The premise was always by making a small group wealthy beyond belief that this would in turn make the rest of us better off:
The Trickle Down Hypothesis.
When in essence we created a greedy elite whose methods for garnering wealth bordered on the criminal and in the end we all ended up bailing out to prevent a total collapse of this capitalist system. We are about to do it all over again.
Previously taxation allowed a certain equilibrium to be maintained and the banks and corporations were of sufficiently less import the failure of a few would not bring down the whole. Rampant uncontrolled globalization and the resulting outsourcing have enriched certain parts of our society beyond reason. Our governments are held in thrall by the sheer lobbying and financial might of these institutions that adapt our laws for their own benefit.
All that has resulted is that we and our nations are deeper in debt than ever before
US public debt $14.8 trillion
US consumer debt$2.4 trillion
Average US credit card debt $15, 900/holder average APR 13%
Outstanding mortgage debt [all] $13.7 trillion.
Around 1.5 million Americans will file for personal bankruptcy this year.
Personal savings rate is down to 5.6% from over 9% of two decades ago.
Whereas the top 1% hold
Net worth 34.6%
Financial wealth 42.7%
Investment assets 49.7%
Debt 5.4%
Whereas poverty has only increased
Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million
Yet if you are rich then the tax rate is the lowest since the 1950's
This has all lead to the great disparity of wealth and as Elizabeth so rightly pointed out
There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own.
They rely on the nation that we and our families no matter how many generations on American soil have all worked for.
Capitalism
noun
an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.
However we now have a system where these individuals and corporations have become so vast and so global that the failure of any one of them risks the entire house of cards. Capitalism at one time was linked to rugged individualism and if you failed that was all part of the system, for small business owners like myself that is still the case but not for the top 1% they are protected by the social safety net like never before.
As the world trembles and rocks
After an incredibly volatile day on world markets, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, warned of a looming "collapse in global demand" which threatens to push economies around the world into a new recession.
Significant demand can only be generated from the middle classes and working classes who have been decimated by austerity and stagnant wages, high levels of unemployment and job insecurity have driven demand down even further. The trick is to keep the money moving and the rich are holding onto what they have like grim death.
The funneling of money into so few hands has destabilized the whole system and the Republican Party and some on our side of the aisle only want to increase the rate at which dis-equilibrating strategy progresses; even if it means wrecking the system as a whole.
Our democracies themselves have been degraded by the flood of money required to mount an effective run for office, and we can only kid ourselves that this does not distort the system in favor of those who provide the funds.
Some argue we are entering a new [and old] form of economy based on a plutocratic model, some even think the current situation will repair itself and we can all go back to watching "American idol" in peace and quiet. Some like myself are wondering where the hell we go to from here.
plutocracy
1. the rule or control of society by the wealthy
2. a state or government characterized by the rule of the wealthy
3. a class that exercises power by virtue of its wealth
My opinion is that capitalism failed a long time ago it's about time we decided which way we are going to go I find the thought of an absolute plutocracy less than appealing. Looking at the state and membership of congress we are pretty much there.
Strengthening the democratic process one way or another and distributing the nations wealth more evenly can only help, breaking up the corporate monoliths into "the right size if they fail" may well be another useful strategy.
The capitalists indeed have had their chance and blown it for 99% of us, perhaps we can re-balance the game?