Capitalism – It Might Work
There are a lot of people stumbling around making pronouncements about the US economic system, and talking about capitalism and the ‘free market’, but don’t seem to understand that the first requirement for either is the elimination of corporations. As long as the government is allowed to create corporations neither capitalism nor a truly free market is possible.
Corporations have limited liability, so they have an immunity to risk that other businesses don’t have. If you really want to try capitalism, and to have ‘free markets’, outlaw corporations and then we can talk about it.
Somewhat in response to many of the complaints about the Occupy Wall Street movement, Mike Konczal at New Deal 2.0 asks Who are the 1% and What Do They Do for a Living?
His opening paragraph is decent snark – “Look, a crazy anti-capitalist anarchist carrying a bizarre sign incompatible with the basic tenets of liberals:” followed by a wonderful picture of the ‘sign’ of one of those DFH who don’t know what they want. You have to see it to understand.
‘Noz provides a defense of John McCain and his claim that the Republican “jobs” plan will creat ‘billions’ of jobs. Basically – give McCain a break, he didn’t say the jobs would be created in the US.
7 comments
I’m stumped about what other than infrastructure spending would create jobs here in America rather than in China. Even Helicopter Ben ramping up his printing presses would only create jobs (and create inflation) in China. We just don’t make anything here in America anymore, so now that we aren’t selling overpriced real estate to one another….
In short: If anybody says tax cuts, money drops, or anything other than infrastructure spending will create jobs here in America, they’re full of it. And we really do need a CCC/WPA to absorb all those folks who aren’t qualified to be professional construction workers but need jobs…
– Badtux the Fundamentals Penguin
Members of my family learned valuable skills in both programs. My Dad found those CCC skills useful for building in the rubble of Italy during WWII, and then in Florida the first time we lived here. A couple of great uncles became journeyman level masons building public structures for the WPA. The Smithsonian collection is much larger and more detailed because of the arts programs, and there are great murals in public spaces all over the US because of that program.
Given the number of disasters we have had this year, there is plenty of work just repairing what was destroyed, not to mention all of the stuff that is ready to fall down because preventive maintenance stopped during the Reagan administration to hide the huge deficits he was running.
The reality is that someone had better start spending a lot of money very quickly or the 1930s are going to lose their status as the “/great Depression”.
Oh, yeah, now I remember… wasn’t it a WPA arts program bas-relief in the DoJ that led then-AG John Ashcroft to place thousands of dollars of drapery over Lady Liberty’s breast? Just think… there’s work for a real sculptor there, creating a bra in stone for the stone lady, all to protect young eyes…
It was Justice that he wanted to hide from the eyes of the young, as I remember it. A lot of the artistic stonework in DC was carved during that era.
He should have just put a burqa over the statue and have done with it, as that is one of many of the ways the Christianists agree with the ayatollahs who rule Iran.
You’re correct, of course. Lady Liberty stands in New York Harbor. Who knows what she is waiting for, but as she’s French, it probably isn’t drapery.
Perhaps it’s … Shrubbery 😉
No! Not a SHRUBBERY! Ni Ni Ni Ni Ni!