Jon Stewart Explains It All
Jon Stewart has done it again. He has taken the anti-tax, anti-poor, Ayn Randesq statements that many conservative politicians and media pundits and distilled it down to the utter absurdity that it is. The fact that there are so many people that think that a poor family owning a refrigerator makes them not poor is very sad.
Links since you can’t embed Daily Show videos:
World of Class Warfare Part 1: Warren Buffet
World of Class Warfare Part 2: The Poor’s Free Ride is Over
It reminded me of an article in Forbes I saw yesterday that talked about the “coming class war”.
Many conservatives here, as well as abroad, reject the huge role of class. To them, wealth and poverty still reflect levels of virtue — and societal barriers to upward mobility, just a mild inhibitor. But modern society cannot run according to the individualist credo of Ayn Rand; economic systems, to be credible and socially sustainable, must deliver results to the vast majority of citizens. If capitalism cannot do that expect more outbreaks of violence and greater levels of political alienation — not only in Britain but across most of the world’s leading countries, including the U.S.
The basic ideas was that the opportunities and earning potential for the lower and middle class is declining. The conservative rights approach to ignore it, or pretend those who point it out are engaging in class warfare, won’t fix anything, and will in fact, actually cause a class war in time. The article sees the London riots as the first sign of things to come. It calls out that the solution isn’t a harsh crack down as the right calls for, nor a beefed up welfare state as the left calls for.
In order to fix the problem, everyone has to benefit. You can’t just “rob from the rich and give to the poor”. Nor can ignore the poor, claim their fine or say it’s their own fault for being poor. Capitalism, as currently practiced, doesn’t work. It is as broken as communism was. There needs to be some kind of “social-capitalism”. Society doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game; being successful should not depend on having cheap labor to exploit. Nor can everything be handed to everyone, regardless of the work they do.
Everyone who works should be able to afford a home that is not a decaying cesspit, be able to go to the doctor when they are sick, and be able to buy healthy food for themselves and their kids. A hard worker, with either great effort, determination, skill or perseverance, should be able to succeed and live a better life than the norm. You need the upward mobility and the motivation that capitalism provides. But you also need the fundamental security of everyone’s basic needs being taken care of that communism promises.
Feudalism and slavery failed and were replaced by capitalism and communism, but there was a lot of bloodshed along the way. Communism failed and now capitalism is failing. Let’s try and find that next big idea for society without the bloodshed this time.
8 Comments
Sienn'lyn · August 19, 2011 at 11:39 am
I’d say we’ve been fairly successful at combining free-market capitalism and “socialist” values here in Sweden. So it is possible to combine the two to some degree. It’s not perfect, but no political and economical stystem will ever be.
However, that has been changing over the last few decades, with increased privatization of things that really shouldn’t be privatized (such as the railroad traffic, which just doesn’t work in a small country like Sweden) and an overall right-wing tendency of the politicians. Still, it’s working fairly well for us, especially considering that Sweden was a very poor nation just one hundred years ago.
When I look at the US, I’m just baffled. It’s like a segment of the population is just trying to make their own country fall apart for no other reason than their own selfish agenda. I also see people who cling to Ayn Rands delusional philosophy, working hand in hand with religious nutters (which by itself is odd, considering Ayn Rands stand on religion). I’m just… Baffled.
Maarkean · August 19, 2011 at 12:01 pm
That about sums up me thinking. Everything I’ve read has suggested places like Sweden, Denmark, Norway are all working pretty well in finding that balance. Here, not so much. The last 30yrs have seen an increasing radicalization of the right.
It’s the pendulum. Things were, generally, improving through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Then it went the other way. Hopefully things can get back to improving, but they unfortunately might have to hit rock bottom. Have we done that with this currently Tea-Party infested and disfunctional congress? Or does there need to be some kind of “nazi takeover” type situation that has to happen first?
Sienn'lyn · August 20, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Yeah, we do have a decent balance, but I think most americans wouldn’t think or accept that we do. They key to it all is more or less high taxes (and income taxes primarily) and a fairly low military spending.
Maarkean · August 20, 2011 at 1:32 pm
What is the tax rate? I forget which country but I remember reading about one of them having a pretty small gap between lowest and highest incomes. Everyone made a good wage and everything over some number was taxed at an incredibly high rate, which kept wages reasonably close.
Sienn'lyn · August 20, 2011 at 3:23 pm
Actually, it’s a bit difficult to put a definite number as the tax rate, since it’s not just one single tax. For income, it’s divided in direct and indirect taxes (with indirect ones being handled by the employer). It also depends on where you live and your income. This wikipedia page TRIES to explain it, but… Yeah, it’s complex: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxation_in_Sweden
There’s also a VAT on purchases which is either 25, 12 or 6% if I remember correctly and some other specific taxes that I can’t even remember.
Interestingly enough, the corporate taxes are fairly low in Sweden (among the lowest in the EU or so I understand).
Maarkean · August 20, 2011 at 4:39 pm
I only meant the top rate on individual income and corporations. No taxes are simple.
Sienn'lyn · August 20, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Well, I’m hardly an expert, but for me the (direct) income tax was about 33% that goes to the municipality. But I’ve hardly got a job that pays well (I think I earn roughly $3500 per month at the current exchange rate). For those who earn more (I think about $5000 per month), they get an additional 20% tax that goes to the state, and those who earn even more (probably around $7000 a month) get an additional 5%. So in theory, you could have to pay roughly 30% + 20% + 5%. Or so I understand, I’ve never had to pay the state tax after all.
It should be noted that the income tax that goes to the municipality varies between municipalities, and I live in an area with a fairly high income tax.
I don’t know much about corporate tax rates, but I’ve heard it’s fairly low (all things considered). Wikipedia has it listed as roughly 26%.
all 3 · August 22, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Preach it my brother.
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