: Well, since everyone has discussed concrete ways to usher in socialism,Its an interesting change of pace.
: federal reserve, FICA, tax subsidies, SEC, the Treasury Dept, etc. have all insured that it is impossible for large money centered banks to go bankrupt or ever feel the brunt of the "free market." In other words the market is rigged in the favor of capital.
And people wonder why there is wasteful speculation and market 'corrections' ala 1920s. It favours the capital that belongs to the cronies involved in instituting these protective regimes (at the cost spread out over everyone - a federal reserve special!).
: I suggest taht instead of teh proceeds of government interventiob go to a lot of rich old white guys
Ageism, sexism and racism all in one? I hope not. We are talking factual accounts not insinuations? We are accepting that the vast majority of old white guys will simply not fit the mold and that the age, whiteness and maleness is not the key indicator any more than the blackness is an indicator in South Central LA crime?
:, it instead is rechanneled into government or distributed equally among the citizenry. I prefer the later with
common votable stock, unexchangeable in the market, because it brings a sort of democratic control to capital that allows it to be used to promote the needs of teh community and not the needs of profits.
You have recently chastised 'capitalist pig' for his 'static pot' notion of wealth and correctly asserted that wealth is created and grows. This re-allocation of capital - regardless of moral issues - would have to be a 'profitable' one in the sense that capital be allowed to grow - lest you invite stangnancy and decay.
: 4. Universal education, universal health care, universal dental care, universal welfair, and universal housing.
Paid for by whom? What if they dont want to pay for it? Also beware of just having a 'universal' system of somekind. you could have a rotten univeral education system which produces little learning, or a rotten universal welfare system which produces dependants rather than a safety net. Universal shouldnt be the aim, quality should be (note I am utterly disregarding the fact that I would oppose it, and just trying to pick over it as invited)
: medicare & medicade do wonders
Do they? then why would the president make it illegal for current Medicare patients to privately contract with their doctors? Afraid of people voting with their feet? i wouldnt place to much faith in national health care systems
: 5. Tax Time! A truely progressive tax must be instituted that really redistributes wealth so that a strong mass consumption base can be created and poverty is abolished.
I think you might get some argument from RD over this - as its just more of ther same, and its money based. Also it assumes that people will carry on working just as hard with less reward. We may not 'care' if a CEO has his pay slashed, but we may care if engineers, doctors, software writers and the huge amount of 'middle class' earners - who would need to bear the greatest burden - become demotivated and start to move to more tax friendly countries. Also, using the argument that companies pay all tax (is the salary that attracts an employee is the net salary) and this would simply push costs up, reduce profits and result in closures and very slow growth (or falls) which you have pointed to as bad.
Basically, unless just about everyone agrees to this it will fail.
: 6. Transportation. Effective and cheap transporation is a must for a socialist future!
Again, it requires the voluntary support to pay for it, or people get kinda pissed off over the whole thing. Im glad you recognise that the rail system is owned defacto by regulators.
: 8. Fund basic scientific research. Private industry and charity is incapable of providing enough research into the fundamental questions of the universe. Industry's good at promoting learning that will, say build a better mouse trap,
Or medicine, or safety technology, or communication, or housing, or foods, or recreations and entertainment etc etc. Also the learning about the universe whilst utterly fascinating - is of questionable value to mankind. Personally I love such science! But I dont reserve the right to make my neighbour contribute to it.
: 10. Gradually nationalize key industries and large fortune five hundred companies. Theere is no need for the government to micro manage all our economic affairs, but the big guys must be kept on a short lesh, especially GE, GM, ADM, etc.
I think you'd find them (companies) moving elsewhere rather than 'being a good boy' and doing what theyre told. Ofcourse you could just seize their assets and hope to make use of them just like those highly unsuccessful state economies of N Kores, old USSR etc.
