----- Original Message ----- From: "leaking pen" > you might say it combines the worst features of capitalism and communism.
> as a someone who is a communist and a free market supporter (ones a > government, ones an economy, there IS a difference) i agree > completly. ive been saying that for years. If you can explain how this system of yours is supposed to work, I will try to update my highly authoritative "Summary of World Governments", and fit it in there somewhere...as that list needs to be further updated in light of new reports. As one might suspect for a subject so important, there is definitive ongoing analysis being done of competetive World economies: http://www.weforum.org/ The latest results: Finland remains the most competitive economy in the world and tops the rankings for the second consecutive year in The Global Competitiveness Report 2004-2005, released recently by the World Economic Forum. The United States is in second position, followed by Sweden, Taiwan, Denmark and Norway, consecutively. Japan did not make the top 5. It should be noted that only the USA and Norway have significant petroleum, making the accomplishments of the Nordic countries, especially Finland, even more impressive. Only the US has abundant natural resource and good weather and lots of arable land. All of the above (except Taiwan) now have higher average incomes than we do... and at the rate the dollar is falling, compared to the euro, things are not looking good for the future. The reason of their success, PLAIN AND SIMPLE: The Nordic countries are all running budget surpluses. Taiwan's secret is low wages, a highly motivated work-force (like Japan used to be) and absolute fear of encroachment from their larger neighbor, should they not be able to remain extremely competetive. Plus the Nordic countries have extremely low levels of corporate corruption and tax avoidance, with their firms operating in a legal environment in which there is widespread respect for the rule of law, no offshore banking is permitted, and the private sectors are on the forefront of technological innovation with direct government assistance. Tax avoidance in the US petrocracy is now running rampant, as Richard alluded to recently, following the slap on the wrist given to lower-level Enron tax cheats. Here is my slightly updated but still highly authoritative breakdown ;-) Summary of World Governments You own two cows. Here is what happens under: ~ Fascism - you keep both cows, state regulates milk production, dictates who you sell to, and the price. If a benevolent dictator emerges, everybody gets rich. This seldom happens. ~ Communism - confiscates one cow, regulates milk production, confiscates most of your milk and profit and gives it to unproductive people. Never known to work except in the voluntary small scale Kibbutz collectives. ~ Socialism - lets you keep both cows, confiscates most of your profit and gives it to unproductive people, but let's you vote for the leader who promises to change things and never does. ~ Democratic Social Bureaucracy (non Nordic Western Europe)- lets you keep both cows, confiscates most of your profit and gives it to unproductive people. It also buys a large portion of your milk and then pours it down the drain to stabilize prices. Then it raises taxes to fund elaborate, expensive studies to find out why government is so inefficient. ~ Libertarian Capitalist Republic - Lets you keep both cows, the milk, and your profit. It regulates almost nothing. You sell one cow and buy a bull and get rich while your cowless neighbors go into poverty and you buy their land for pennies on the dollar. If war erupts, you must form your own militia to defend yourself and there are no public schools or police because of the low tax base. Your impoverished neighbors soon become terrorists and everything disintegrates. ~ American Crony Capitalist Petrocracy - Lets you keep both cows, and about 60% of the profit. It regulates nothing directly, but borrows using your cow, bull, and new calves for collateral to finance the exploitation of vast tracts of public land for the benefit of the few. You try to sell the milk but find the only cash buyer is tied to an offshore bank, where the cronies bank, and they want to take out a second mortgage on your livestock and retain half the proceeds to counter the dollar's free-fall devaluation. ~ Democratic Social Bureaucracy (Nordic style)- lets you keep both cows, confiscates most of your profit for better free schooling and universal health care. Officially shames all unproductive citizens (high suicide rate). The secret and the only reason that this system thrives, even without abundant natural resources (which have saved our neck in the USA) is that they routinely RUN BUDGET SURPLUSES and do not wage un-necessary wars under false pretenses, (at least not since the days of the Vikings), nor do they tolerate un-necessary litigation or corporate graft . What will we call this new entry, the ~Libertarian Communist Free-market? Allows you to pay the upkeep on both cows, but retains the title. It regulates nothing directly .... ..... ? I hope it compares favorably with what the Finns are doing with so little to work with (other than reindeer... not that there's anything wrong with reindeer) ... Jones
