Democracy is a form of government where authority is vested in its citizens. Socialism is an idea of how property and ownership is structured within a country. Democracy and socialism are two completely different ideas, so they can't be "indistinguishable from eachother." You can have a democratic socialist country, where the people would decide how to distribute the wealth. The American experiment had nothing to do with capitalism, it had to do with a representative democracy which hadn't been seen since the early Roman empire. Capitalism was alive and well in Europe when America was formed, and was merely adopted from there.Originally Posted by Takeshi 02
Politicians don't invest. Here's what actually happens. Millions of Americans go out and take their savings and invest it in companies. Some companies fail, which normally doesn't mean anything. However, this time some large companies failed. This, in turn, affected other companies, causing them to fail. Now you've got the beginnings of a crisis. I call it a crisis because all of those people at the beginning that invested their savings are now broke and harassing our politicians asking "Why weren't you watching out for MY money?" They are panicking, because they just made bad investments and lost their life savings. Now apply that to our current situation. You have the three largest auto makers in the US. IF they collapse, we lose not only them but a significant portion of our economy in the business they conducted (dealers, mechanics, parts, scrap metal, lights, tires, etc.). Would the gap get filled? Absolutely. But how long would it take to replace them? Not to mention all the people who are now broke and/or unemployed and pounding on the Senator's door angry or needy. Once again, crisis mode. So the politicians, in an effort to appease their constituents, are attempting to prevent that crisis. However only the lazy ones would be content with throwing money at them; the smarter politicians are trying to demand oversight and/or regulation.Originally Posted by Takeshi 02
The only tax you named that a BUSINESS would pay is the property tax. Maybe also the sales tax if and when the business makes a purchase. Income tax is paid by individuals, not businesses. The "unsustainable benefits and pay" you mentioned are not a result of the union, but of the 6 figure and up junior executives and the entire corporate branch. The companies need to be restructured. And I'm not going to start on unions, mostly because I'm out of time.Originally Posted by Cultist of Personality