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**6-eyed** · 05-11-2021, 07:15 PM

The problem is ultra rich and the corporations own the politicians who pretend to represent we the people. The lawmakers propose regulations that are always weaponized in favor of the corporate class. Regulations that masquerade as environmental protection, workers rights, consumer safety, copyright patents, etc. These regulations and taxes are often barriers to entrepreneurial growth.

A truly free market would erode these barriers and lower the risk of competing against these juggernauts.

**Jessica** · 05-11-2021, 07:28 PM

YES IT DOES.

And I don't know how to fix it in a technical sense.

I'm just a hippie ; ) who believes that if we could convince everyone that love is the answer and we are all one connected consciousness, then no-one would WANT to act selfishly while others suffer, because they'd understand that that was the same as making themselves suffer. We need to increase empathy.

I mean, yeah, maybe we can fix it with regulations and laws and different societal structures? But I'm not sure it's really possible unless we evolve. We're still governed by animal instincts. We need to evolve tree instincts.

Trees, with their underground "internet" of fungi. If a tree is suffering, the other trees help.

The problem isn't that these people have that wealth, it's what they do or don't do with it.

And another problem is that they're all men.

**Quark** · 05-11-2021, 08:39 PM

Dax Did you ever end up getting into crypto?

**Meliai** · 05-11-2021, 09:58 PM

I've given up on throwing out ideas on how to fix a broken system. It's pointless. There's a reason two opposing ideas can go around and around for years and never be instituted and no one can figure out which one is right. It's because they're all just bandaids for a system that is never going to work in a way that doesn't create huge wealth inequality.

We're in a transition period. Late stage capitalism. It can't be fixed and it isn't going to be replaced with old, opposing systems that are also broken. I agree with Jessica it's just going to take a slow evolution. Fresh ideas. New systems that have never been tried before. New societies with different priorities

**6-eyed** · 05-11-2021, 10:06 PM

I’ll also add that capitalism doesn’t need fixing. It’s the cronyism that needs to be eradicated. You won’t get rid of it by implementing small doses of socialism here and there. In fact that will make the problem worse. Because the people in charge of regulating socialist economies are imperfect, flawed human beings who are very corruptable and don’t play fair. (cronyism). Capitalism is undeservedly blamed for corporate domination. We do not live in a capitalist society, we live in a mixed market corporatocracy.

**Undies** · 05-11-2021, 10:35 PM

what is the significance of the bolded people in the OP list?

i mostly agree with 6 here, the problem isn't so much capitalism itself as it is the broken system of government we have where the growing class divide is actually forced into law by people who pretend to be trying to help but really couldn't give two shits what happens to anyone that doesn't give them money. i have no idea what to do about that issue; people like to complain about the government but then if you propose changing it they get all up in arms.

as far as the question "should billionaires exist," i say it would be wrong to fully stop their existence, but there should be regulations that make it harder to get beyond a certain level of wealth. i'm all for high taxes over a certain level of income, not 100% of course, but those people can afford a much higher percentage than a regular working person. on the side of people getting rich off the backs of minimum wage workers, i definitely think doubling the minimum wage and other similar "solutions" are idiotic and will achieve absolutely nothing if they are done in a vacuum, as prices will just go up and workers will be laid off, and more than likely it will just end up giving even higher profits to the CEOs. but you can't do something like legislate a maximum wage either. for one thing, just the concept of that makes me feel icky. and for a more practical argument, there would be no way to determine what the max income should be; there is such a wide variety out there that you would pretty much set the max for one guy and then all the CEOs making more than that guy would quit because they can make the same amount running a smaller company, and the CEOs making less than that guy would not actually have to change anything. i probably would support some sort of rule where there is a formula based on company size and profits that lays out a range of allowable compensations, so that someone can't bring in billions each year while his entire workforce is at minimum wage, but if he can profit billions while paying everyone $100,000 then he is able to earn more. or something like that only better thought out.

Announcement

Capitalism Needs To Be Reformed.

Capitalism Needs To Be Reformed.

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