Is anyone else worried? (Covid Vaccine)

[CUSP82]

Before you break up Walmart and Amazon consider the good they do.

[madyogi]

We already know that you and I have ideological differences and I don't intend to debate the merits of mine vs yours. But I'll just point out one things quickly to think about... Debt from student loans has skyrocketed consistently along with government/public subsidized college funding and the cost of healthcare continues to increase in response to healthcare regulations. Why keep throwing public money at the problems it's creating?

My point earlier was simply to elucidate the distance between what a Biden administration would do and what Socialism seeks to do. My positions sit somewhere in the middle, generally speaking. Biden and standard neoliberal Democrats are not Socialists.

We should probably keep our debates about policy elsewhere, insofar as we're really interested in having them here at all. That said, it won't surprise you that I think the rising cost of healthcare is due to numerous things, not just increased regulations. To boil it down to that is to oversimplify the situation greatly. And when I think about something like Medicare-for-All, the calculation isn't strictly a cost benefit analysis (ie, driving down costs), it's also about not having my health insurance tied to my employer and a handful of other things. Student loan debt is somewhat tied to public subsidization, but mostly indirectly. My sense is it's tied to rising costs, which are ultimately tied to over-bloated administration budgets. In many ways it's the growth mentality, which goes back to the critique of capitalism. Keep in mind, one can respect capitalism for what it is and appreciate it's strengths, while still understanding its limitations and pitfalls. It shouldn't be an all or nothing prospect.

[madyogi]

Before you break up Walmart and Amazon consider the good they do.

You mean, like free 2-day shipping on cases of rum?

[BigO]

Before you break up Walmart and Amazon consider the good they do.

I'm not saying they should break up per say, I am saying that they should be under the same restrictions as the small stores in their respective location's.

Local stores where I am at that have been here for decades have been closed yet our Walmart is opened.

One must consider the good some of thes locals have done as well. Many have employed fathers, grandfathers and no the current generation.

Walmart would survive these shutdowns far better than a small shop.

[CUSP82]

The small mom and pop stores should have never been forced to close down. That's the governments fault.

[HansTwilight]

The small mom and pop stores should have never been forced to close down. That's the governments fault.

They're trying to kill them off.

They're pushing Big Corp.

[BigO]

The small mom and pop stores should have never been forced to close down. That's the governments fault.

Yes, this I agree with.

[BigO]

They're trying to kill them off.

They're pushing Big Corp.

This is a direct result of the ABUSE of capitalism, the big fish can litigate their way into unfair advantage

[madyogi]

This is a direct result of the ABUSE of capitalism, the big fish can litigate their way into unfair advantage

This is one I can get behind, though I wouldn't characterize it as "the ABUSE of capitalism." It seems to me it is the logical end result of unregulated capitalism. It's one of the pitfalls of having growth and profit as the basis of your incentive structure. Politicians get on board because they are power hungry and money == power/influence.

Furthmermore, when it comes to monopolies, US government antitrust policies changed dramatically in the eighties when the Consumer Wellfare Principle came into vogue. Basically, if it theoretically results in lower prices for the consumer, then it must be good, right?

[BigO]

This is one I can get behind, though I wouldn't characterize it as "the ABUSE of capitalism." It seems to me it is the logical end result of unregulated capitalism. It's one of the pitfalls of having growth and profit as the basis of your incentive structure. Politicians get on board because they are power hungry and money == power/influence.

Furthmermore, when it comes to monopolies, US government antitrust policies changed dramatically in the eighties when the Consumer Wellfare Principle came into vogue. Basically, if it theoretically results in lower prices for the consumer, then it must be good, right?

Well said.

I could have used the term unregulated which in a way is abuse or lack of proper governance