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Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by pjc50 on Monday June 12, 2017 @10:17AM (#14537555)
Venezuela seems to be more straightforward corruption and incompetence, the sort of thing that can ruin any political system left or right.
Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by Consultant32452 on Monday June 12, 2017 @11:14AM (#14537937)
This is precisely why socialism is a bad idea. Bad people will always get elected eventually. The solution to this problem is not to hand more control of the nation's capital to a nice pretty centralized target for evil/imcompetent people.
Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by pjc50 on Monday June 12, 2017 @11:53AM (#14538250)
Bad actors are a problem in any system, which is why the system should be pluralist; but it's entirely possible for bad right-wing actors to get elected. Argentina, rather than Venezuela.
Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by Consultant32452 on Monday June 12, 2017 @12:10PM (#14538384)
How can you be more pluralist than by letting each citizen keep their own power?
Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by pjc50 on Monday June 12, 2017 @12:19PM (#14538458)
That's a nice slogan, but empty without an analysis of power relations. Participants in a market are not automatically equal in power!

Especially important in the sub-discussion about healthcare that's going on here. There's disparity of information (not every citizen has a complete knowledge of all possible medical specialisations), disparity of capability (medical conditions can be literally incapacitating), and disparity of risk (most medical conditions are mostly randomly distributed).

Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by Consultant32452 on Monday June 12, 2017 @12:43PM (#14538662)
>Participants in a market are not automatically equal in power!

Yes, that's true. The world is not fair and we're not all equal in power. How is the solution to that to take 80% of everyone's income and hand over control of it to a select few in government?

In a free market system at least each participant is free to walk away from any given transaction. Now you want to take away even that.

Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by boomboomsubban on Monday June 12, 2017 @10:13PM (#14542478)
By taking that statement to it's logical endpoint for a start, rather than the crazy libertarian version where "keeping your own power" includes a government that is ensuring what you call your own power stays your own power. Or, "What is Property?"
Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by Consultant32452 on Wednesday June 14, 2017 @04:44PM (#14555977)
Would you let Donald Trump personally manage your 401k? Do you believe, in doing so, that he would have your best interest at heart? If not, then why would you think it'd be a good idea to let him have control over your Social Security?

Who do you think is better capable of making decisions about your own children's best interests when it comes to getting educated: you or Betsy DeVoss?

The more centralized power/money is, the more ripe it will be for corruptive forces. The less powerful the government, the less damage a bad actor can do when they inevitably get elected.

Re:Stop Pretending You’re Not Rich by boomboomsubban on Sunday June 18, 2017 @03:36PM (#14582427)
>The more centralized power/money is, the more ripe it will be for corruptive forces.

If this is the basis of your argument, then again there is only one logical endpoint. "What is property?... Property is theft!" Ownernship centralizes power over that thing in the hands of a person or small group.

The US libertarian view is anarchy with property rights stapled on, which does nothing except help the rich get more powerful. They use the same arguments about how freedom is essential and government interference is bad, but ignore how there is no freedom on private property and want government guaranteeing their status.