It is what it is and you make the best of it. There is no other economic system (unless you have come up with another one). — synthesis
The system you are scorning IS that system. If, as you suggest, all government intervention and support was withdrawn, the ultra-wealthy, the 1%, woud withdraw to their gated estates and private islands, the 'preppers' to their bunkers. The remainded of economy would collapse into anarchy, there would be hundreds of millions of deaths. Just like Venezuala, but on a massive scale. — Wayfarer
the percentage of adults receiving government benefits (over half) — synthesis
the number of young adults (under 30) dug into their parents' basements — synthesis
Nanny-state — synthesis
What you're talking about, what you're criticizing, IS capitalism. The fact that it has become so debt-riddled, so regulated, so corrupted, is 'realpolitik'. You have an idealised picture where everyone is free, nobody has debts, everyone is employed in their rightful occupation. But there's no way the current regime can simply be deconstructed in favour of some idealised, imaginary 'true capitalism'. — Wayfarer
Where did I suggest I have this idealized picture of anything? — synthesis
You MUST allow the system to work. — synthesis
Capitalism has its flaws, don't get me wrong, but it there's a great deal about the way it works really well with freedom. — synthesis
In all human (social) endeavor, you do what you can to keep the corruption to a minimum. This will allow for the best outcomes. — synthesis
Unless one can achieve financial independence and intellectual autonomy, individuals will always be controlled (from without) resulting in the loss of essential freedoms (a great American tragedy). — synthesis
Working people pay taxes; they should get benefits. Rich people pay few if any taxes. They should not receive benefits (like tax give-aways). Better yet, just expropriate the to .001%. That's right: Take it all away from the billionaires. — Bitter Crank
the number of young adults (under 30) dug into their parents' basements
— synthesis
The prime reason for this is the 50-year decline in income (and/or purchasing power) of working class people, and the maldistribution of wealth in the United States. Young adults can not earn enough to set up a home, even in dilapidated efficiencies. Comparison:
1971 - my take-home income: about $100 a week (worked for the RC church--last of the big spenders)
- my rent on a nice efficiency near work: $90 -- that's slightly less than 25% of income.
2020 85% of rental units in the same city are more than the cheapest $700 - 1000 range. To spend only 25% of one's income on rent one now has to bring home $48,000. Young adults might not be able to find a $1000 a month rent — Bitter Crank
Nanny-state
— synthesis
The United States is the stingiest, least proactive nanny state among G20 countries. It's the most incompetent, negligent nanny that ever was (maybe after the Soviet Union). — Bitter Crank
I think the current political right in the US are far more corrupt than the political left, mainly due to the influence of big money. — Wayfarer
look at the spending habits of the young people — synthesis
*sigh*I am afraid that people like you who desire salvation (from the challenges of life) feel that everybody else must change the way they think in order to feel as desperate as you do.
It's leftist religion. "Save me, save me, save me" (and save everybody else because they're going to have to pay for it). — synthesis
See, you don't want people to live up to their full potential! You want to put them into prison for that!think they should not only keep all the fences and national guard in Washington, DC. (around the Capitol), but even better, fence off the entire city and then build prison walls around the metro area because this is where all the politicians, the lobbyists, and anybody else who has been destroying our democracy needs to be kept for the next 50 years! — synthesis
Big corporations and big government are exactly what some people being free to live up to their full potential looks like. It's you who wants the nanny state to protect you from others living up to their full potential. — baker
See, you don't want people to live up to their full potential! You want to put them into prison for that! — baker
Does anybody see anything on the horizon that might indicate a reversal this incredibly disturbing trend? — synthesis
See US Stimulus Will Boost Growth at a Cost of Higher Deficits, DebtFederal debt, which recently surpassed 100% of GDP, will approach 109% of GDP in FY 2021, assuming the US Treasury finances part of the upcoming spending from its unusually large cash balance, while general government debt will reach 127% of GDP in 2021, before surpassing 130% by 2023.
Capitalism is the only economic system there is. — synthesis
People like you don't distinguish between 1 and 4, and just use the word "capitalism" as though it meant 1 only, when what everyone else is actually arguing against is 4. — Pfhorrest
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