Today, I was one of the speakers in a panel on 'Socialism or Capitalism' at the Conference on World Affairs. The wealth at the top is ever increasing. Wealth is trickling up instead of trickling down. America's billionaires got 44% richer, while 80 million people in the U.S. lost their jobs in the year since the pandemic began. The result is that last summer and autumn, 8 million Americans fell into poverty.
1000% agree that the Nordic model is the way! I was born in Finland, grew up in Sweden and now I live in the U.S. It's beyond belief that so many ppl here have been bamboozled into voting against their own interest, such as unions, raised minimum wages, etc.! It's flabbergasting that big corporations don't even pay any taxes!! Amazon, Netflix, the list goes on. Yes, the top 0.1 need to pay more!
A well composed, researched & thoughtful statement of the evils of out of control capitalism as it has overtaken the American economic landscape to the detriment of the majority of the populace. And as was your presentation at CWA Boulder. The comparison to the Nordic countries proves social democracy is far superior to the inequity that has developed in America by the oligarchy of the 1%. Somehow, greed has convinced Americans socialism is a dirty word that will steal all their liberties. Better education is essential!
35 US households with an average $1billion are an equivalent of Uganda's GDP 🌎
If I began to tell you about my country Uganda, you wouldn't start to imagine.
A population of about 45million people with about 9million employed with less that a 1.5million paying taxes regularly on a yearly basis.
As a result of failure to effectively collect tax the common man on average in paid (white collar jobs) $186 a month, taxed $52 with a net salary of $133 a month putting him at $5.6 @day.
That said, there's a direct relationship between schools you attend towards getting a job once you graduate after an average of 20years in school and still come out very green about life only to apply for jobs requiring 3years of experience so by the time you get your 1st stable job paying at least $300 @month your almost 30years.
After getting that job you have a 1/10 chance to gain $100 more on your salary to make it $400 after more than 5years.
Of the $400@month, $100 is to monthly rent, $80-100 on transport a month, $100 is feeding, so $100 is for savings and you haven't taken a child to school (fees a year at an average $1000 if your child is to become something in the future), you haven't bought your self any cloth, you can't afford an outing and this is pretty much how more than 85% of the population live their lives till they are no more!
Its indeed a great article you have written if there could be re-distribution of that wealth.
As families are averaging $1billion a house hold in the US this translates to only 35 families equating to Uganda's entire GDP at $35billion.
It's a shame the world we live in looks like this, I working on a startup and once successful I will be big in my country on a "Nomadic" way of life.
I really enjoyed that CWA discussion. I liked what you said about "social mobility" and the Nordic model. I'm lucky enough to live in one of those stable and happy countries and I do feel that social mobility and access to education for everybody plays a huge role. We have a slightly different model than other countries as university degrees are not as important here. Most people (roughly 70%) leave school after nine years and do an apprenticeship. It's a dual model where you still go to school for 1-2 days a week and learn a trade (on the job) the other days. I love that scheme and it works well for us. Also, for those who go on with school, once you hold your High School Diploma (we call it Matura) you can study at ANY university in Switzerland. I think education might be the key in this discussion, be it in China or the US or anywhere in the world.
I agree, invest in proper education for all, and have one of the key elements for building an equal society. You need other elements too, like equal chances, but you will never get there without proper education.
The American Dream is a fantasy. During the 50s taxation on the wealthy and corporations was much higher and it was possible for many families to buy a home with just one wage earner. Then came voodoo economics and the theory that less taxes on the rich would allow the money to trickle down to those less wealthy. Of course, that didn’t happen. With the growth of globalization economic outlook for families changed as many jobs moved overseas. Until taxation becomes more equitable the outlook for many is not good. Our legislators seem to be more concerned with their corporate and wealthy donors than the needs of the constituents.
GM average assembly line worker salary is $21 not $15 as stated, & can easily double that with skill & seniority, per online data. Since US has switched largely from a mfg to a service economy over last 50 years, is comparison of wages over time in mfg really valid?
IMO.... The American Dream has morphed. It has been hijacked. The ability to attain upward mobility was said to be based on an individual's innate abilities being supported by the culture so that the culture/democracy would ultimately benefit. The Dream was inclusive. "The Dream" has become exclusive. Call it survival of the fittest, gotta be number one, last one on the island, there is only a winner and the rest are losers...I perceive it as toxic. Socialism and Capitalism were both to be about the mutual benefits of a society that supported its best for the benefit of all. Instead I see more and more conversations about what the differences are between the two, not what their common ground is alleged to be.
The 2nd thought I have is that is this ground not familiar? How many times in our world history have we had this situation of wealth inequity? What's the difference between a feudal lord and a chief executive?
Indeed, 'dream' was meant as the reality, but it has become more of a dream than ever before. And on your second point, it is interesting to study Europe and Japan's rise since about the 1300s, where the rise of a middle class gave such a boost to the development of society and the economy. I agree that we still need them for the same reason, and apart from that, sharing prosperity is morally the better thing to do. If you take the political extremes of communism and fascism, which both worked out disastrous, there is one thing to say for communism that at least the original idea of sharing fairly is basically a good one, you do that in your family, for instance, with the equal failure of fascism there wasn't even a good thought, to begin with.
1000% agree that the Nordic model is the way! I was born in Finland, grew up in Sweden and now I live in the U.S. It's beyond belief that so many ppl here have been bamboozled into voting against their own interest, such as unions, raised minimum wages, etc.! It's flabbergasting that big corporations don't even pay any taxes!! Amazon, Netflix, the list goes on. Yes, the top 0.1 need to pay more!
You are so right; each time, I am flabbergasted how so many can vote against their own interest.
A well composed, researched & thoughtful statement of the evils of out of control capitalism as it has overtaken the American economic landscape to the detriment of the majority of the populace. And as was your presentation at CWA Boulder. The comparison to the Nordic countries proves social democracy is far superior to the inequity that has developed in America by the oligarchy of the 1%. Somehow, greed has convinced Americans socialism is a dirty word that will steal all their liberties. Better education is essential!
35 US households with an average $1billion are an equivalent of Uganda's GDP 🌎
If I began to tell you about my country Uganda, you wouldn't start to imagine.
A population of about 45million people with about 9million employed with less that a 1.5million paying taxes regularly on a yearly basis.
As a result of failure to effectively collect tax the common man on average in paid (white collar jobs) $186 a month, taxed $52 with a net salary of $133 a month putting him at $5.6 @day.
That said, there's a direct relationship between schools you attend towards getting a job once you graduate after an average of 20years in school and still come out very green about life only to apply for jobs requiring 3years of experience so by the time you get your 1st stable job paying at least $300 @month your almost 30years.
After getting that job you have a 1/10 chance to gain $100 more on your salary to make it $400 after more than 5years.
Of the $400@month, $100 is to monthly rent, $80-100 on transport a month, $100 is feeding, so $100 is for savings and you haven't taken a child to school (fees a year at an average $1000 if your child is to become something in the future), you haven't bought your self any cloth, you can't afford an outing and this is pretty much how more than 85% of the population live their lives till they are no more!
Its indeed a great article you have written if there could be re-distribution of that wealth.
As families are averaging $1billion a house hold in the US this translates to only 35 families equating to Uganda's entire GDP at $35billion.
It's a shame the world we live in looks like this, I working on a startup and once successful I will be big in my country on a "Nomadic" way of life.
I really enjoyed that CWA discussion. I liked what you said about "social mobility" and the Nordic model. I'm lucky enough to live in one of those stable and happy countries and I do feel that social mobility and access to education for everybody plays a huge role. We have a slightly different model than other countries as university degrees are not as important here. Most people (roughly 70%) leave school after nine years and do an apprenticeship. It's a dual model where you still go to school for 1-2 days a week and learn a trade (on the job) the other days. I love that scheme and it works well for us. Also, for those who go on with school, once you hold your High School Diploma (we call it Matura) you can study at ANY university in Switzerland. I think education might be the key in this discussion, be it in China or the US or anywhere in the world.
I agree, invest in proper education for all, and have one of the key elements for building an equal society. You need other elements too, like equal chances, but you will never get there without proper education.
The American Dream is a fantasy. During the 50s taxation on the wealthy and corporations was much higher and it was possible for many families to buy a home with just one wage earner. Then came voodoo economics and the theory that less taxes on the rich would allow the money to trickle down to those less wealthy. Of course, that didn’t happen. With the growth of globalization economic outlook for families changed as many jobs moved overseas. Until taxation becomes more equitable the outlook for many is not good. Our legislators seem to be more concerned with their corporate and wealthy donors than the needs of the constituents.
yes, you are so right!
GM average assembly line worker salary is $21 not $15 as stated, & can easily double that with skill & seniority, per online data. Since US has switched largely from a mfg to a service economy over last 50 years, is comparison of wages over time in mfg really valid?
IMO.... The American Dream has morphed. It has been hijacked. The ability to attain upward mobility was said to be based on an individual's innate abilities being supported by the culture so that the culture/democracy would ultimately benefit. The Dream was inclusive. "The Dream" has become exclusive. Call it survival of the fittest, gotta be number one, last one on the island, there is only a winner and the rest are losers...I perceive it as toxic. Socialism and Capitalism were both to be about the mutual benefits of a society that supported its best for the benefit of all. Instead I see more and more conversations about what the differences are between the two, not what their common ground is alleged to be.
The 2nd thought I have is that is this ground not familiar? How many times in our world history have we had this situation of wealth inequity? What's the difference between a feudal lord and a chief executive?
Indeed, 'dream' was meant as the reality, but it has become more of a dream than ever before. And on your second point, it is interesting to study Europe and Japan's rise since about the 1300s, where the rise of a middle class gave such a boost to the development of society and the economy. I agree that we still need them for the same reason, and apart from that, sharing prosperity is morally the better thing to do. If you take the political extremes of communism and fascism, which both worked out disastrous, there is one thing to say for communism that at least the original idea of sharing fairly is basically a good one, you do that in your family, for instance, with the equal failure of fascism there wasn't even a good thought, to begin with.