A Just Capitalism
A Capitalism that would work for the current poor in a way that they might be allowed to properly become the utmost of their ability can happen in a vast reformed United State system. Though I do not foresee this happening in the near future, my ideas on the subject should be put to paper in order to help create this new world order.
To begin with, I must state my current primary gripe about American Capitalism. The poor, in this society, are sometimes left to rot by the greedy moneyed who control the vast amount of wealth in this nation. The most creative, most enlightened I have met in this world were on the streets. If anyone is not allowed to succeed in the United States because they lack the wherewithal, the drive, or the mental stability to make it, in my opinion, the State has failed. We are a nation that believes that everyone should get a fair shot. We do not deliver that creed unto most in our society. This is wrong.
To fix it, I propose the following articles:
1. All persons have the right to exist. Thomas Jefferson, in the Deceleration of Independence, called this “Life.”
2. All persons have the right to become the greatest they can, given their ability.
3. The Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of American should be upheld, with the possible exception of the 2nd, which might need to be revised.
4. There would need to be revisions to the main text of the Constitution, but, if not directly noted below, it would also hold in today’s form.
In order to achieve these things, the following must be done:
In order to promise “Life” to all Americans, the basic essentials of life must be given, free of charge, to all US citizens. Any citizen may refuse any of them and any time.
The current system really does a pretty good job of “food.” I’m currently on food stamps, and am adequately feed. With some modifications, the food stamp program could be made to work to cover all American’s basic nutritional needs. Taxes would increase at the level of standard food spending, and everyone would be given a food stamp card to be used for everything that can currently be bought with food stamps, and any cooking utensils.
In addition, a centralized, Federally run, food distribution center would have to be set up in all US settlements of a certain size. If there is a large rural area that cannot be serviced by these sites, some sort of stop-gap system would need to be devised, perhaps creating a service corp that could dynamically provide food and other assistance when needed.
Clothing would be provided by the food distribution center. This could be any form of decent clothing, including hand-me-downs. If the climate is cold in a certain locale, appropriate coats must be furnished. In the climate is hot, appropriate attire, such as shorts, but be made available. This service could be used by any US Citizen.
Local water must be provided, free of charge, to all US domiciles. The cost would be shared by all citizens living in the US via a tax. This might require nationalizing the water utilities.
As for those who get their water from a well, or something like that, a basic fund for the electricity it takes to pump the water would have to be provided. There would have to be separate provisions for the upkeep and maintenance of wells. Perhaps all well water drinkers could be charged a separate tax that would provide for their entire well maintenance.
Basic air quality must be maintained by the Federal Government. No matter how vehemently some want to dismantle it, the EPA must exist. It should be considered, at a minimum, the basic human need for air that justifies it’s existence, but, of course, may regulate other aspects of the environment, as seen fit by the Congress and the President.
Finally, the most difficult basic human need to tackle is housing and “fuel”. This is currently the task the government gets most wrong. All people need fuel and shelter in order to survive, according to those who have determined such things. Much of the time, for those who are truly poor, this consists of bridges. Sometimes it is sleeping in the local library. Perhaps, if one is lucky, they can find a friend’s couch to sleep on. This is wrong in America.
In 2012, we have a glut of housing in the United States. The Federal government should purchase much of this housing, and designate it “Public Housing” this housing must be available to whomever wants it, but it most defiantly should not be as desirable as other housing in it’s area. I realize that this might not always be possible, but a concertized effort should be made to do this, including, perhaps, providing loans and other assistance to those who own their own home, so that they might better their properties. It should not be a benefit to move into public housing.
As a Socialist by nature, I would love to nationalize all the other utilities, but that would be pretty non-Capitalist, and it is Capitalism that I’m trying to save. Therefore, what I propose is that a device be developed that would allow any American to have free “fuel” to heat their homes to a constant 65 degrees Fahrenheit. This number could vary in final legislation, but it should be uncomfortably low without being dangerous. Cooling would not be provided, unless the local climate required it. If someone has propane heating, for instance, an agreed amount of propane would be provided to the person to achieve an average of 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, the device would have to be tamper-resistant, and could not be controlled by the citizen. The purpose of the program would be to provide basic climate control to anyone who needed it (or were very frugal) without making this the desirable option. The cost of this program to the utilities would be covered by the Federal Government.
Many of the above suggestions are currently provided by Non-Profit Institutions and religious groups. They would be allowed to continue doing this, though demand for these services should be low. However, anyone who wanted to opt out of any of my programs should not suffer for it.
The first objections that I’m sure I would hear to my plan are that it would raise taxes a lot and would control and socialize some stuff. It would also re-distribute wealth. Yup. That is correct. We pay a very low tax rate as it is. Most water utilities are currently, at least partially, run by municipalities. And isn’t it a major role of the State to redistribute wealth to those who need it? Though many would disagree with taxing more, nationalizing water, and re-distributing wealth, these are the things I think must be done in order to save Capitalism.
The basic premise is that if citizens are not worried about their basic life needs, they will be more inclined to do what they want to do, what they are best at, and the economy will prosper. It is also the morally right thing to do.
As to those that feel that private organizations and current social service programs do a good job providing these services already, they don’t. I would guess that a person delivering that critique of my system has never been poor. Welfare may work great, for those who qualify, but if you are not a woman with a child, you are probably not eligible for welfare. Many religious groups do provide meals and support to the homeless. This is true. However, when I was on the streets, the churches that provided free meals always exacted the price of forcing those attending to be present for a sermon. Though this may not offend most, it defiantly offends some, including me, and, as such, many days I was fed on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches provided by the only non-preachy organization left, called “Street Links”; a group who has my undying admiration and thanks. No one, including me, should go hungry because of their religious views.
I could go on and on about the feeble state of social welfare in the county. Suffice it to say that, if you think social welfare adequately provides for the people of this nation, you have not ever had to use it. I’m sure there are success stories, but, for many, it is only through guile and fortitude that one can service at the bottom of this society.
I want to touch on one more obvious critique I’m sure some readers would have, that my system would make some people lazy. You’re right. I believe that most people are not so lazy they want to live barely getting by, but there are some that would. My answer to this is that everyone still has the right to exist. Some were born without drive. Does this mean that they should be made to beg to live? Most of these people, at least those I have come into contact with, spend all their time trying to figure out how to get the most out of the System. Many make the money they need by selling drugs and other illegal activities. Crime rates would decrease if their basic needs were met.
Others, like myself, do not have the desire to work the types of jobs they are qualified for. I made a mistake in my education. I don’t want to do what I’m trained to do. I’d like to make money making art, but society has little place for this. Thus, I’m delegated to the fringe of society. Though there are those who feel no sympathy for me, I contest that I can make many beautiful things if given the opportunity to not have to worry about having to pay the rent. The great societies, throughout time, are best known for the artistic endeavors that they leave to later generations. What is the United States going to leave to posterity? Remnants of World’s Fairs? A statue given to us by the French? If all basic needs were met, more great art would be made here, and the world would be better for it.
The other major revision to the American system would be in education. I am an absolute believer in the “Tabula Rasa.” Everyone in The United States should be able to become everything they can be, to sound a bit like an Army commercial.
We know quite a bit about the way humans learn. We have yet to implement much of that knowledge in our educational system. The truth is that there are many types of human intelligence. Some are good at math, others leadership, still others, art. We need to provide educational opportunities for all types of intelligence. In addition, we need to provide some sort of financial future for all of them. Currently, there is a big push to improve American children’s aptitude in Math and Science. I have no complaint about giving special prominence to these subjects, but to hold the kid back because they’re not good at math is wrong. I’m sure nearly everyone is good at something. To find that something for the individual seems to me to make more sense than to degrade their prospects because they aren’t good are two subjects.
The truth of the matter is that the reason math and science are being promoted is because they are very saleable, and will become a lot more saleable in the future. However, instead of forcing an arbitrary level of skill at these two subject upon every kid, what we should do instead is locate those kids who are good at these things and send them to the math and science school, where their specific type of intelligence can be catered to. That is not to say that the science school wouldn’t have an art program or that the art school students wouldn’t have to take science, but it is to say that the science school would teach art like the math of Bach, and the art school would teach science emphasizing pictures and discussion and creativity.
No student could ever be forced to attend any school. If a kid is good at both art and science, but they liked art more, they would never be forced, indeed, should not even be persuaded to be a scientist.
The cost for this type of system would be high. Buildings would have to be built, others re-purposed, others not used. The way we train teachers would have to change. Small towns and rural areas would have to get serious Federal assistance. It’s even possible, depending on how this was set up, that some members of families would have to board elsewhere in order to go to their specific intelligence school. But I’m pretty sure it would be worth it. Instead of droves of mediocre students graduating high school, you’d have highly educated students, ready to start a decent paying job in their intelligence field. Other than trying to get the American people to allow a huge tax hike, there’s one other fatal problem with my plan. How do you allow not-as-desirable-intelligence-students to get a job.
According to current research, there are 8 types of intelligence. Pop, if you’ve read this far, thank you. I’ll want some help on this, but mostly I’m tired of writing, so I’ll end for the night here. My answer to the secret question “flash” is “thunder”, so you get credit.