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A Majority Of Millennials Now Reject Capitalism, Poll Shows (washingtonpost.com)
A new poll shows that a majority of young people do not support capitalism. The study was conducted by Harvard University, which polled young adults ages 18-29. It found that 51 percent of those polled rejected capitalism, that is to say, they did not support it. Only 42 percent said they support capitalism -- there was a margin of error of 2.4 percentage points. When asked what alternative system they would prefer, there wasn't a clear winner. Just 33 percent said they supported socialism. When talking about politics or economics, it can get complicated and the poll does little to shed light on what parts of capitalism young people dislike or what parts of socialism young people like. It does appear to suggest young people are frustrated with the status quo and are more focused on the flaws of free markets.
Where Capitalism falls short is if you can't get a job at all or can't start your own business. There is no sympathy for those who can't do well. There is no cushion for rock bottom other than hopefully a supportive family. Fix that while also having people still want to work dirty jobs, and you're on to something.
Sure, that's called socialism.
Ultimately, I think capitalism needs to pragmatically move above its limitations. It generates monopolies -> put pressures into the economy to fight back against them. It devalues people below their basic, human worth -> provide either a basic income or otherwise establish resource allocation outside the capital market. It leaves people unable to afford basic health care -> identify this as a failed market and employ a different allocation system for just basic health care.
PS: I don't reply to ACs.
Elizabeth Warren is the only one who gets predatory lending and predatory credit cards. She also has some good ideas on how to fix our system. The banksters already have a hit out on her and have started their dirty tricks campaign. I hope she gets a chance to be heard. She talks about what you have mentioned in your post.
You should visit China. China is an example of almost pure capitalism.
Hahahahhahaha.
Haha hahaha hahaha.
Hahahahhahaa you must be joking.
First of all, most big businesses there are state owned, and foreigners can't own more than 50% of a Chinese company, so China could always override any foreign influences.
Next, try to start a news business there. Or anything even remotely political, religious, or sexual. Or try getting a loan for a business (unless you're a member of the CCP, in which case you'll certainly get it.)
And, any business you do start up, expect frequent government checks and censorship across the board, and if they dont like you for any reason (and that includes like "you are dating the woman I have eyes for" or "your business is competing with mine and it would be nice if yours disappeared") your business will be shut down under a bogus law (like subverting the communist party lol) and you'll be lucky if that's the only thing that happens to you.
China is not a free market whatsoever. It's a state controlled economy, and last I checked, that was the definition of socialism. Perhaps I'd give you Hong Kong or Taiwan as capitalist free markets, but China? Not even close.
The public is just as guilty. When we shout that everybody should have a mortgage, and everybody should be able to go to college, everybody will be bearing the brunt of the price increase that accompanies all those subsidies and risk-taking. There is no such thing as a free lunch, but try explaining that to people with voting rights.
Religion is what happens when nature strikes and groupthink goes wrong.
If you're going to quote Marx, I'd recommend getting right to the end of the books. In a Marx-style communist society, there is very little government because everything is owned locally by the workers. Some of the earliest purges in the Soviet Union were of people who subscribed to Marx's vision and opposed the trend towards central control that people like Stalin were pushing.
Oh, and if you're going to argue 'socialism is scary because Marx viewed it as a step on the road to communism' then you might try going back a couple of chapters and remembering that Marx also argued that capitalism was a step on the same road, in between an agrarian economy and socialism.
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Have you ever lived of "government cheese" ? It's not much, you often have to be very very creative to survive on it.
You don't always get it neither: you're not handicapped enough, you have inherited 1/16 of family property (which you can't sell) or have a significant other with a high paying fulltime job.
And if you do finally manage to get it, it binds you to another exhausting set of rules and restrictions.
For me it was eventually just easier to get a job than to plough through all the bureaucracy and this is in socialist paradise (Belgium).
But there are people out there who are discarded by the social system and have to "mooch" of their relatives because
their papers don't have the right stamps or they can't make heads or tails of this always-changing process.
Maybe you shouldn't trust myths and instead look for what research says? Or perhaps science is only good when it reinforces your biases?
Taxing those who can afford it more isn't possible in the current US, the very rich and the super-rich can afford to pay for lobbyists and even politicians (often indirectly, avoiding obvious bribes). Even if that factor is ignored the common psyche of the US makes even the poor thinking that the rich shouldn't be taxed harder - as they think that "the American dream" is real and that they someday will be rich too.
Add to that the tax avoidance schemes the rich can afford.
- Cruz - Too much interested in promoting the stagnant republican agenda.
Wut?
Are we talking about the same guy that many if not most "establishment" Republicans despise so much they'd prefer Hillary Clinton as POTUS over him?
What I've heard from Cruz is a push to return to the Rule of Law where those in power are actually held accountable and insistence on Constitutional limits on government power. Of course if you get your information and opinions secondhand instead of actually researching things yourself, your confusion is understandable.
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
That's right, abortion shouldn't be an issue. The children being killed should have their rights recognized too and then we can move on.
How much experience do you have in Eastern Europe?
I am an American, slightly older than a millennial, but also not a Gen-Xer, and I went to Eastern Europe, and I've stayed there (going on years 8 now).
I earn a 1/3 of what I earned in the US for a similar programming job.
Jobs are plentiful, and there's more demand for developers than there are available people.
I don't need a car, and unlike the cities in the US where you can get away without a car, I'm not paying a premium to live there.
When I need to use a taxi, I rarely spend more than $15 and that's for a 30-40 minute ride to the airport.
If I'm just going around town, it's usually between $2 - $8.
When I rented I paid about $500 month for an apartment in the city center + about $100 for utilities and internet (120 Mb/s).
Now that I own my own property with the money I saved on my Eastern European wages, I spend about $200 a month on taxes and utilities.
My monthly grocery bill for 2 people is between $150 - $200, and we eat well. Because my wife prefers it we get mostly organic veggies and fruits, and high quality cuts of meat. If we wanted to we could cut this bill between 1/4 and 1/2 if we didn't shop at the fancy markets.
If we go out to a restaurant in the touristy part of town that caters to expats, we're hard pressed to spend more than $20 a person on dinner and drinks.
My tax rate is about the same as it was in the US (24.5%).
I have both "free" healthcare and private health insurance (I pay less than $50/month pre-tax for that),
When I need to go to a doctor, I just show them my ID card, I've never had to pay money for anything, not even a deductible (this includes 1 time that I had to have for surgery). Normally I can see the doctor the next day, at most 3 days (and it's a bit longer for me, as i need an English speaking doctor, as I'm not fluent enough for them to allow me to visit a native speaker, to make sure there are no misunderstandings).
The time I needed surgery it took 3 weeks total to arrange.
When my kids are ready for university, it'll be free.
My wife decided to change careers and went back for another Master's degree at the best university in the country for free, Actually better than that, since she was doing very well, she earned a stipend after her first year, and we also received a number of discounts on things for her being a student.
After all of my bills are paid, my left over is 2 - 4 times as much as I was able to save in the US, despite making a lot more money.
So I'm not sure if a visit to Eastern Europe will have quite the impact on their thoughts about how things in the US are going as you think it will.
I don't think you understand what socialized medicine actually is. You pay taxes, they fund the health system. Doctors get paid a set wage, not per treatment. And insurance companies play no part...
> Have you ever lived of "government cheese" ?
Oh man that is good stuff. I used to have it at my grandmother's - she had plenty of money but kept it well hidden and scammed the system to get subsidized housing, free food, etc. yet miraculously always had the funds to travel and go to the casino. But anyway, that cheese... real American cheese made of mixes of various cheddars and it made the best grilled cheese sandwiches ever. I wish I could buy that exact cheese in supermarkets - I haven't had it since the '80s when my grandmother stopped scamming the system and bought a house in Florida.
But then again I can't blame her... RI has oppressive tax rates relative to what you get for your tax dollars.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
We do seem to have too many people at the bottom who are inherently lazy (all people are lazy to some extent)
If you're an American You're ignorant. Welfare ended in 1996. Unless you're disabled you get no check unless you can PROVE you're looking for work. Oh, were it not for Britain's generous welfare, there would be no Harry Potter.
But you just keep listening to that drug-addled rich hypocrite Rush Limbaugh, fool.
Free Martian Whores!