The Financialization of the American Elite • Hacker News Board

Re: The Financialization of the American Elite

#81

Post by Gibbon1 » Wed, Aug 21, 2019, 9:24 PM UTC

jackcosgrove wrote: post #61

tlb wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Suppose you could create a system to compete with capitalism. What would it be like?

Capitalism defeated communism because capitalism better aligned rewards and work, so that people in capitalist countries worked harder. Jobs in the USSR were like social clubs and not much actual work went on, because you wouldn't be rewarded even if you did work. The economic system that causes people to work harder will win. To be a challenger to capitalism you need to be serious about getting people to work, and n…

> A market economy and a political system that favors the middle class over both the first and fourth quartiles could defeat our current system.

That's pretty much been proven by Ch1na.

Re: The Financialization of the American Elite

#82

Post by Gibbon1 » Wed, Aug 21, 2019, 9:36 PM UTC

walshemj wrote: post #23

rjsw wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

British Telecom was spun out of the Post Office, it wasn't a formerly private business that had been taken over by the Government.

Actually not the UK government nationalised most of the Uk's private telecom businesses before WW1

I think the telegraph system in the UK was a state owned or controlled monopoly.

Lol, I tried searching to back this up and this popped up!

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25101819?seq=1#metadata_info_ta...

I read stuff like this is it feels like the West has utterly forgotten things that were well and clearly understood 100 years ago.

Re: The Financialization of the American Elite

#83

Post by notfromhere » Thu, Aug 22, 2019, 3:57 PM UTC

tathougies wrote: post #47

harimau777 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a thought experiment; how about taking some inspiration from Georgism to try to make capitalism better live up to its ideals: At least in America, many of the wealthy are able to make money due to inherited resources that they did not earn. For example, their ancestors claimed a tract of land or access to a natural resource. Therefore, Capitalism could be brought more in line with the meritocracy that it claims to…

Rubbish. My parents, aunts, and uncles came to this country with nothing in the 80s. Their old country didnt let them export cash. My dad was literally forced to work for below minimum wage for many yeara illegally. All of them now own houses, multiple parcels of land, and their children have access to all the supposedly 'claimed' resources. The american dream is alive and well. I work with many many immigrants and t…

Eh, might have worked out for your family, but statistics don't bear it out.

Re: The Financialization of the American Elite

#84

Post by tathougies » Fri, Aug 23, 2019, 5:36 PM UTC

notfromhere wrote: post #83

tathougies wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rubbish. My parents, aunts, and uncles came to this country with nothing in the 80s. Their old country didnt let them export cash. My dad was literally forced to work for below minimum wage for many yeara illegally. All of them now own houses, multiple parcels of land, and their children have access to all the supposedly 'claimed' resources. The american dream is alive and well. I work with many many immigrants and t…

Eh, might have worked out for your family, but statistics don't bear it out.

I mean, it works for everyone, most people (usually native born Americans, because immigrants tend to do very well) just don't want it, and say so via their actions.

Re: The Financialization of the American Elite

#85

Post by JetSpiegel » Sun, Aug 25, 2019, 11:32 AM UTC

caycep wrote: post #45

contextual background on the publication itself? https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-new-trumpist-maga...

A Trumpist magazine extolling the virtues of Elizabeth Warren's platform? This seems to be the classical criticism of analysts that look at Trump's policies instead of painting anything he does as anathema.

Being BFF with Peter Thiel is a black mark, I'll give you that.