Capitalism!

This blog, I'm briefly touching the extent of my beliefs about capitalism. My next blog I shall go into more depth about topics such as minimum wage and worker benefits.

The United States is and hopefully will always be a capitalistic nation. Capitalism is, in my opinion, one of the best economic systems created for the sole purpose it allows individuals to express their freedoms more throughly. However, today, the US slowly leaves true capitalism and turns to socio-capitalistic ideals. Programs such a welfare, social security, medicare and medicaid have risen and they strip the essence of capitalism from both the business and the consumers.

Capitalism has ups and downs. It is a human created system and like humans is flawed, however, the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

Capitalism suffers from two main problems. The first is greed. People have the tendency to desire to do better then their neighbors. Am I saying that's bad? Nope, in fact I'll touch on this point a bit later. However, a few people like to take that desire further then is wise. Employers desire to make a profit, just as much as an employee, so we always run into that snag where the employee is paid far less then he "should" be. The employer makes off with a larger yield of the total profit and the employee is left with a meager share. Sad and tragic, but an essential part of capitalism.

What what did I say? That the employer cheating their employee(s) is an essential part of capitalism? Well, yes it actually is. You see the answer to the problem is not turn to the government to "force" the business/employer to create a minimum wage, nor is it to form a worker's union to demand worker rights. Nope, the answer lies with the employee to have the desire to better his life, just as the employer desires. This causes the employee to work harder!

Good things come to those who work for it. Truth be told that phrase rings true. If you want more money, work towards that goal. It might not be instant, but thats why we need to be patient and hard working. It has been said that Americans have gone lazy and its sad to say, yes we have. We are so caught up in this day of technology that we demand something in the here and now, but we refuse to actually wait.

The second problem with capitalism is the biggest problem. Government intervention! Since the early 1900's with the progressive movement, the federal government has slowly started to take a hand in the affairs of businesses. Where it seems justified (the Meat Inspection Act seems resonable enough?) it is but the first few rocks of an avalanche. Capitalism DEPENDS on a free market. It seems ok now to put a bit of control in the market to make sure everything goes smoothly, but in fact, it is that very control which threatens to undermine capitalism.

Capitalism thrives off of competition. If four companies are competing to make a profit, each company hires their share of workers. Which causes the others to hire more to meet the demand. They produce, more and more, until one reaches a limit and over produces. The surplus is extrordinarily high and the consumers are not buying in the demand. So prices plummet. The company, in order to keep their desired income have to let go of employees. Sometimes, they recover. Other times they do not. If they don't the company claims bankruptcy and sells their corporation. This allows smaller businesses to take its place, which allows more workers into the work field. Thus allowing more freedom of the individual to choose which business he wishes to be a part of.

Bankruptcy is a tragic, yet necessary part of capitalism. Did I say it was perfect without hardship or strife? Nope, but remember I did say it took hard work. To employees who were let off from their job because it went under, the answer is not in government handouts. The answer lies in getting up, shaking the dirt from your shirt and keep on moving. Look diligently for another job.

As for corporations going under. The answer is NOT in government bail-outs! The government has already shown due to the bailout bill and the stimulus package, how dismal a job that was, let us not repeat the same mistake. If the government starts bailing out these big corporations, the smaller corporations will not have the chance provided by capitalism and a free market to rise. Instead they will be pressured by the government to remain low profile and give more and more of their revenue to their competition. Is that equallity? No its theft, and quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

It's time we allow capitalism to become the power economy it was meant to be. No more government programs, no more bailouts, no more stimulus'. Let's allow the businesses to run their own natural course. I can assure you, it won't be bad.

God Bless America!