Equality and the Economy

An economy is, at base, the production and distribution of goods and services. You can talk about investment and employment and ownership and trade, but in simplest terms, it is how humans interact to meet their needs. And our present economic system is rapidly becoming untenable.

Currently, the vast majority of businesses and capital are owned by a small fraction of the population. This is not a free market. This is not private ownership. This is a nightmare version of socialism, where everything is controlled by a tiny pseudo-government which was never elected and against which citizens have no recourse.

Ideally, the system should reward participants for producing and enable distribution to consumers. But we are instead rewarding ownership and manipulation, and enacting barriers to obtaining needs. The benefits of the system are being paid to those who own, while those who do the work find their reward is being steadily whittled away. “Human capital,” is a term that exemplifies the view of workers as disposable assets, to be drained of value and discarded.

People are not property.

Capitalism funnels money from those with less to those with more. We literally have a board game that exemplifies this. Even when everyone starts with the same amount (which we do not in life), the players with better dice rolls end up with all the property (and all of the cash). In the absence of a regulatory body redistributing money back down, eventually players have to start robbing the bank just to survive. 

It's pretty simple. If people don't have money, they can't spend it on goods and services. Keeping the lower echelon in a state of desperation is killing our country. A constant, cracking whip driving the populace to “work harder,” when people are working their damnedest and still just barely squeaking by, may give short-term gains – but in the long-term, disaster. We are quickly approaching that point. We need to change the mentality from, “they aren't working hard enough,” to, “how do we make it less hard to work?”

If we accept the basic premise that all people have the right to life, then they have the right to the basic necessities to sustain life. So how do we encourage production while still recognizing the intrinsic value and rights of human beings? Three things.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

First, Life. Universal Healthcare. Possibly a system wherein citizens receive a monthly HSA (with additional funds for severe diagnoses), outlaw insurance companies, and switch to a private pay system (As covered in this previous post). If that is too radical an idea, it may be prudent to merely expand the current Medicaid system to cover everyone, as a modification rather than an overhaul. Either way, a potential small increase in tax to cover the system would be offset by savings in premiums, deductibles, and copays. Additionally, officials could focus on running the system, rather than gatekeeping access to it, streamlining the process and reducing expenses.

Next, Liberty. A Universal Basic Income of 20k annually. While this would be a very meager existence to try to live on alone, it would enable people to seek training, take part-time jobs, care for families, and escape the encroachment of automation, all while still providing a healthy consumer base to support businesses. It would also reduce the need for social services like food stamps and housing assistance, decreasing government intervention and increasing individual liberty. 

Finally, the Pursuit of Happiness. The expansion of Pell Grants to the amount of tuition and room/board at an average public university, for 6 years, available to all. This would increase social mobility and the number of skilled workers available (of whom we have a shortage). It would also enable those in fields which are declining to return to school and train for new careers in new markets.

These are not new ideas. But if we actually implement them, rather than saying, “Maybe someday,” then we would both stimulate our economy, and enhance the quality of life for all the humans who form the basis for it. We could ensure that the Inalienable Rights are enhanced for our current citizens, as well as preserved for future generations. And, by doing so, know that the government of the people truly shall not perish from this earth.