Thread: Obama wants to reform capitalism

Tim, you need to pay to play. In the States, you guys pay ridiculously low taxes and a huge chunk of that money is going to finance the wars, so there's no money to be had. You can try blaming the Republican government for the wars, but there's also a huge level of voter approval for them, so the people who voted the Republicans in and still approve of the military action are the ones to be blamed for the expenditures abroad and lack of money at home.

My note on the functionality of market fundamentalism. The British were big believers in it and tried to prevent any government interference in the economy. As a result, millions of Irish died. The Famine is what made me believe that people held responsible for the well-being of their voters should have some say in how the economy is run.

Ofcourse it's all a sham now with the quantum leaps the advertising industry has made. Your average tv-watcher can be convinced that his taxes are being lowered from 10% to 15% with the right media spin and it's hard to find a major party that's not being backed by/representing some big financial interests, capable of purchasing the right kind of media exposure.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Tim, you need to pay to play. In the States, you guys pay ridiculously low taxes and a huge chunk of that money is going to finance the wars, so there's no money to be had. You can try blaming the Republican government for the wars, but there's also a huge level of voter approval for them, so the people who voted the Republicans in and still approve of the military action are the ones to be blamed for the expenditures abroad and lack of money at home.

Sorry Firestart my County taxes have nothing to do with the war, and they are the ones that should be paying for the service they are failing to provide. My state and federal taxes are a different story.

Originally Posted by Quick Orange

I couldn't disagree more. There shouldn't be a government mandate about the efficiency of businesses.

Really, what is congress going to do? Fine the CEO personally for not having higher profits, then redistribute it to the shareholders? Of course, that would be minus the part the government it would keep for itself. That doesn't sound American at all. In fact, that sounds quite un-American.

From the Article:
"(Obama) has introduced "say-on-pay" legislation that would give investors more of a voice in setting executive compensation packages."

The government would not be setting the standards, the owners of the company would. Investors can do whatever they want with the business. If they want the fire the CEO because of external market pressure then IMHO let the layoffs begin.

I agree with you, congress should stay out of the profitability of companies but I don't think (in this article) Obama is suggesting profits be governmentally regulated.

Originally Posted by Wildtim

I'll begin to believe in a bigger government when it begins to provide me with any sevices. I live in an area where I pull my water from a well, have a septic system, and pay a private company for my electric power and pay for another to take my trash away. The nearest emergancy services are more than ten minutes away by the nearest road and my neighbors and I have just had to petition the county and threaten suit to get them to keep that road passable.

Someone please tell me where my taxes are going.

I just read my post before submitting and realized I went off topic a little, my apologies for the hijack.

I wish rural America had more support. There are a lot of good people out there without the services they need.

The way core INFRASTRUCTURE of this country is ran is shameful: Roads that need paved, levies that need reenforcement, soldiers without proper equipment, underpaid schoolteachers, and school food that I wouldn't feed my dog. Who wants do drive on pot holes to crappy schools guarded by some Private that qualifies for food stamps?!?! No one wants any of that but none of it can get fixed because of "Politics." The people of America want solutions not some blame game.

Politicians have already proved they are worthless, I can count the good ones on one hand. The Democratic Party gives us inexperience with sense of entitlement and the Republicans bring us a series of failures. Then the Washington Bureaucrats expect us to take it all with a grain of salt.

The worst part, the absolute shame in all of this, is that they actively paint all 3rd party candidates as fringe lunatics and set up rules that stack the deck in favor of a corrupt 2 party process. If you don't drink the party Kool-Aid there is no way you have a chance getting on a ballet. The Parties have set things up so the system can't change.

Sometimes I think I would sleep better at night if I just gave up hope that America could be a better place to live. Somehow, no matter how much I get kicked down, I get right back up. I must be insane, or just REAL stubborn.

Originally Posted by JMS

The market is self correcting and whenever the government gets involved, with few exceptions, it takes longer for the market to self correct! A crooked market system can not sustain its self! We also have basic laws to take care of crooks.

never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I agree with JMS>

I think a healthy free market is the answer here. Further regulation from the gov't is prolly not going to make anything better. I mean, if a company wants to pay it's CEO more than everyone else, whether competent or not, isn't it their choice? The way I see it, the officers of any medium to large company are paid more than everyone else because their jobs are so awful. Hell, I wouldn't be the CEO of the company I work for even if I DID get his paycheck... the juice just ain't worth the squeeze.

Originally Posted by jockeys

never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I agree with JMS>
.

As if we didn't already agree on almost everything!