I realize economics don't have much to do with SJW crap on the surface, but since it seems we're often fighting communists and Marxists, I'm increasingly wondering what people who frequent this community think of various economic issues.
I admit I see several problems with the capitalism system, but my background isn't in economics. I'd like to know how capitalism would solve those problems (if you believe it could), or what other solutions might work. I don't have any strong opinions either way (except that I reject communism) and I'm looking to hear different perspectives.
What I'd like to know most of all, is how do you feel about something like the wage gap between rich and poor (i.e. the '1%'). For example, look at this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM
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Do you believe the richest 1% are really as rich as the video says, compared to everyone else?
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If so, do you think this is fair or unfair? Why? If you believe it's unfair, what solutions do you support?
I'm also wondering about other issues with the economy:
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People who live in extreme poverty (e.g. families sleeping in cars) despite seeking jobs or having two jobs: why do you think people find themselves in that situation, and what would potential solutions be?
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Employers having more negotiating power regarding salaries, because they don't have much competition when hiring workers, meanwhile employees are competing with thousands of other candidates: fair or unfair, and why? If unfair, what could be done to solve this?
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I often heard strong supporters of capitalism say that "Everyone can be rich if they work hard enough". Except there's a need for all kinds of jobs, even those that pay little, and there's no need for billions of people doing the jobs that currently pay millions. So even if everyone worked twice as hard tomorrow, nothing would change. In other words, it seems the system isn't designed to allow everyone who works hard to make a comfortable income - even if everyone worked twice as hard starting tomorrow, the poor would stay poor and nobody would earn more. How do you guys feel about that? I'm especially interested to know why if you disagree.
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I'd also like to know how people here feel about the argument that if you need someone to do a job for you, no matter how easy it is or how little training it requires, you should pay them a proper living wage. Otherwise, you're just exploiting them until they become unable to work due to health issues, at which point you discard and replace them with someone else. In other words, if you need someone to work for you, you should make sure the job lets them sustain themselves. Again, how do you feel about this and why?
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Social safety nets: I heard the opinions that everyone needs to be responsible for themselves. But is it really in the best interest of society to let a worker with years of experience and education end up on the streets because of a difficult period in their life they couldn't get out of? Why or why not?
This doesn't cover every economic issue obviously, so feel free to elaborate further and to touch on things I didn't mention, including other issues in the current economy.
Again, I don't have strong opinions and I'm looking to hear different perspectives to better make up my mind.
These are some heavy questions, and I haven't formally touched economics since high school, but I'll give some of the easier questions a shot.
Watching the video, I'm not in the least bit surprised. I live in South Africa, and our GINI coefficient is some of the highest in the world. There are millions of people here (and in the USA, and the rest of the first and third world countries) who are living below the breadline — people who will go their entire lives making less money than some CEOs make in a single day.
Is it fair? No. But is the current system fairer? I'd have to say, compared to the alternatives, absolutely.
It's far from perfect, and there is enough room for improvement to keep generations of economists busy. But right now it's the fairest system we have, especially considering that an economic system cannot live in a temporal vacuum, it doesn't start off from a clean slate — it needs to work with decades and centuries of legacy, often unpleasant.
There are people who will go their entire lives working their hands to the bone, while struggling to put food on the table for their children, while there are people who were given every opportunity at every turn, and are just coasting through life. It's not fair, but it is also not something that I believe you can fix solely through political means, because that means that at the end of the day, a group of people will have to decide what is fair and who deserves what, eventually the goal skews from "More effort equals more reward", to "More political sway means more reward". This is where the whole free market vs controlled economy comes in.
Welfare and social safety nets are another subject that might seem simple at first but is deceptively tricky and intricate. On one hand it makes perfect sense to have a safety net for those who, through no fault of themselves, cannot provide for their own care and well-being. Whether through accidents, chronic disease, or unforeseen market trends. On the other hand, you cannot have half your population entirely dependent on welfare — that burden has to be carried by someone, often the dwindling middle class, who, while reasonably well off, are often struggling to maintain their status quo themselves.
With the current Covid situation, rising unemployment, poor job prospects, and the threat of automation and robotics, it definitely paints a bleak picture.
What does the world do with 8 billion humans, 65% of which are in the working age, when simply don't have the economic need for 5 billion workers in jobs? Do we promise them some welfare cheque every month as long as they keep voting for the political party in power? Do we try to have the middle class subsidise them? Or do we try and promote people going back to rural lifestyles and subsistence farming?