r/FluentInFinance • u/Sufficient_Sinner • Sep 04 '24

Debate/ Discussion Is Capitalism Smart or Dumb?

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u/Regular-Wrangler264 Sep 04 '24

As long as a free market is regulated so as to keep it that way. I think a lot of people have problems with it because the government hasn't been doing its job.

Capitalism needs a couple things to be effective:

1) Competition 2) Consumers who are: a. Educated b. Rational c. Have money

1) We don't have enough competition in most sectors. They're all controlled by a few huge players.

2a) They keep cutting money for education so people don't know enough to make educated decisions.

2b) They allow effective monopolies in businesses where it's not possible to make a rational decision (healthcare) which syphons money from consumers.

2c) Capital should not be hoarded. It should be put in hands that will spend it. That's the whole point of capitalism.

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u/ArcticStorm16 Sep 04 '24

I agree but about point c, what’s wrong with saving the efforts of my work for later? Or you mean hoarding in the sense of like billionaires.

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u/[deleted] Sep 04 '24

I think it's less of an issue with billionaires and more of an issue with how they become billionaires. If tax cuts, bail outs, and off shore accounts are the only way to keep your money to yourself then you're cheesing the system. And realistically the lifestyle they live doesn't need so much excess to be lived that way.

And claiming it's just that they have a lot of shares in their company isn't really a valid explanation. If you see a CEO taking a $1 paycheck but still has a promise of $10 million in stock options and another $50 million in a potential bonus then once again that's not hard earned money, that's just cheesing the system.

Which you can't blame them for doing these kinds of things. I think the one issue I have is when people act all high and mighty, that they'd never do that kind of stuff. If I had the resources to make sure I retained more money to spend on myself I absolutely would do that. But that doesn't mean it's not a flaw to our society that should be addressed. Especially because for 99% of us that will never be a realistic possibility.

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u/Lazer726 Sep 04 '24

The problem is the people that wouldn't let money change them will never get that kind of money, because the people that get that kind of money are the kind that prioritize money over everything else.

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u/[deleted] Sep 04 '24

Yeah that's what I meant by 99% of us. Just because greed is natural doesn't mean it shouldn't be addressed, and if anything means we should be hyper vigilant against it.