If I could wave a magic wand and fix our economy, I would. But 1) that’s super vague and open to cursed monkey paw interpretation, and 2) there’s not one single issue that needs fixing – there’s a whole bunch of interlocking problems to deal with. Without giving specifics a wish “fixing the economy” could turn out really, really bad:
Here,
then, are twenty problems facing the U.S. economy, not ranked by importance,
that I would try and fix:
1.
Private
Equity Reform. Private equity is truly bananas. A company finds another company
that is struggling, buys it, and fixes it. Sounds great, except that the
companies often aren’t actually struggling. Craziest of all, the private equity
company often take out loans to buy the struggling company – and then the struggling
company has to pay the loan back! It’s corporate sharecropping and should be
totally overhauled (so that the private equity firm is responsible for the
loan) or maybe just abolished. These private equity firms are often replacing pensions
nowadays, and delivering worse returns to retirees than just regular stock market
investment, or traditional pensions. The whole system is terrible.
2.
Glass-Steagall.
This law said commercial banks and investment banks cannot mix. The bank where
you deposit your paycheck isn’t allowed to then gamble it recklessly in risky
stocks – at least not without your knowledge and permission. Repealed in the
1990s, this is a common-sense safeguard. It was not, in hindsight, a major factor, but it did
exacerbate the 2008 financial crisis.
3.
Drastically
Reduce Copyright and Patent Lengths. For copyright, life of the creator is fine
– so long as they are alive, the copyright exists. After they are dead (or shortly thereafter) it
should enter the public domain. The artist's family can make money anew. For
company-owned media, let’s say 50 years, tops. And patents need more nuance, since different field have different requirements. A biotech firm may spend
decades developing a new drug – that would require a longer patent protection
to reap investment. But I think Coca-Cola doesn’t need their formula protected
anymore.
4.
Redefine
‘Fiduciary Responsibility’. Corporate boardrooms, since around the 1980s, have
demanded quarterly profits – constant growth, no matter what. This need to turn
a profit is enshrined in the concept of ‘fiduciary responsibility’. It
is unsustainable, and leads to putting profits above people, the environment,
and everything else. Redefining fiduciary responsibility to be synonymous with
‘sustainable growth’ would curb many of the worst aspects of our American-brand
capitalism.
5.
Carbon
Tax and Real Pricing. Speaking of sustainability, we need as a nation to start
altering our lifestyles. A carbon tax on corporations would help – a majority
of the world’s emissions come from a handful of companies. An individual tax,
with offset options, is also a good idea, based on individual income levels.
There are lots of common-sense options here, including real pricing – making
products reflect their environmental costs.
6.
Close
‘Philanthropy’ Tax Loopholes. Billionaires get good press for giving their
money to charity – it’s an idea as old as Carnegie and Rockefeller. But it is,
on reflection, fairly undemocratic – they tend to give to the things that make
them happy, and not what communities or the country needs. Opera houses are
nice, but climate change is more pressing. And when they do give this money
away, it’s usually so they don’t have to pay taxes on it – robbing the
American people once again. Worst, they often give it to themselves: they
create some sort of charity, in their name, and so are still controlling the
cash. On the other end of the spectrum…
7.
Minimum
Wage Tied to Inflation. No one working full time should not be able to earn a
living. But since Congress has to authorize minimum wage increases, and political
fights ensue, that means it doesn’t get done. A big swath of this country is
trying to scrape by on $7.25/hour in 2022. That’s absurd, and a major drain on
the economy. 40% of the country can’t afford a surprise $300 expense – that’s
not great for an economy based on goods and services. A bill that tied minimum
wage to inflation would be far more reasonable – and wouldn’t require political
fights and authorizations.
8.
Paid
Sick Leave, Vacation, Parental Leave, and the Child Tax Credit. Again, on the
topic of how keeping a perpetual underclass is a bad idea both morally and
economically, we have the problem of people being overworked. We are the only
developed nation without paid parental leave. We know, better than ever, that
when sick people feel compelled to work it’s bad news for everyone. We know
that paid vacations make for happier, more stable employees, and we saw the
Child Tax Credit lift ½ of American children out of poverty – if only briefly.
9.
Single-Payer
Healthcare. Again, in the category of ‘sick, tired, uneducated laborers make
for bad employees, consumers, and citizens’ we have a ridiculous healthcare
system. No other developed country has the same terrible healthcare that we do
– it gives corporations way, way, too much power as healthcare providers, and
produces bad results. You shouldn’t have to beg for your life in the wealthiest
nation on Earth. It’s bad morals, and it’s bad for the economy - money that could be better spent elsewhere. Replace it with
cheaper single-payer.
10. Education Investment. Teacher
shortages, structurally unsound buildings, lack of supplies – the public school
system is churning out citizens who aren’t ready for the world, barely
educated, and only able to secure low-paying jobs. This is, once again,
dangerous for a democracy which requires a well-informed citizenry (to quote
Jefferson) in order to survive. Mobs are not well-informed, nor are conspiracy
theorists, or people who think the 2020 election was ‘stolen’ – a strong
predictor of which is education attainment. If we invest wisely in our schools,
then we’ll have a better workforce and citizenry.
11. Reform Student Loans. When you are
18 you can sign a loan for hundreds of thousands of dollars – but you can’t be
trusted with the financial responsibility of renting a car or hotel room. Or
celebrate your new loan with a drink! That’s ridiculous. In-state college
tuition should be free or close to it for state-run schools. These loans have
become a huge drain on the economy, and we shouldn’t perpetuate the cycle
moving forward.
12. Ad-Free News and the Fairness
Doctrine. The nightly news is an hour of television designed to provide a
public service. But since they still want to make money, news companies need to
attract advertisers during this bloc of programming. If they eliminated that
need, then corporations’ influence on the fourth estate would diminish. Even
better, if we reintroduced the fairness doctrine, which disallowed partisan
bias in reporting, then companies wouldn’t be able to target specific groups of consumers –
and I expect our discourse would begin to heal.
13. Enshrine Labor Rights. The labor
unions of yesteryear were predominantly manufacturing based. Nowadays, in a
more service-based economy, unions are catching up. But union-busting is still
all too common, and should be unequivocally outlawed. If employees of any sector
wish to form a union that should be a right that is legally and federally
protected.
14. Reform the Guest Worker Program.
Described as “modern slavery” the seasonal worker program in the U.S. depends
on non-citizens (almost exclusively from Latin America) coming to the States
and working in the fields. They are vital to the economy, but treated terribly.
No one wants these jobs in the U.S. – it’s back-breaking labor – and pilot
programs of using Americans have failed spectacularly in the past (like getting
college kids to work on their break – they ended up unionizing and striking).
Changing guest worker wages and benefits, and implementing reforms on how they
can cross the border will help.
15. Abolish Private Prisons. Speaking
of modern slavery… The idea that we have private prisons, that people make
money and profit off of incarceration, is morally abhorrent. To incentivize
locking people up is not a Good Thing. They should be eliminated. Which leads
us to…
16. Eliminate Cash Bail. The majority
of people in jail haven't actually been found guilty of a crime – they are awaiting trial,
but can’t afford the bail. A system of justice where wealth equals freedom is
not a just system. We wouldn’t need all the private prisons if we didn’t lock
people up because they were poor. Debtor’s prisons were a bad idea the first
time, and they haven’t gotten better with age.
17. Campaign Finance Reform. Moving
into the more explicitly political, we waste billions each election cycle on
seeing who can raise money better – as if that’s a good measure of competence
for our Presidents, mayors, and sheriffs. By mandating that candidates must use
a public pool of equally-distributed funds (over a certain popularity
threshold, to weed out real cranks), we would save tons of money, and improve
the nature of debate and our politics. It also would lessen corporate power –
since they couldn’t give to campaigns. Which brings us to…
18. Eliminate Lobbying. Minimum
sentence of 35 years without parole. Make it unthinkable that companies would
try to bribe and influence our politicians. I may be open to non-profits being
given a pass, but otherwise no way. If they’re not beholden to companies, than
they can act in the interests of the American people. Another means to do that
is…
19. Reform Corporate Welfare and
Subsidies. American taxpayers pay companies not only
through buying their goods and services, but also though Congressional
subsidies to certain industries. Some I understand, are worth propping up
because they put people over profits (small family farms, for example). Others
are not (enormous factory farms, for example). A UN report in 2021 found that
nearly 90% of all farm subsidies were harming the planet - and our pocketbook.
Time to break the cycle, and once again reduce corporate power over Congress.
20. No Congressional Trading. Finally,
in the political-economic reform category, members of Congress cannot have
personal investments and play the stock market, when those are areas they need
to be impartially regulating and investigating. If I’m on the committee of
Health and Human Services, then I can’t have millions invested in biotech. This last suggestion would not drastically change our economy, but it could significantly change our
politics.
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