The Future of Capitalism?
"The richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons and what I do, stock and real estate speculation. It's bullshit. You got ninety percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price per paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Now you're not naive enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you buddy? It's the free market. And you're a part of it. You've got that killer instinct. Stick around pal, I've still got a lot to teach you."
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The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
Gordon Gecko
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/quotes
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Some historians might argue that FDR saved capitalism with his New Deal programs. Will the future say the same about Barack Obama?
Capitalism, when left to its own devices, cannot contain its innate greed. Eventually, over time, more and more wealth will be concentrated at the top and there will not be enough left for the majority of people to survive. Even a minimum wage is challenged, leaving millions and millions with less and less. How long can capitalism last in such a world?
With the consolidation of the big banks and international traders, can we realistically expect to ever see another Harry Hopkins or FDR? Where does it all end?
The advance of technology has not stopped the desire for more and more by the capitalists, even as more and more workers are left in the cold. Perhaps it has only intensified the desire?
Unlike the 1930's, the government does not have the leadership or the means to raise taxes on the wealthy. Mostly because those in government have become part of that 1% of wealth accumulators.
Just as necessity is the mother of invention, it will only be out of necessity that accumulated wealth will be distributed to the rest of society. When will that happen? For the foreseeable future, we can anticipate continued sharp declines in our infrastructure development and our standard of living.
But eventually, capitalism must change. It will be forced to change. The question is, what form will it take in its rebirth? Just like after FDR, it will survive, until it repeats the cycle and is devoured by its greed once again.
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