Is U.S. Capitalism On The Brink Of Collapse?

[Williamsmith]

Thank you for posting this.

Great video. He describes very lucidly how I see where we've come to at this point in our capitalist/free market history. It is not sustainable for the reasons he describes in the video. Even our measuring stick for economic health is faulty: The GDP.

WS, I also agree with all of your comments.

I'm not an economist, so I can't off-the-cuff say I have a solution, especially on only one cup of coffee, but I'd like to hear what others say while I mull over and research the answer.

Ive had two cups of coffee and I still have no answer Catherine. Perhaps a different beverage is in order?

[razz]

Well, Trump should be super delighted to watch this. It attacks Bezos, Obama, Walmart and WaPo, CIA - all those he has been unable to control.

Reality check!
Who wanted to dismantle the Obama care? not Bezos, Warren Buffett and others who are now trying to develop an affordable healthcare because the politicians in power wanted to destroy what was available.

Who decides how you spend your money - at the local store OR Amazon and Walmart?

Yes, the inequality is outrageous! There was this blip of time in human story when the worker after WW2 was able to earn a decent living as the country thrived and grew, workers were in great demand and paid a living wage.

From the downturn in the 70's wages have been stagnant while corporate profits soared benefiting those who were owners, CEO's and shareholders. Who created this situation? It isn't the current crop of billionaires but their predecessors with the support of politicians.

How many politicians of limited funds do you elect?

Don't be naive and accept the video as fact without doing a reality check into the real history and cause of the inequity. Are you going to demand that every movie star, every sports figure, every TV personality earning millions take a huge cut in pay? Why not? Why single out the few figures that Trump doesn't like? Why?

[Williamsmith]

I think workin' folks are f-cked.

End of story.

UL, I think you need to get on Amazon and order up a big box of sackcloth and ashes. You can’t have any left.

I prefer a more optimistic view. The workin folks will have it easier because they will be used to living in squalor. The rich will be soft and whiny when they can’t vacation at will. And I know they will hate the taste of “Great Value” food brands. The label should say, “Cheap Ass”.

But think of all the wealth the workin folks will be able to tap into. They will, because they will think it’s theirs anyway.

[Lainey]

Watch the video, well worth it.

What I liked is he did not blame the left or the right, but all of the politicians and the fact that in our system they are all bought and paid for.

That stock market boom? Only half of adults have stock and are benefitting, and of course it is benefitting the richest disproportionally.

We spent the summer camping in the state and national parks in Kentucky, Georgia, the Carolinas, Tennessee and Virginia and saw so many towns that have abandoned traditional stores, with a dollar general as their only option. Houses that are in obvious need of repair, old cars or trucks, few doctors in the area. A great swath of the working poor that have the nations lowest ranked schools, there is no way they have any means to pull themselves up by the bootstraps. And they are being demonized by our society.

But what is is the Solution? Have we gone too far?

I think these things need to happen:
1) campaign finance reform
2) repeal of law giving corporations same status as people
3) repeal of Citizens United


The corpocracy has overtaken our democracy and our legislators are beholden to them.

[Williamsmith]

Razz, we don’t have any local stores left. WalMart has come in an eliminated all their competition. And the taxpayers (walMarts patrons) are subsidizing their workers because they get paid crap wages with crap benefits....yet the owners of Wally World together are one of the richest families in world history. I do believe in bad karma.

That blip time in human history came after FDR put in massive government programs and according to some....”saved Capitalism from itself.” It was probably a time in history that most closely reflected what European lifestyle is today.

Your point about politicians with limited funds is applicable. If Trump were not so rich.....he could not have remained President this long.

I dont think this is clearly an attack on people Trump doesn’t like. I don’t get that vibe at all. In fact, if you follow the Jimmy Dore narrative you’ll see he is a Bernie supporter, not at all a hater of either Obama or Trump but perhaps a meaningful alternative to the left/alt right news forces available on cable and in print.

[catherine]

Ive had two cups of coffee and I still have no answer Catherine. Perhaps a different beverage is in order?

I'm for that! Cheers!

[Williamsmith]

I'm for that! Cheers!

I was digging through a small collection of records in a pizza shop owners back storage room the other day. The ovens were making it uncomfortable but I ran across this unique piece that I didn’t recognize. Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Survival”. It was cool looking and I thought for a couple bucks I’d take a flyer on it and grab it. Reggae is not something ai ever listened to but doing my research I think the theme of the record fits the bill today. So here’s to music from the oppressed peoples of the world!

[ApatheticNoMore]

Trump derangement syndrome. Now you can't even criticize Amazon (or the CIA I guess) without it really being about Trump. Not everything is about Trump.

[razz]

Trump derangement syndrome. Now you can't even criticize Amazon (or the CIA I guess) without it really being about Trump. Not everything is about Trump.

Not really. Not intended that way. The financial inequality is very serious and needs to be addressed around the world.

What about the really rash idea of infrastructure investment to employ people long-term rather than the enormous cuts to taxes that benefit the very corporations that the video is targeting? The US taxpayer/citizen got the huge increase in the US deficit that will need to be addressed somehow but who will benefit the most from the cuts over the long-term?

I am not an accountant nor familiar with the US corporate tax law but how can one complain about untaxed profits of a corporation if the very system enables it to buy back shares and/or invest in more robotics with the consequences of those activities?

[bae]

Wealth inequality.

Is "wealth" zero-sum?

I went out the other day and spent several hours picking blackberries in the woods. I harvested about 2 gallons of blackberries. I then spent about an hour in the kitchen and produced 5 wonderful blackberry pies, which sold at the market for $30/each. $150 of wealth.

Created how? I'm $150 richer now.