Capitalism with Socialist Values

Capitalism with some socialist values is collaborative and smart. America is not in danger of losing our keen sense for individual rights. It is in danger of continually being one of the most ill equipped nations concerning health care, education, and renewable energy. Everyone is responsible to contribute, everyone is expected to pay taxes, then why doesn’t everyone get the basics necessities in life like health care and education? We can still open up universal systems, and support capitalists endeavors on every economic level while being decent human beings. It’s time to end hurtful propaganda concerning socialism in public dialogue. The public is not ruled by fear, but by reason, preference, and choice. We are able to implement social values and new policy, and still maintain our consumer lifestyles enough to keep capitalism thriving.

If I was a billionaire, and knew that a vast amount of the population were hurting, unhealthy, financially stifled, emotionally exhausted, knowing people struggled to put food on the table and paying a higher percent of taxes than myself, and did nothing, what good is capitalism if it only protects myself. It is a economic moral issue. When big corporations and the top one percent refuse to pay taxes that would benefit our nation, and there is no accountability, then capitalism looks like a dictatorship controlling a free market economy. When a nation’s decisions are made by a handful of leaders who keep systems in place that leave people without the equal opportunities to get ahead, capitalism is shameful. Has the poor not become poorer, has not the middle class remained stagnant and discouraged? Bailouts and recessions don’t cut it.  How long do we allow the one percent to feed off loopholes, and corrupt unaccountable systems, while programs are cut for the poor, and the lower income class is driven down. 

Capitalism always prioritizes money over values, it’s the nature of the beast. This doesn’t mean we need to be- all beast. We can be the prince too. Ignoring investments that improve the quality of life of a nation is failure. Where has the focus gone? Where has our vision as a nation to build a brighter future for children gone? The climate crisis is proven, and there is still discord among our nation’s leaders about what to do. Why? Because of money. Our priorities have gone astray when we can’t get the basics right; for example, begin paying teachers, healthcare workers, and civil workers what they deserve. Start treating every citizen with respect and equality. We are in need of desperate change, in the form of paradigm shifts across our nation that embrace some common American values and level the playing field. A nation should progress and grow when more opportunity is available to the people. When people are healthy and can afford a decent life for their families the economy thrives. America is growing out of the past, and is in desperate need of new values, and new benefits that protect the interests the common worker. 

Lately, the public has been demanding more rights for women, for minorities, for immigrants, for workers. This nation has always been proud of the hard working American people. We still can be. We can take more ownership and try to find a fresh dialogue between the old world and the new. The Republican and the Democrat. We are smart enough as a nation to sit down and think about everyone concerning basic human rights like healthcare, education, and a decent living wage, and without having to jeopardize current systems that work. There are ways to collaborate on every issue, and implement new strategies no matter how high the stakes, but only if we are willing. Everyone is a valuable piece of our society, and deserve to have a piece of the pie. I hope as a society we become generous in our hearts towards others, even while reaching for our own dreams.