Bloomberg: Seven Fixes for American Capitalism

Posted by $ blarman 5 years, 2 months ago to Culture
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Anti-Trust Pivot - Please read and comment
Supply-Side Economics - I'm kind of missing any real critique here in the article, so please offer your own opinion
German Model (co-determination) - it's socialism
Modern Monetary Theory (because we can print money, there is no such thing as spending too much) - uhhhh
Tech to the Rescue (productivity) - eh
Tariff Truthers - This one should generate interesting responses
Libertarianism
SOURCE URL: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-02-07/seven-fixes-for-american-capitalism?cmpid=BBD020719_BIZ


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  • Posted by $ 25n56il4 5 years, 2 months ago
    I didn't think it was broken. Why fix it? I applaud someone's success. New inventions excite me. New methods, Interesting books. I think boredom is taking over our world. Everyone is trying to fix it.
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  • Posted by mia767ca 5 years, 2 months ago
    the truth is out there...and after the collapse and the 90% die-off, maybe we can get it right the 2nd time around...with Objectivism...prepare....
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 5 years, 2 months ago
    Besides sound economic practices we need a constitutional amendment: Separation of Business and State!...and politics/politicians too!
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    • Posted by $ 5 years, 2 months ago
      A Constitutionally-recognized Right to Property would be a welcome addition.

      (Jefferson originally proposed that wording in the Declaration, but revised it because of concerns some might see it as justification for slavery.)
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      • Posted by ewv 5 years, 2 months ago
        There are no "Constitutionally-recognized rights" in the Declaration of Independence, which was written over a decade before the Constitution. A right to property is recognized explicitly in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, but is undermined by the power of eminent domain for public use as long as government pays for what it coercively takes.

        No known draft of the Declaration referred to a right to property. There was no such reference to remove over slavery or anything else.

        Unlike some state constitutions, such as Virginia's, all known drafts of the Declaration referred to a right to "life", "liberty" and the "pursuit of happiness". "Property" should have been included, but it was taken for granted; today's problems were not foreseen then.

        Congress removed Jefferson's protest of the King as responsible for the slave trade as one of the reasons for the break from Britain.

        See Carl Becker's, The Declaration of Independence: A Study in the History of Political Ideas.
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  • Posted by lrshultis 5 years, 2 months ago
    The flaw in the article is that it is based on the assumption that a capitalist system must be run. That would require government intervention destroying the essence of the freedom of capitalism by creating a mixed economy rather than a capitalist economy.
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    • Posted by $ 5 years, 2 months ago
      That was part of the point in posting it. If you aren't familiar with Bloomberg, they are a generally leftist publication. I posted this not out of agreement with the article, but as a point of discussion over several of their proposals. I post various Bloomberg articles from time to time to allow the forum readers to pick apart the faulty logic! Thanks!
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  • Posted by CaptainKirk 5 years, 2 months ago
    Tech to the rescue???

    Tech taught me the most important Economic Understanding I needed.

    In ANY GROWING and VITAL Economy, the natural tendency is DEFLATION.
    As an economy grows, scale allows costs of tooling/labor to be driven down (or productivity up).

    Without the bankers STEALING this wealth in the form of inflation, and TEACHING us that inflation is natural...
    We would all understand, appreciate and be driven towards deflation. Getting more for every future unit of labor.
    Why? Because THAT is the impact of competition. If someone is making too much selling buggy whips, competitors come.

    When making chips costs BILLIONS, it becomes worth BILLIONS in research to reduce their costs. When Intel cannot make CHEAP CHIPS, Voila... Other companies fill the niche, and there are few if any INTEL based Cell phones! Cell phones are expensive, but in all honesty, they are more powerful than 1984 PCs with monochrome screens and floppy disks that cost $5,000...

    Let that sink in.

    Unfortunately, the bankers have control. They inflate us to death, and despite our growing ability to create deflationary pressures, we cannot save fast enough for retirement because they will bankrupt us once we stop earning money!
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    • Posted by $ 5 years, 2 months ago
      "In ANY GROWING and VITAL Economy, the natural tendency is DEFLATION."

      That is because there is value creation without an increase in the monetary base, making "money" able to purchase the higher rate of output with relatively less actual currency. Precisely!

      "there are few if any INTEL based Cell phones..."

      That's because cell phones run ARM-based chips, not x86-based chips and Intel has had a really hard time competing in that sector with nVidia and others. Got inside sources in the industry and GPU's are just killing the more generic CPU's...

      "Unfortunately, the bankers have control."

      That's because we use fiat money they can control and monopolize. So they do it. They can't have industry undercutting their business! ;)
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 5 years, 2 months ago
    "This dissatisfaction with the status quo seems surprising on one level. Unemployment is low."
    One level? It's surprising on many levels because we are so prosperous. Life is better in so many aspects.

    We're already doing Tech to the Rescue, which actually means human ingenuity creating prosperity beyond past generations' dreams.

    As 25n56il4 asks, why do they think things are broken?
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  • Posted by $ 25n56il4 5 years, 2 months ago
    I think they are simply seeking attention. And since they are getting a lot of it, they will continue with this nonsense! This is not new. It is boring listening to their stupidity. Think of the message this all sends around the world!
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  • Posted by $ 25n56il4 5 years, 2 months ago
    I am not "Little Mary Sunshine", but, look around and see why you shouldn't be bored. My dogs are well fed and happy (all three of them). My son came out of the hospital much better than he went in (disabled veteran) and even though Ford has put another recall on my 2014 SUV, I am going to keep it because it is the best Ford I ever bought and I have owned 9 Fords. I really liked that cute little Adrenaline but ever Ford dealer in Texas wanted it. It only had 20,000 miles on it when I traded it but I needed a bigger vehicle. Sad but true. This SUV is a real girl's vehicle. All the bells and whistles and turns like a dream. P S I don't work for Ford. I am retired.
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  • Posted by Lucky 5 years, 2 months ago
    A cheer for blarman in writing about what he does well and belongs on this site,
    obviously not for agreeing with the Bloomberg article which is seriously wrong.

    Antitrust Pivot so much wrong here.
    It says how bad the economy is, contradicted by statements above earlier.
    Limiting the power of monopoly corporates, yes, but who is to do it and do they have too much power already? and are they even worse than the bad corporates?
    Wealth disparity? Maybe, but the stats show widespread rising incomes especially at the low end.

    The German model It is not socialism, more a slight-of-hand.
    Yes there are some merits but these are political not economic. Popular persons, left/right, are given VIP treatment and superboard membership of the biggest corporations, these superboards do not deal with the business but top level social policy. Germany has developed a skill in keeping this kind of person occupied on super-important (ie. not important) activity. If you have to copy, do not put them on the Board but on an uber-Supervisory-Board as the Germans have done. Best option is - do nothing.

    Modern Monetary Theory What blarman says. Need more money? Then print more. If this had come out of elementary school.. .

    Tariff Truthers The article is probably right here. I could give Trump the benefit of doubt by saying new tariffs are temporary, but that has been claimed about income tax and all kinds of government measures.

    Note for a laugh-
    "freshman congresswoman" and "climate change threatens the planet".
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    • Posted by DrZarkov99 5 years, 2 months ago
      Tariff truthers have missed the point. Asian and European countries have benefited from our tolerance of abusive tariffs against American goods. It's a hangover from a post-WW II period when we, as the least-damaged economy, willingly supported these tariffs as a way to help other countries regain a healthy capitalist footing and grow domestic industry. The tariffs against American goods and services have outlived their usefulness, but the economies that have benefited have become addicted to them. All Trump did was show them how damaging tariffs are to all concerned. It was a wakeup call, and the resulting revisions after negotiations help move to a more realistic international trade environment.
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    • Posted by $ 5 years, 2 months ago
      Antitrust pivot - my thoughts as well. Is the cure worse than the disease?

      Appreciate your comments on the German model. It was the first time I had heard of it so your additional context was very welcome!
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  • Posted by LarryHeart 5 years, 2 months ago
    First of all we do not print money. We print IOUs. Look carefully at the Fed Reserve Note in your pocket. It is a debt the government owes to the banks (The Fed is not Federal. It is owned by banks) . When they print more IOUs the value of IOU's currently in the economy goes down.

    Prices eventually rise to balance the lower worth of the Notes. Inflation of prices does not net any more value to sellers. It merely assures that the value exchanged remains the same as before. Inflation of Prices is equal to deflation of the Note value. Assuming you can even call Debt valuable. It is a fiim flam. The people always pay for government spending (by issuing bond debt to the FED.) It is a stealth flat tax on everyone.
    Example: I give my Dad 3 bucks in the store because he forgot his wallet. I get an IOU from my dad for 3 dollars. I exchange that note for a comic book from Joe. Now my dad owes Joe 3 bucks. Noe Joe being a smart banker decides to borrow 3 bucks from Stanley based on the IOU Joe has. My Dad is trustworthy isn't he?

    So Joe issues an Iou Note on Dad's note. Stanley can always redeem his note for Dad's note. Then unbeknownst to Stanley Joe does the same with 9 other friends. After all they all won't come back at the same time. If they do, that is called a run on the bank.

    So Joe says sorry you can't take my note from the Dad, you can only exchange your note from Joe for another note from Joe. But don't worry everyone will honor that note as though it was money because Joe is the government and can issue a decree that his notes are legal tender for all debts public and private.
    Notes can be duplicated, as opposed to Gold coins or Bitcoins that can not. . So Joe prints up 9 more notes. Problem solved.for Joe. But what are these notes actually worth? One 10th of 3 bucks. But everyone trusts Joe so no one ever redeems their notes. The grocer though says. Wait a minute my goods haven't changed and are still worth 3 bucks. Your note is now one tenth of that. The grocer need 9 more notes from you to keep the exchange as it was when there was only one note. The price in notes went up to keep the exchange fair.

    .Trust in debt Notes is trust that government will pay back their debts. Except government has no money. It collects it from the people. So Government taxes Dad and Stanley and his friends, the people of the United States to get value to back the notes the government issued. In effect each note issued takes that amount of value out of the economy and transfers it to the government. The more the government takes the more value you and everyone else loses from your property and wealth.
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