At a Republican town hall in Nebraska - eviltoast
  • houseofleft@slrpnk.net
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    12 hours ago

    You say we do not need the rich to finance things, however, planned economics are less efficient than market economics because central management of such a complicated structure is very difficult.

    I’d question this one a lot- I agree central planning is bad for a lot of things, but it’s great for infrastructure like roads, water supply, transport etc. I think this bears out in the evidence as well- the USA has suprisingly poor water supply, education and rail transport, despite by some measures being the wealthiest country in the world. Compare this to infrastructure standards on Europe or China.

    We could probably argue all day and longer on this, but please at least consider wealthy high taxation countries in Europe as a counter example. At the very least, I think they show a successful alternative to low taxation economies.

    • galanthus@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      I agree that government financing is good for some things, but since most of the economy is run by the market making markets less effective is an interesting decision.

      Also, European countries with high taxation do not exist independently, they rely on international capital and financial sector.

      I am not totally opposed to taxing the wealthy, but this should be limited by reason.

      • houseofleft@slrpnk.net
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        14 hours ago

        Ok, one last question, but can you expand on why you think taxation makes markets less effective? I’m not sure I understand why this should be a given?

        I live in the UK, and VAT is applied to some but not all goods. It doesn’t seem to me clear at all that, say, cakes (not taxed) exist in a more competitive environment than say, biscuits (taxed)?

        • galanthus@lemmy.world
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          14 hours ago

          They reduce profit, by extension, investment, make domestic firms less competitive to financial institutions, making the economy less productive.

          • Guns0rWeD13@lemmy.world
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            13 hours ago

            you talk like an economist. economists don’t care about the individual. they look at economic benefits on a large scale, where most of the measurements are in relation to financial institutions. i’ve met many people who benefited from recession. large firms and wealthy shareholders often liquidate things during recessions at reduced prices, which allow poor people to finally afford something.

            economists also go great with garlic, so watch yourself.

            • galanthus@lemmy.world
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              12 hours ago

              Well macroeconomics looks at the entire economy. Microeconomics focuses on individual agents.

              A recession can cause inflation and unemployment in the long run.

              I am not an economist, but a philosopher by education. Anti-intellectualism bugs me all the same.

              • Guns0rWeD13@lemmy.world
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                12 hours ago

                me too, but if you can’t divorce yourself from economic theories and see what the reality looks like outside the textbook, you’re no smarter than any other overeducated idiot.

                • galanthus@lemmy.world
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                  12 hours ago

                  I recognise the precarious position of the working class, but having insane radical positions with no sensible set of goals and how to achieve them hardly helps.