shortsighted, has not kept capitalism honest, and has made us unable to compete on the world stage with our exports. Our government restraint of drilling for oil and natural gas has prevented us from being self sufficient or at least not dependent on foreign nations for our energy, thus draining our wealth.
How do we correct this train wreck? Some would say that we should move government out of capitalism and let it work, unfettered. I, the capitalist, believe that we have so badly destroyed our capitalistic system that we actually need government to straighten it out. We have crossed the line into a new form of capitalism akin to a hybrid capitalism socialism model. Others are calling it “socapitalism” for want of a better word. Basically, it is capitalism guided by government.
- We now need an overarching government plan to grow the economy by rebuilding our capability to compete in the world.
- We need to look at how we educate – we seem to believe that all kids must go to college or forever work at McDonalds. We have lost interest in trade schools and apprenticeship programs in unions. We need to give our kids an option – college or alternate learning.
- We need to look at our tax structure. Taxing businesses seriously inhibits their desire to earn money in this country, pushing production and service jobs overseas. We need to adopt the Irish model, wherein business is taxed at 11%. This model has made Ireland thrive and has served to keep their economy from falling into the worldwide pit of monetary collapse.
- We need to insure that our unions protect workers rights, so long as this protection does not infringe on the rights of business ownership from entrepreneurs to stock holders to make an acceptable return on the product or service. Union rules simply cannot be allowed to cripple our ability to compete globally. Union over the top compensation simply cannot be allowed to encourage businesses to move production and service overseas, thus losing jobs.
In the recent presidential election campaigns, I heard nothing about a plan to place the United States on a globally sound economic competition model. I only heard that this agreement or that agreement is bad. I heard no plan. I did not hear the whole story about green jobs, including a near term plan leading to these green jobs, nor did I hear about how we would retain leadership in green production. I did not hear how we would grow our economy utilizing global trade to make jobs. Our Congress does not have a plan, except for knee jerk reactions to events – the events have controlled Congress for thirty years – Congress has not controlled events. The Democrats have a plan, but it is not one that will make America a global trading juggernaut, thus growing the economy and growing good middle class jobs, rather it is an inward myopic plan that does not factor in the worldwide need to compete – they will grow jobs by expanding government. Do not confuse government expansion of jobs with growing an economy to create jobs. More government does not grow anything but our need to feed the meter of government. The Republicans simply do not have a plan or any ideas – where is your “Contract for America’s Economic Well Being” Republican Party?
What we really need is for our leaders to tack up on the proverbial government public bulletin board “The Plan” for all to see and then follow it.
Why do you think the government, who beat capitalism into the bloody pulp that now lays gasping for air, will make the situation BETTER? Why do you trust governments who have proven to be the most incompetent at managing economy to save the day? Why don’t we SAVE OURSELVES, by once and for all demanding that the government gets the h*ll out of our ways, and stop taxing, subsidising, manipulating, stimulating, overtaking, undermining and god-knows-what with the economy that is created by private individuals?
//hpx Save capitalism
Unfortunately, hpx83, I am a pragmatist. The majority of voters in this country have been conditioned to look to the government for solutions. You will never be able to unravel government from your life, thus the new “ism” SoCapitalism” – work with what you have, not what you can’t have.
But why o why are you a pragmatist? Thats like saying that ideals are worthless and that you’ll agree as long as it doesnt get worse (which it will). And who cares what the “majority of voters” said. Just because you have to respect the outcome of an election does not mean you have to do it quietly.
You cannot have “socapitalism”, because thats just a broken version of capitalism that will be sinking deeper and deeper into misery and poverty.