Collective wealth leads to collective well-being


Why exactly does every serious thread that tries to explore real philosophy get troll-bombed?

If you people can't handle the topic, why don't you just fuck off?

Serious question, why don't you?

Watch the next post, it'll do the same thing. Pogo Predicts.
 
Moron basic 101 the water pipes post office and military are socialism thierfore all socialism is also good

Like turning on that tap joe

P
Some leftwing uber morons will forever repeat ..."Public utilities is socialism "

Simpleton rubes ..the lot of em

Not you op I know what you're saying

Now that you mention it, yup, they're synonyms. Whattaya think the word "public" means?
Public utilities, public library, public park, public trust, public service, public broadcasting, public transportation.......
All things public by agreement of society, but not to override or crush our most creative individually driven, and independently driven capitalist system in which is our way of advancing in society or as a nation beyond our wildest imagination.

The government sector has no incentive to push anything, other than to leech off our creativeness and production as so to balance and provide for those that would otherwise fall through the cracks. Then this provision is highly abused by our government, therefore creating tragic dependency that allows a leftist run government to exploit all to well for power.

The government handles what private enterprise cannot. For instance federal highways or the FAA. When the telegraph was invented it was (and had to be) government that made its infrastructure possible, which begat the power grid, which begat the internet. And of course the military and the various other public services mentioned and not mentioned. It's why western countries worldwide had Thalidomide babies and we didn't -- because our government did its job and theirs didn't.

Whelp -- that's Socialism. Defuse the word because you're living in it.


Still wrong and dumb as a box of rocks
And your so boring not even worth the effort zzzzz

And yet you have no counterargument, no counterpoint, no definitions, no nothing.

Run along now, adults are talking.


This is your argument public utilities are socialism thierfore socialism is also good

what are you so afraid of lol

Zzzzzzzzzz

I've heard it all before

It's not worth watching you sit and spin for pages when it all boils down to that...simpleton rube...zzzzzzz boring
 
Some leftwing uber morons will forever repeat ..."Public utilities is socialism "

Simpleton rubes ..the lot of em

Not you op I know what you're saying

Now that you mention it, yup, they're synonyms. Whattaya think the word "public" means?
Public utilities, public library, public park, public trust, public service, public broadcasting, public transportation.......
All things public by agreement of society, but not to override or crush our most creative individually driven, and independently driven capitalist system in which is our way of advancing in society or as a nation beyond our wildest imagination.

The government sector has no incentive to push anything, other than to leech off our creativeness and production as so to balance and provide for those that would otherwise fall through the cracks. Then this provision is highly abused by our government, therefore creating tragic dependency that allows a leftist run government to exploit all to well for power.

The government handles what private enterprise cannot. For instance federal highways or the FAA. When the telegraph was invented it was (and had to be) government that made its infrastructure possible, which begat the power grid, which begat the internet. And of course the military and the various other public services mentioned and not mentioned. It's why western countries worldwide had Thalidomide babies and we didn't -- because our government did its job and theirs didn't.

Whelp -- that's Socialism. Defuse the word because you're living in it.
The government was at one time "we the people", and therefore it didn't do anything without our ok and vote upon, but the leftist took our government into a bad place over the years, and the people are attempting to take it back. MAGA

Which "leftist" was that?
 
This is my first attempt at creating a thread and I wasn't sure if this belongs in Politics or not but since the topic hits on several political issues of today I think it's probably fitting. To be transparent and to make this known I am not advocating for communism or even socialism with this opinion, it's just some personal thoughts.

What i'm talking about is using capitalism, free trade, free markets and our collective wealth as a nation to create collective well-being by investing in our society. That investment (taxes) would yield benefits like "free" medical care, dental care, education, maternity/paternity leaves, pre-k, among other benefits and programs provided for all citizens while also reducing the uncertainty millions of American feel everyday around these topics, the risk that millions of Americans take everyday for these topics, the lack of mobility and the the anxiety and stress that millions of Americans are under because of these issues. Reduced stress, reduced fear, reduced individual risk, reduced inequity in turn yields increased happiness, increased hope, increased societal investment, and increased collective well-being. There is a lot of detail that would go into taxation and what constitutes as "free" but that's something i'm open to discussing as this evolves.

People will often view higher taxes as a burden, and will also view higher taxes that would go towards increased government provided programs as socialist, however, if all citizens and companies truly contribute towards these programs and social programs by using the wealth we all create then it should be viewed as an investment, not a burden in my opinion. You are investing in the collective well-being of all people, including yourself, and if we are all contributing, if we are all putting our money into the effort, if we are all sacrificing a greater percentage of our personal gain for the greater collective good then what you end up with is a shared system that in essence purchases quality of life. No system is perfect, but closing the gap, creating a society that views success as something to share and not hoard, and putting the good of the many above the individual is in my opinion something to work towards.
Don't take this as an attack, but until actual numbers are attached and assigned to who pays for the above it is more "flight of fancy" than practical policy...
someone ran video of life in one of the Nordic countries on this forum just the other day showing how well socialism worked and how it could be successful if done right...the thing I noticed was that there were no cars in sight and everyone was riding bicycles...
And I notice the word "sacrifice" always pops up in the honest attempts to portray socialism as a form of government.
 
This is my first attempt at creating a thread and I wasn't sure if this belongs in Politics or not but since the topic hits on several political issues of today I think it's probably fitting. To be transparent and to make this known I am not advocating for communism or even socialism with this opinion, it's just some personal thoughts.

What i'm talking about is using capitalism, free trade, free markets and our collective wealth as a nation to create collective well-being by investing in our society. That investment (taxes) would yield benefits like "free" medical care, dental care, education, maternity/paternity leaves, pre-k, among other benefits and programs provided for all citizens while also reducing the uncertainty millions of American feel everyday around these topics, the risk that millions of Americans take everyday for these topics, the lack of mobility and the the anxiety and stress that millions of Americans are under because of these issues. Reduced stress, reduced fear, reduced individual risk, reduced inequity in turn yields increased happiness, increased hope, increased societal investment, and increased collective well-being. There is a lot of detail that would go into taxation and what constitutes as "free" but that's something i'm open to discussing as this evolves.

People will often view higher taxes as a burden, and will also view higher taxes that would go towards increased government provided programs as socialist, however, if all citizens and companies truly contribute towards these programs and social programs by using the wealth we all create then it should be viewed as an investment, not a burden in my opinion. You are investing in the collective well-being of all people, including yourself, and if we are all contributing, if we are all putting our money into the effort, if we are all sacrificing a greater percentage of our personal gain for the greater collective good then what you end up with is a shared system that in essence purchases quality of life. No system is perfect, but closing the gap, creating a society that views success as something to share and not hoard, and putting the good of the many above the individual is in my opinion something to work towards.

It's a fine start for discussion :thup:

Cue naysayers -- there ought to be clowns. Don't bother.... they're here.

Your framework reminds me of this chestnut:

>> Joe gets up at 6:00 am to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot full of good, clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and efficacy. All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance. Now Joe gets it too.
He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. Joe takes his morning shower, reaching for his shampoo; his bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount of its contents because some liberal fought for his right to know the amount and identity of the substances he was putting on his body.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor to society. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer upholds these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed hell get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some Liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It's noon time, Joe needs to make a Bank Deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work, and he plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to his dad's; his car is among the safest in the world be cause some wacko liberal (Ralph Nader!) fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmer's Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his dad who is now retired. His dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

After his visit with dad he gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show. The host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit that Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees. "We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives", he says. "After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have". <<​

You sure you don't write those sad anecdotal stories for NPR?? It's a pretty good attempt... You know the ones where they address inequality or immigration by telling the story of ONE PERSON -- from THEIR perspective --- and LEAVE OUT 92% of the context of how that person ended up in that state?

Ain't got time for fiction.. The country needs to have this out and finish it.. And get back to somehow having a SMALLER more FOCUSED govt --- WORK FOR US... Rather than US working for THEM...

That's this argument in a nutshell.. It's a naive view of what the Fed govt CAN or SHOULD be trusted to accomplish -- when they accomplish next to nothing today...

I didn't write that. I just said it was a quote. That's what >> << means.

Too bad.. It's a good copy of the NPR narratives... But you liked it ENOUGH to try and anecdote yourself to death... LOL.....
.
I JUST TOLD YOU, I copied it --- it's a well-known narrative. As I said the OP reminded me of it.

WHAT IS YOUR DAMN PROBLEM, man? Why aren't you nabbing you some trolls?
 
Some leftwing uber morons will forever repeat ..."Public utilities is socialism "

Simpleton rubes ..the lot of em

Not you op I know what you're saying

Now that you mention it, yup, they're synonyms. Whattaya think the word "public" means?
Public utilities, public library, public park, public trust, public service, public broadcasting, public transportation.......
All things public by agreement of society, but not to override or crush our most creative individually driven, and independently driven capitalist system in which is our way of advancing in society or as a nation beyond our wildest imagination.

The government sector has no incentive to push anything, other than to leech off our creativeness and production as so to balance and provide for those that would otherwise fall through the cracks. Then this provision is highly abused by our government, therefore creating tragic dependency that allows a leftist run government to exploit all to well for power.

The government handles what private enterprise cannot. For instance federal highways or the FAA. When the telegraph was invented it was (and had to be) government that made its infrastructure possible, which begat the power grid, which begat the internet. And of course the military and the various other public services mentioned and not mentioned. It's why western countries worldwide had Thalidomide babies and we didn't -- because our government did its job and theirs didn't.

Whelp -- that's Socialism. Defuse the word because you're living in it.
The government was at one time "we the people", and therefore it didn't do anything without our ok and vote upon, but the leftist took our government into a bad place over the years, and the people are attempting to take it back. MAGA

Which "leftist" was that?
You know who the left is, don't act dumb or dumb like a fox.
 
The main reason HEAVY socialism won't work here is our political divisions.

You cannot make govt that much more MUSCULAR. inefficient AND INTRUSIVE with divided politics.

IF -- it was tried, the political divisions would cause constant flailing and destruction of what the other side did..

THIS is why "democratic socialism" ALWAYS ends up with ONE dominant party, dissident hunting or worse dictatorships...
 
Collectivism breeds the lazy. Look at what welfare has done.

The concept is that everyone would work toward the collective good. In reality most people would just sit on their asses.

Read the diaries of William Bradford.
 
Now that you mention it, yup, they're synonyms. Whattaya think the word "public" means?
Public utilities, public library, public park, public trust, public service, public broadcasting, public transportation.......
All things public by agreement of society, but not to override or crush our most creative individually driven, and independently driven capitalist system in which is our way of advancing in society or as a nation beyond our wildest imagination.

The government sector has no incentive to push anything, other than to leech off our creativeness and production as so to balance and provide for those that would otherwise fall through the cracks. Then this provision is highly abused by our government, therefore creating tragic dependency that allows a leftist run government to exploit all to well for power.

The government handles what private enterprise cannot. For instance federal highways or the FAA. When the telegraph was invented it was (and had to be) government that made its infrastructure possible, which begat the power grid, which begat the internet. And of course the military and the various other public services mentioned and not mentioned. It's why western countries worldwide had Thalidomide babies and we didn't -- because our government did its job and theirs didn't.

Whelp -- that's Socialism. Defuse the word because you're living in it.
The government was at one time "we the people", and therefore it didn't do anything without our ok and vote upon, but the leftist took our government into a bad place over the years, and the people are attempting to take it back. MAGA

Which "leftist" was that?
You know who the left is, don't act dumb or dumb like a fox.

You said "the leftist". WHO exactly were you talking about?
 
This is my first attempt at creating a thread and I wasn't sure if this belongs in Politics or not but since the topic hits on several political issues of today I think it's probably fitting. To be transparent and to make this known I am not advocating for communism or even socialism with this opinion, it's just some personal thoughts.

What i'm talking about is using capitalism, free trade, free markets and our collective wealth as a nation to create collective well-being by investing in our society. That investment (taxes) would yield benefits like "free" medical care, dental care, education, maternity/paternity leaves, pre-k, among other benefits and programs provided for all citizens while also reducing the uncertainty millions of American feel everyday around these topics, the risk that millions of Americans take everyday for these topics, the lack of mobility and the the anxiety and stress that millions of Americans are under because of these issues. Reduced stress, reduced fear, reduced individual risk, reduced inequity in turn yields increased happiness, increased hope, increased societal investment, and increased collective well-being. There is a lot of detail that would go into taxation and what constitutes as "free" but that's something i'm open to discussing as this evolves.

People will often view higher taxes as a burden, and will also view higher taxes that would go towards increased government provided programs as socialist, however, if all citizens and companies truly contribute towards these programs and social programs by using the wealth we all create then it should be viewed as an investment, not a burden in my opinion. You are investing in the collective well-being of all people, including yourself, and if we are all contributing, if we are all putting our money into the effort, if we are all sacrificing a greater percentage of our personal gain for the greater collective good then what you end up with is a shared system that in essence purchases quality of life. No system is perfect, but closing the gap, creating a society that views success as something to share and not hoard, and putting the good of the many above the individual is in my opinion something to work towards.


While I can understand where you're coming from . . . and possibly why . . . I must strongly disagree. Perhaps the greatest gift given to every one of us by our American civilization is the freedom to succeed or fail on our own merit. We are a nation of individuals—not a collectivized identity or hive mind. What that means for each of us is that some of us will rise above others through hard work and sacrifice, while some of us—even family members and friends—might fall, financially, as a consequence of their own bad decisions or lack of effort. Truly this system is a double-edged sword but it is far preferable to most Americans than the alternative.

The flip side of our economic and political systems is collectivism. Collectivism removes individual identity from the average citizen and replaces it with a hive group classification. Individuals in a collective do not work toward the advancement of their own persons, but for the well being of the group as a whole. Trust me, we Americans do not want to go there, not ever.

Seems to me you're reason for forwarding this idea could be out of compassion for those fellow Americans who have less than you do. While contributing time or money to a charity is never a bad choice, the cold, hard truth of the matter is that there's always a reason why some have less and others more; that reason is personal responsibility and effort and hard work or lack thereof.

The only way to collectivize guaranteed success is to remove individual freedom. Most importantly, the freedom to fail or to succeed beyond one's dreams. Collectivization is the locking down of hope, dreams, individual prosperity and improvement over time.
 
At the bottom of every discussion/argument about Socialism/Collective versus Freedom/Free Markets is the main difference between you and me... You believe in ASSURING a "zero risk" life for everyone at the expense of others. You said exactly that in your Opening Post.

If you say capitalism and free markets together, we don't have such a system in America.

We already a zero risk life scenario for special interests at the expense of the working class.

See my Central Banking Is Socialism thread from today.
 
At the bottom of every discussion/argument about Socialism/Collective versus Freedom/Free Markets is the main difference between you and me... You believe in ASSURING a "zero risk" life for everyone at the expense of others. You said exactly that in your Opening Post.

If you say capitalism and free markets together, we don't have such a system in America.

We already a zero risk life scenario for special interests at the expense of the working class.

See my Central Banking Is Socialism thread from today.

Central Banking in no way makes banks risk free.
 
At the bottom of every discussion/argument about Socialism/Collective versus Freedom/Free Markets is the main difference between you and me... You believe in ASSURING a "zero risk" life for everyone at the expense of others. You said exactly that in your Opening Post.

If you say capitalism and free markets together, we don't have such a system in America.

We already a zero risk life scenario for special interests at the expense of the working class.

See my Central Banking Is Socialism thread from today.

The way that money volume is handled is not socialism.. Money NEEDS to be injected into the financial institutions when the economy speeds up.. Just like it's taken away when it's not.. If ya got an increasing GDP, the money needs to be there. And Unk Sam can't just drop it from black helicopters...
 
This is my first attempt at creating a thread and I wasn't sure if this belongs in Politics or not but since the topic hits on several political issues of today I think it's probably fitting. To be transparent and to make this known I am not advocating for communism or even socialism with this opinion, it's just some personal thoughts.

What i'm talking about is using capitalism, free trade, free markets and our collective wealth as a nation to create collective well-being by investing in our society. That investment (taxes) would yield benefits like "free" medical care, dental care, education, maternity/paternity leaves, pre-k, among other benefits and programs provided for all citizens while also reducing the uncertainty millions of American feel everyday around these topics, the risk that millions of Americans take everyday for these topics, the lack of mobility and the the anxiety and stress that millions of Americans are under because of these issues. Reduced stress, reduced fear, reduced individual risk, reduced inequity in turn yields increased happiness, increased hope, increased societal investment, and increased collective well-being. There is a lot of detail that would go into taxation and what constitutes as "free" but that's something i'm open to discussing as this evolves.

People will often view higher taxes as a burden, and will also view higher taxes that would go towards increased government provided programs as socialist, however, if all citizens and companies truly contribute towards these programs and social programs by using the wealth we all create then it should be viewed as an investment, not a burden in my opinion. You are investing in the collective well-being of all people, including yourself, and if we are all contributing, if we are all putting our money into the effort, if we are all sacrificing a greater percentage of our personal gain for the greater collective good then what you end up with is a shared system that in essence purchases quality of life. No system is perfect, but closing the gap, creating a society that views success as something to share and not hoard, and putting the good of the many above the individual is in my opinion something to work towards.

At the bottom of every discussion/argument about Socialism/Collective versus Freedom/Free Markets is the main difference between you and me... You believe in ASSURING a "zero risk" life for everyone at the expense of others. You said exactly that in your Opening Post.

Nothing is "free".. And YOUR freedom/liberties are as much damaged by taking away your economic choices as they are by restricting your Civil Liberties.. You believe that HUGE govt has the wisdom, compassion, dedication to do even MORE than they've already failed at...

"Democratic Socialism" is what it ALWAYS starts out as.. In Zimbabwe, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba and all the other "progressive revolutions"... What happens when the economy crashes, we LOSE our lead in innovation, research and products -- and the people start to "collectively slide" to the bottom of standards of world living?

These "do-gooders" need to take more choices and powers from you.. Maybe start to control speech, round up dissidents. AND SOON -- your choices and freedom are no more...

You want everyone else to "lift up" a person who maybe break-danced or tokked their way thru HS and quit at the 11th grade to a RISK FREE life. OR worse, depend on monstrous, inept, and slow-moving govt to make this happen.. Or even a college grad that chose Music History as a major rather than a profession that is MORE VALUED by society with concomitant increased financial security as society rewards them for what they can contribute, not what "bureaucrats" can do for them..

Most of the time, the folks who BELIEVE this also have a bloated view of what government is capable of. A govt that has MISMANAGED EVERY "UNIVERSAL" program, should NEVER be trusted with MORE "universal" programs.. A government that could not produce a "Marketplace Health Insurance" website for less than a $Bill and MONTHS late IS NOT your "technology benchmark" for success..

I've got some experience with the ACA Obamacare program.. It is the MOST INTRUSIVE and LEAST transparent way of CHOOSING your healthcare.. In fact, there are FEW choices that even make sense. And the plans get WORSE EVERY YEAR... And let's not make that about "political stunts" and party wars.. The FACT IS --- Americans cannot count on their govt to even FUNCTION anymore...

AND YOU WANT MORE OF THIS???? :badgrin: Are you CRAZY????

I’m not a socialist or a communist though and I am supportive of free markets. What I am saying is to use the success of the free market and the wealth gained through capitalism to be partnered with a increased societal effort to reduce inequity, reduce some the negative aspects of individualism by considering the collective good in what we do as a country, and make it so that all citizens regardless of their income contribute to the systems that we all will equally use. Its capitalism but a more compassionate capitalism in my opinion.

I will say that I failed in my first post to mention the cultural change and the mindset change that would be necessary for this to work. As we are right now in this country with the deep divides and conflicting ideas of what is “American” or not it would be unrealistic unfortunately in my opinion. The key change would have to be a new mindset that values the good of the many over the success of the individual. Let me be clear im not talking about shared misery but instead creating a much larger middle class by closing income gaps and having everyone invest into the shared systems. If we are all invested and using the same systems we all have a more equal motivation to have it succeed in my opinion.
 
To be fair i'm not a tax expert and so the exact number would need to be analyzed, but I think a good starting point would be at least 25% personal income tax regardless of income. After that depending on your income the % would be higher for each tax bracket. It wouldn't go over 50% for any bracket but the top bracket would expect to have their income tax rate be around that mark. Ultimately the gap between the lowest income tax bracket and the highest income bracket would not be nearly as significant as it is now. In addition, higher taxes on all any and all stock market transactions, capital gain, dividends, and so on, a corporate tax rate increase to at least a flat rate of 25% as well with earnings dictating increased rates similar to personal income tax rates. The largest sectors such as energy, primarily oil and natural gas companies would have up to 50% of earnings reinvested into social programs as well as power plants and power companies with a minimum of 25%. I'd say that an increased sales tax/value added tax would be a reasonable addition as well.

The basic premise is that everybody of all brackets and companies as well pay into the system as equally as possible based on income, revenues, and so on. When the CEO and the front line worker contribute towards the same healthcare, the same education, the same social safety nets, then in my opinion there is a greater shared interest in seeing it run well and run equally.

at least 25% personal income tax regardless of income.

In addition to current taxes?

Which taxes do you mean? What I am saying is a standard base rate of 25% personal income tax for everybody but then that goes up incrementally depending on your income and earnings.

Which taxes do you mean?

Income taxes.

View attachment 311604

What are the new rates for each bracket?

I don't have that amount of detail yet.
Bernie bot....,.,Everything is free....how much does that cost ….I have no idea......vote for me

I’m not a Bernie Sanders supporter and I don’t agree with the reasons or the methods he wants to use to achieve his goals, and I also know that what I’m proposing isn’t literally free. It would need an investment from all citizens and companies in this country for there to be the type of affordable access to the different systems that I would personally like to see.
 
What i'm talking about is using capitalism, free trade, free markets and our collective wealth as a nation to create collective well-being by investing in our society
Serving the "public good" is something corporations abandoned around the time of the Robber Barons.

The Divine Right of Capital by Marjorie Kelly: A Summary (Chp. 9)

"We need a new economic principle that says that public companies have a responsibility to the public good.

"We had this once upon a time at our founding as a nation, when corporations were chartered by individual states only to serve the public good.

"This tradition was gradually eroded by the courts right around the time of the Robber Barrons.

"The original intention behind the corporation in America’s early years, however, was definitely serving the public good – the 'polar star' of the American Revolution.

"Shareholder primacy emerged out of common law in the mid-nineteenth century, right around the same time stockholders’ agents developed our modern financial statements as a way to keep tabs on how well their principles’ investments were doing.

"These reports were never intended to represent the corporations overall performance.

"They were simply the slice that stockholders cared about – and that’s the part that we are stuck with today, and something all companies are legally required to produce on an ongoing basis."
 
What i'm talking about is using capitalism, free trade, free markets and our collective wealth as a nation to create collective well-being by investing in our society
Serving the "public good" is something corporations abandoned around the time of the Robber Barons.

The Divine Right of Capital by Marjorie Kelly: A Summary (Chp. 9)

"We need a new economic principle that says that public companies have a responsibility to the public good.

"We had this once upon a time at our founding as a nation, when corporations were chartered by individual states only to serve the public good.

"This tradition was gradually eroded by the courts right around the time of the Robber Barrons.

"The original intention behind the corporation in America’s early years, however, was definitely serving the public good – the 'polar star' of the American Revolution.

"Shareholder primacy emerged out of common law in the mid-nineteenth century, right around the same time stockholders’ agents developed our modern financial statements as a way to keep tabs on how well their principles’ investments were doing.

"These reports were never intended to represent the corporations overall performance.

"They were simply the slice that stockholders cared about – and that’s the part that we are stuck with today, and something all companies are legally required to produce on an ongoing basis."

"We need a new economic principle that says that public companies have a responsibility to the public good.

Exactly!

Like the Post Office, the DMV and Amtrak...…….DURR
 
To be transparent and to make this known I am not advocating for communism or even socialism with this opinion, it's just some personal thoughts.

The problem with labels especially emotionally-charged labels is they're used as slurs and flung like turds, without stopping to define what they actually mean. The Cult of Ignorance is required to simply accept that these are "BAD" but can never explain why. Even though the public library, public parks and museums, the military, the communications infrastructure, the highway system, the water supply, the fire department, the agencies that keep planes from flying into each other, broadcast stations from bleeding into each other and unsafe drugs from producing Thalidomide babies, Social Security, Medicare, the postal service -- is ALL Socialism.

No fuckwad, they are not. And you know it, you pathological liar.
 
This is my first attempt at creating a thread and I wasn't sure if this belongs in Politics or not but since the topic hits on several political issues of today I think it's probably fitting. To be transparent and to make this known I am not advocating for communism or even socialism with this opinion, it's just some personal thoughts.

What i'm talking about is using capitalism, free trade, free markets and our collective wealth as a nation to create collective well-being by investing in our society. That investment (taxes) would yield benefits like "free" medical care, dental care, education, maternity/paternity leaves, pre-k, among other benefits and programs provided for all citizens while also reducing the uncertainty millions of American feel everyday around these topics, the risk that millions of Americans take everyday for these topics, the lack of mobility and the the anxiety and stress that millions of Americans are under because of these issues. Reduced stress, reduced fear, reduced individual risk, reduced inequity in turn yields increased happiness, increased hope, increased societal investment, and increased collective well-being. There is a lot of detail that would go into taxation and what constitutes as "free" but that's something i'm open to discussing as this evolves.

People will often view higher taxes as a burden, and will also view higher taxes that would go towards increased government provided programs as socialist, however, if all citizens and companies truly contribute towards these programs and social programs by using the wealth we all create then it should be viewed as an investment, not a burden in my opinion. You are investing in the collective well-being of all people, including yourself, and if we are all contributing, if we are all putting our money into the effort, if we are all sacrificing a greater percentage of our personal gain for the greater collective good then what you end up with is a shared system that in essence purchases quality of life. No system is perfect, but closing the gap, creating a society that views success as something to share and not hoard, and putting the good of the many above the individual is in my opinion something to work towards.

That investment (taxes) would yield benefits like "free" medical care, dental care, education, maternity/paternity leaves, pre-k, among other benefits and programs provided for all citizens while also reducing the uncertainty millions of American feel everyday around these topics, the risk that millions of Americans take everyday for these topics, the lack of mobility and the the anxiety and stress that millions of Americans are under because of these issues.

Awesome!

How much tax and on what?

To be fair i'm not a tax expert and so the exact number would need to be analyzed, but I think a good starting point would be at least 25% personal income tax regardless of income. After that depending on your income the % would be higher for each tax bracket. It wouldn't go over 50% for any bracket but the top bracket would expect to have their income tax rate be around that mark. Ultimately the gap between the lowest income tax bracket and the highest income bracket would not be nearly as significant as it is now. In addition, higher taxes on all any and all stock market transactions, capital gain, dividends, and so on, a corporate tax rate increase to at least a flat rate of 25% as well with earnings dictating increased rates similar to personal income tax rates. The largest sectors such as energy, primarily oil and natural gas companies would have up to 50% of earnings reinvested into social programs as well as power plants and power companies with a minimum of 25%. I'd say that an increased sales tax/value added tax would be a reasonable addition as well.

The basic premise is that everybody of all brackets and companies as well pay into the system as equally as possible based on income, revenues, and so on. When the CEO and the front line worker contribute towards the same healthcare, the same education, the same social safety nets, then in my opinion there is a greater shared interest in seeing it run well and run equally.

You grasp that that wouldn't even begin to pay for all the giveaways and freebies you want, right? In fact, even if we doubled the tax you want it wouldn't even cover the free medical care.

{The most comprehensive cost analysis of the Medicare for All bill estimated that the legislation would cost $32.6 trillion over its first decade. This estimate is conservative at best, and comically so at worst. It assumes that physicians and hospitals would take home a reimbursement rate 40 percent lower than private insurance, which nearly three-quarters of the country currently use. (Government insurance programs, such as Medicare, already reimburse far less than private insurance, rendering the current average reimbursement rate 20 percent lower than our private one.)}

The real cost of 'Medicare for all'
 

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