Forum Post: OWS protesters need to take a course in economics
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 30, 2011, 5:21 a.m. EST by Ocean123
(0)
from San Francisco, CA
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
To be frustrated that our government has spent so much the tax payer's money on bailing out companies that have paid their top executives millions in bonuses is understandable. There are other issues, and no system is perfect. But to think that capitalism is not the best system to provide a higher standard of living and the best opportunities for success to the poor levels of society (and every level of society) is naive and begs the question..."Have any of these protesters that are criticizing capitalism ever taken an economics course and have any of them heard about what conditions are like in North Korea or what conditions were like in the former USSR or what conditions are like in Cuba"? Milton Freidman was a brilliant economist that put together a series of videos called "Free to Choose." www.miltonfriedman.blogspot.com Each video starts with his idea on a topic and the second half is a debate between him and some very intelligent people with opposing views to give a balanced approach to understanding the economic ideas that will help keep America strong, ensure that our poor and needy taken care of, and maintain incentives to produce the highest quality products and services possible. If you watch the whole series that is available to watch for free on that website and you're still not convinced that Capitalism is the best economic system for the people then I will mail you a dollar until I run out. But be honest.
I advocate "positive capitalism" by introducing an unconditional basic income for every citizen, paid unconditionally whatever their circumstances. Then let true free market economy do the rest. The basic income could be funded by a uniform tax on spending. Everyone's basic needs met, people only pay tax if they spend and the freedom to work or build businesses in whatever field they wish. It's not rocket science ......
""Have any of these protesters that are criticizing capitalism ever taken an economics course and have any of them heard about what conditions are like in North Korea or what conditions were like in the former USSR or what conditions are like in Cuba"?" - You assume we are anti capitalist which is incorrect. You also assume that what we have in America is capitalism and again you are incorrect. You assume we are uneducated which is also incorrect as most of us have a degree or three. Economics 101 is required as a high school senior in my state. Economics 201 is required as part of the general requirements for college where i live.
You also assume that we are pro communism and that is incorrect. What i am trying to say here is... you could not be more incorrect about the people in this movement.
Yes I think the protesters (most of them) are fighting to restore free market with regulation where it´s needed. For the moment the system is so corrupted, the word Capitalism has no meaning. It´s more a Mafia state you have.
And by the way, I myself am a master in science of Economics, but a few weeks of discussion (in combination with the internet) on the matters of OWS is like a year at univerisity. Consider the protest a free MBA.
it is my opinion that the protesters just want a more structured, regulated form of capitalism.