Communism in America

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by jediwill83

Dude...breathe...you been saving that one up for a rainy day I see.

Here's the thing about "corporations"...they arent the bad guy...not the primary one... the bad guy is the guy that wields the power of the state to force you to pay for the subsidies that go to the corporations literally at gunpoint.

If a true free market was at work..this wouldn't be the case.

I see it a little differently. When a politician runs for office he (or she) looks for contributors and constituents. Various large corporations will approach the politician through their lobbyists. These lobbyists have access to these politicians. And they lobby for the interests of the corporation. These lobbyists will present proposed legislation drafted by corporate attorneys and try to get the politician to consider the legislation or some similar version. They will offer a commitment to provide future campaign contributions, educational packages for friends and family of the politician, memberships and perks, job openings for the politician upon retirement, or even job openings for friends and loved ones. They offer these politicians anything they could ever dream of. Few politicians will refuse to crack. Most compromise for those corporations that provide the best payoff. And suddenly, that corporation owns that politician. Frankly, if politicians were forced to display the corporations that lobby them and pay them big perks to pass legislation in the corporations interests, politicians would look like this:



Right now, our elected officials don't really represent us. They represent their corporate constituents. That's why they often pass tragic legislation that harms families and then scurry away like rodents back to their offices through the screaming voices of protesting citizens. Corporations own the politicians, and as a result, they own the government. America has become the best government money can buy. These cowardly politicians aren't wielding power, they are serving their corporate masters. Their... unelected corporate masters. Corporations offer politicians nice things for those subsidies. And that's why they get them more and more with every passing Congress and administration, regardless of party.

Imagine that there are three major utility companies. These companies will lobby state and federal politicians to pass legislation that requires serious regulation of waste, required licensing, and tough standards that must be met to stay in business. Mind you, these three corporations already have budgeted to meet these standards. These standards are all designed to knock smaller utility companies out of the market so that they don't have to compete with a another company who might grow into a feasible competitor. And the result is a corporate conglomerate that has cornered the market and driven out competition. These corporations trashed the free market... to basically form a collisional monopoly. And, they often have reciprocation agreements on wages, benefit packages, prices, etc. that they have colluded to establish. It's not politicians who come up with these crazy ideas out of the clear blue sky... it is a corporation or group of corporations pulling the strings. This is why "corporate personhood" and the ruling that corporate money in politics is "free speech" for that "corporate person" is such an assault on our democratic process. The politicians don't represent us as much as they represent the corporations who fund their campaigns. Just think of mandatory sentencing laws. Guess who were the biggest advocates for them? Corporations. The privatized prison system in many states is run by corporations that run private prisons. They wanted laws in place for mandatory sentencing to ensure that they had a more steady flow of Americans being put in prison. Why? Because the more prisoners they have, the more funding they can get from state and local governments. If you really dig deep as you investigate legislation today, you'll find some rather quiet corporate bodies lobbying with big money behind the scenes. Most politicians will not make a single move without knowing what their corporate constituents want them to do or how they want them to vote.

Obamacare is a great example. The biggest supporters of the ACA were... the insurance companies. Why? Because they knew the ACA would mandate that every employer provide health insurance, and that every American without employer provided coverage would be mandated to purchase their own insurance packages. You see, most simple folks think the ACA was a government attack on the free market. It wasn't. It was a corporate attack on the free market. It was the insurance companies using the power of the government's gun to try to force Americans to purchase private insurance. It was a corporate power grab to get a stranglehold on the American citizens, locking them into having to purchase insurance or face penalties. Just follow the money and pay attention to who gets rich. There you will find the real power brokers.

This being said, the best way to save the free market is... to prohibit corporate political contributions. Because the laws in place now favor the big corporate players who call the shots in the halls of Congress and stifle competition.

If it wasn't for the power of the State, the corporations wouldn't have near the power they have.

It's more complicated than that. I suggest you read up on the little known corporate history of the United States. Here's an article to just wet your appetite...

Our Hidden History of Corporations in the United States
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporat...rporations-us/

When American colonists declared independence from England in 1776, they also freed themselves from control by English corporations that extracted their wealth and dominated trade. After fighting a revolution to end this exploitation, our country’s founders retained a healthy fear of corporate power and wisely limited corporations exclusively to a business role. Corporations were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society.

Initially, the privilege of incorporation was granted selectively to enable activities that benefited the public, such as construction of roads or canals. Enabling shareholders to profit was seen as a means to that end. The states also imposed conditions (some of which remain on the books, though unused) like these*:

◾Corporate charters (licenses to exist) were granted for a limited time and could be revoked promptly for violating laws.
◾Corporations could engage only in activities necessary to fulfill their chartered purpose.
◾Corporations could not own stock in other corporations nor own any property that was not essential to fulfilling their chartered purpose.
◾Corporations were often terminated if they exceeded their authority or caused public harm.
◾Owners and managers were responsible for criminal acts committed on the job.
◾Corporations could not make any political or charitable contributions nor spend money to influence law-making.

To read more... click the link provided above.

When corporate power and government are so entwined like this, it's called, fascism.

[Jito463]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Aquila, your ideas are still pointing to the government to save us, I don’t think the govt is ever going to save us.

Pretty funny for a guy who claims to be a "Christian Anarchist" (or something to that effect).

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Amanah

Aquila, your ideas are still pointing to the government to save us, I don’t think the govt is ever going to save us. The only hope we have is to minimize the Govt interference in our lives as much as possible. Home school our kids. Phase out medicare taxes, reduce all taxes, let people keep their money and plan for their own medical care and retirement and education.

So, you're saying that after all these things are phased out, those who simply can't afford certain healthcare procedures or treatments should just accept death, while the Donald Trump's the world get all the care they can possibly need. And... those who can't afford to retire should just work until they're elderly wage slaves and they drop dead at their cash registers, while the Donald Trump's the world retire early and live it up?

We're stronger as a people.

But you're right about one thing for sure. Right now, the government can't save anyone. It is owned by the wealthy and the powerful. Before we can expect the government to give the average working American a fair deal, we need to save the government. That means, getting corporate money out of politics, and limiting the amount of private money that can be contributed to the political process. Only then will the government be more responsive to the needs of the people.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Jito463

Pretty funny for a guy who claims to be a "Christian Anarchist" (or something to that effect).

I'm a Christian anarchist in the sense that (A) ultimately the Christian isn't beholden to any human government that is acting contrary to the Word of God. Also, I believe that Christians don't need corrupt human governments. Christians could function sovereignly through voluntary associations. But I don't see that happening over night. The first order of Christian anarchism, or any form of anarchism, is to restore power to the people. From there, the people can begin deciding how much or how little government they need, and begin forming voluntary associations to meet needs as provisional self-governing communities as they eliminate centralized human government altogether.

So, when I reflect on Christian anarchist society... I'm looking dreamily into the distant future. However, in the here and now, we need reforms to restore power to the people and limit the power of those who have usurped that power by buying our elected representatives. Universal health insurance is a means to an end. First, it ties up a substantial amount of revenue for healthcare. Healthcare is a good thing and promotes wellbeing and happiness. And with revenue tied up in that pursuit... we wouldn't have the majority of our funding going to the military industrial complex. That means, we'd have to think twice before ever engaging in an unnecessary military action. It starves the beast and moves us from a war and violence culture to a health and wellness culture.

[Amanah]

The way social security/medicare works is that we borrow money from our kids future to pay for our retirement.

And now since we (the government) are in debt, we borrow money from other countries and from our kids future to pay for our retirement/medical.

So, the system is immoral. Parents are supposed to create a future for their kids, not live foolish lives and then expect the government to borrow money and give our kids the bill.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by Amanah

The way social security works is that we borrow money from our kids future to pay for our retirement.

If Social Security was run the way it was intended, without politicians dipping into it, or budgeting with an eye on it, this wouldn't be a problem. However, I always tell people that Social Security's purpose isn't to provide anyone a retirement. It is to assist with ensuring that no one who has worked all their lives be forced to live in absolute poverty and squalor. It is merely assistance to aid one in paying a few bills in their retired years. Every working American needs a more tailored and robust retirement plan beyond Social Security.

And now since we (the government) are in debt, we borrow money from our kids future to pay for our retirement.

That remains to be seen. The economy is unpredictable. We could run into a few decades of great surplus if money is managed and invested well in booming industries. And as a result, any loss our children could suffer from Social Security would be relieved through tax breaks on the middle class, hire wages, and more robust retirement and investment accounts of their own.

So, the system is immoral. Parents are supposed to create a future for their kids, not live foolish lives and then expect the government to borrow money and give our kids the bill.

Amen. What I've seen is the general misconception that Social Security is supposed to be one's retirement. WRONG. At best, it is only supplemental income to offer a little relief as one enjoys their hard earned retirement that they planned and saved for. At worst, it is just a small stipend to keep one out of utter destitution when they are most likely too old to work.

Personally, I'm open to other ideas when it comes to Social Security. It has been so mismanaged, and what it provides is so little in regards to monthly income, almost no one can live on it anyway.

[Jito463]

Originally Posted by Aquila

The first order of Christian anarchism, or any form of anarchism, is to restore power to the people.

By giving power to the government?

[aegsm76]

I agree with the premise that corporations have too much political sway, today.
I also agree that it stems from the Supreme Court Ruling that corporations have the same rights as individuals.
I believe that ruling was flawed.
I also believe that we would be better off if we would explore banning corporations/unions making donations to political candidates.
However, it will never happen.

[Aquila]

Originally Posted by aegsm76

I agree with the premise that corporations have too much political sway, today.
I also agree that it stems from the Supreme Court Ruling that corporations have the same rights as individuals.
I believe that ruling was flawed.
I also believe that we would be better off if we would explore banning corporations/unions making donations to political candidates.
However, it will never happen.

I'm not sure about the never happen thing. But other than that, I'm with you.

[Aquila]

I had some crazy thoughts...

-What if we abolished all federal welfare programs and allowed the states to deal with the issue of poverty individually as they saw fit?

-What if we abolished Social Security, Medicare, and the VA, and took the revenues normally used to fund these programs and dedicated those funds to an Expanded Medicare for All program?

-What if we abolished the progressive tax code that we currently have and passed a flat tax system with robust exemptions based on family size. For example a $5,000 tax exemption for every minor claimed on one's income taxes?

Imagine a society that is primarily libertarian, with the exception of universal healthcare. Thoughts?