CAPITALISM HAS FAILED US

In the fourth pane, the cyclist is smacking himself in the head with a rock while yelling about how great Marxism is

No! He's smaking you on the head.

lol capitalism was failing long before covid. hence elon musk & jeff bezos.

We haven't been a capitalist nation since Woodrow Wilson was president. The left turned us into a corporatist nation and more recently the left moved from corporatism to fascism.

Lmao, so you're saying it's not working because it isn't real capitalism?

Oh the irony.

I'm saying corporatism and fascism aren't working. Capitalism didn't fail, it was abandoned.

I don't think you understand the irony of your statement.

It wasn't abandoned by capitalists, nor was capitalism a failure. It just didn't give the corrupt power hungry people in the government and business what they wanted.

Capitalism always benefits the consumer and that doesn't set well with socialists and other greedy people.

Capitalism always benefits the consumer, which is why they charge exorbitant prices, add on costs for completely made up features of the product and build the product to go obsolete to maintain profits. Yeah, they really care about the consumer.

Then who should set the price of goods and services so that they aren't "exorbitant"? And should that organization not consider outside factors like a shortage of raw materials to produce those goods. Or when a Democrat majority exists in Congress and the president is a Democrat. Because when that happens businesses are hit with increased taxes, increased regulations and a devaluing of the currency. All of those factors have to be paid. If you demand they get paid from the CEO's salary he or she is going to quit. If it a privately owned business then the owner might just shut the business down.

It is the idea of becoming profitable that makes people work and you seem to think that is a bad thing.

Do you understand that if the consumer is not happy with the product then they stop buying it. So if some business tries to sell me something with a bunch of features I don't need then I don't buy it. If I don't buy it and everyone stops buying it then what happens to that business? Do they keep producing a product that won't sell?

It's really not a hard concept to understand. You just have to get over your hatred of capitalism and look at the facts as they really are. You're not doing that right now. Not every CEO or business owner is a carbon copy of the next one. Very few of them are like your straw man argument.

George W Bush deliberately and openly weakened the US Dollar ostensibly to stimulate the economy, but the fact is growing debt for two ongoing wars had to be offset somehow.

The USD strengthened under Obama as intended by raising Key Interest Rates.

Trump not only had the Fed reverse this, he wanted interest rates to go NEGATIVE! Literally PAY corporate interests to borrow money!
That's Corporatism on crack, fella.

Lincoln and the GOP's Corporatism was actually meant as a boost for Capitalism. Subsistence farming was the norm for the average American. Progress and expansion weren't their priorities. Getting by was.

Capitalism is, by definition, for the benefit of those with the capital. That's literally what it is because words mean things. That's the purpose, that's the drive, that's the design, that's the grand prize.

That is the same argument that socialists continue to make.

The truth is, we're a capitalist economy. What WE don't want is a socialist economy.

And no socialist is asking for that.

"We haven't been a capitalist nation since Woodrow Wilson was president"

*since Eisenhower, but sure

Woodrow Wilson forced the income tax and the Federal Reserve on us. This was towards the beginning of the Progressive era which infected America politics with Marxist ideology. That is when capitalism was abandoned. Because we now pay tax on our income we are now slaves the the government.

However, I should say capitalism hasn't been fully abandoned, nor can you ever stop it. Smaller businesses are still capitalists. As long as your business hasn't been forced to send a team of lobbyists to Washington DC to bow at the feet of the Senate and House, and as long as your business isn't one of the ones that has more regulations than were ever needed, then your business is still mostly capitalistic.

There will always be people trading and bartering with friends, family, neighbors, etc. That cannot be stopped. It can be severely hindered but it cannot be stopped. So, capitalism will never die. It cannot be regulated out of existence.

"That is when capitalism was abandoned. Because we now pay tax on our income we are now slaves the the government. This was towards the beginning of the Progressive era which infected America politics with Marxist ideology"

oh no our roads are being paid for by big government.
so long as our government isn't handing out free money to the military industrial complex or big businesses, it's fine that they're collecting taxes. unfortunately, they do that very thing which has made some of our libertarian friends very not happy :(

"As long as your business hasn't been forced to send a team of lobbyists to Washington DC to bow at the feet of the Senate and House"

and that's when eisenhower comes in. the interstate highway act cost more taxpayer money than our railways did, but yet he & the oil & somehow managed to convince easily-impressed lowest-common-denominator people that highways were better, or they were smarter & not convinced yet the media silenced them anyway.

"and as long as your business isn't one of the ones that has more regulations than were ever needed"

you should advocate for Texas Central Railway's use of eminent domain. just sayin' ;)

I'm not sure what you think I believe. When Eisenhower built the interstate highways it did cost a lot. However, this is one of the very rare times when every taxpayer got something for the money the government took from us. It's not just about people easily driving from state to state visiting family and friends but everything you buy to eat, wear, or other wise use, was delivered across those interstate highways.

Did the government have to do this? Not really. Could private parties have built those highways? Yes and at a much lower cost. Taxation is bad because it is done by force and, more importantly, it is not the right of the government. However, if the government is going to rip you off they had better give you equivalent value for what they confiscated otherwise it is theft.

The government probably used eminent domain to build those highways and there is no excuse for that. Eminent domain is one of the most egregious powers this government has taken. If the government needs land for whatever they must never be able to force someone to sell their property. The gov can ask but if the owner says no, then the gov has accept that and move on. The government is not more important than a single citizen. They are our servants, not our slave masters and they have set themselves up as our masters.

The military industrial complex statement that Eisenhower made is one of the most overused phrases in politics. All sides use it. In this day and age, it is not the military industrial complex that any of us need to worry about. It is the depth of the corruption that our government has sunk to. We now have a 3rd world style government. Their only interest is power and control. We are living in the worst time in the history of the United States with respect to our government.

"I'm not sure what you think I believe."

well idk entirely yet

"Could private parties have built those highways? Yes and at a much lower cost"

However they didn't because highways are not profitable. let's face it; both of us & everyone who reads this will always avoid tolled turnpikes.

"but everything you buy to eat, wear, or other wise use, was delivered across those interstate highways"

not everything. freight railroads provide more than 30% of it. more like 90% back before the highways.

"The gov can ask but if the owner says no, then the gov has accept that and move on."

but they didn't. the cost of our freeways wasn't just our taxpayer money.
below is an image of downtown Kansas City, MO; completely boxed in by highway interchanges. I bet no residential and commercial buildings were forcefully removed
63mdgm.jpg (click to show)

"The military industrial complex statement that Eisenhower made is one of the most overused phrases in politics"

if it's overused, then why does the msm continue to censor its discussion? i've not even heard an IMGflip user outside of myself bring it up ever.

"it is not the military industrial complex that any of us need to worry about"

maybe not a worry for us, but definitely the family who gave birth to the baby whose image of a corpse is now in my PC's hard drive.

"It is the depth of the corruption that our government has sunk to"

the military industrial complex is a source of corruption. one of many

Highways are unprofitable???? How would we ever know? There are no privately owned interstate highways.

You're right, rail does account for some shipping but when rail cargo reaches its destination then it had to be loaded on a truck. It can travel another couple of hundred miles by truck before it reaches its destination. And if the cargo is LTL (less than load) that truck will be making more than one stop.

There might have been a few people who were forced to sell their land for those freeways in KC. However, when they were built those freeways were on the outskirts of town. Actually if you zoom back you'll see another set of freeways that create a bigger circle around the city.

I used to live in the KC metro, for 10 years, so I'm a little familiar with the area.

"Highways are unprofitable???? How would we ever know?"

a surprising amount of people really don't know that. just talk to anti-rail advocates

"It can travel another couple of hundred miles by truck before it reaches its destination. And if the cargo is LTL (less than load) that truck will be making more than one stop."

ye pretty much. nothing against the trucking industry or the truck drivers

"However, when they were built those freeways were on the outskirts of town"

outskirts or not, they're very close the central area, and could be feasibly be moved to accommodate more space within the city. old streetcar maps show that there was a lot more to KC before the freeways were built.

"I've never heard it censored. I just don't think people talk about it very much"

idk if you've tuned into Tulsi Gabbard's 2020 campaign, in which case. the reason people don't talk about it very much is that it's prevented from being discussed; i.e. censored. a panelist went onto CNN and brought up the topic of US intervention in the Middle East for profit, and was never invited back onto CNN.

"The ones who talk about it the most are conspiracy theorists, like Alex Jones"

much like the American People, Alex Jones is consistently angry

"Now it is the government/big tech complex"

big tech often censors news for 2 reasons:
1) chinese investment, so no talking about the Uyghurs
2) private companies have no requirement to abide by the constitution, so no first amendment applied to them.

"Obama also tried nationalizing the banks and the auto industry."

what he actually did was bail out GM. our auto industry sucks either way; can't compete with simple Japanese models.

"You'll be cheering because the purpose is to bring an end to capitalism."

will i? never really advocated against capitalism

Uh oh. I'm running out of Reply links.

I completely agree with you about CNN. They are a disgrace. I know you are big into public transportation and that is why you said Amtrack. I am not opposed to public transportation, I am opposed to being deprived of my own transportation and being forced to use public transportation. Also I think some public transportation is a waste of taxpayer dollars but I also believe the opposite of that.

Forgive for getting lazy but I just don't feel like responding to everything. So I'm just going to comment on a few things. And actually I shouldn't respond to you, just as you shouldn't respond to me. The reason is we are never going to change each other's minds. We're mostly just wasting each other's time. And that's okay.

Anyway...

"idk if you've tuned into Tulsi Gabbard's 2020 campaign"

Well of all of the Democrats who ran in 2020, Tulsi stood way above all the rest. Plus she would have been the most gorgeous president we've ever had.

Here is what I just did. YouTube is notorious for censoring conservatives and even kicking them off of their platform. They just permanently banned Dan Bongino and have been giving Steven Crowder, Glenn Beck and Dennis Prager a very hard time. So I can trust YouTube to censor stuff. I typed in Military Industrial Complex in a YouTube search. I got a ton of conspiracy theory type videos in return. There is no problem on YouTube.

"2) private companies have no requirement to abide by the constitution, so no first amendment applied to them."

if Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc are designated a publisher or a distributor then they have a right to censor content because copyright laws are applied to them.

However, a platform is exempt from copyright laws and a platform cannot censor free speech. It falls under 47 U.S.C. § 230, not necessarily the 1st amendment.

Here is where it is getting scary. Jen Psaki expressed Biden's concern with "problematic" posts made on social media. She said “We are in regular touch with the social media platforms...". She is talking about COVID but if they establish government/corporate censorship with anything then that opens a door to everything. Surgeon General Dr Murthy said they are working with social media companies to take action against "misinformation".

"So I'm just going to comment on a few things"

same.

"I am not sure why you keep a morbid image of a dead baby on your computer but that is your choice."

used to post it on the site to horrify others of the government's crimes under the trump admin. until the mods threatened the banhammer.

"Eminent domain is one of the most egregious powers this government has taken"

i'd argue that if they took down CNN Tower & replaced it with an Amtrak station in Atlanta, they'd be doing the best thing they've done in a while

"The reason is we are never going to change each other's minds. We're mostly just wasting each other's time. And that's okay"

i like to gain insight into the minds of others, usually

"'The military industrial complex statement that Eisenhower made is one of the most overused phrases in politics'

if it's overused, then why does the msm continue to censor its discussion? i've not even heard an IMGflip user outside of myself bring it up ever."

I've never heard it censored. I just don't think people talk about it very much. The ones who talk about it the most are conspiracy theorists, like Alex Jones. I am not saying it is a theory, I am saying that people lost interest in it.

It is the beginning of fascism in this country. Now it is the government/big tech complex. Obama tried to create the insurance/medical/government complex but instead just laid the foundation for it with Obamacare. Obama also tried nationalizing the banks and the auto industry.

"maybe not a worry for us, but definitely the family who gave birth to the baby whose image of a corpse is now in my PC's hard drive."

I am not sure why you keep a morbid image of a dead baby on your computer but that is your choice.

"the military industrial complex is a source of corruption. one of many"

Yes, it is. It's not even a major source anymore.

The absolute biggest threat, right now, is the Federal Reserve. They are printing so much money that we soon will be in hyperinflation and then a total financial collapse. That is really going to piss off the world because so many countries are invested in the US dollar. It will take them down with us.

This is all being orchestrated by the UN and the World Economic Forum. When that happens millions (maybe even billions worldwide) will starve. The money won't be able to buy food and even if you did no one is going to truck it to the stores and no stores will be open.

This IS "Build Back Better". This is the Great Reset. You'll be cheering because the purpose is to bring an end to capitalism. The reality is that it is going to cause suffering on a scale that mankind hasn't seen since the dark ages.

hahaha, the only thing that outdoes your ignorance is your outright falsification of facts.

North Korea has abolished their income tax. They have full capitalism there.

no, their straight up fascists

How do you figure?

Them attacking South Korea, whom is partially capitalist (Although also part communist, hence having no real wealth gaps), and their ridiculous propaganda counts make capitalists shudder, and, well, the fact that capitalism can't exist in authoritarian, fascist regimes like North Korea.

I'm not anti-communist, just not anti-capitalist either

Capitalism can’t exist in authoritarian fascist regimes?? Lmao!

Read up a little bit on Germany and Italy in the early 20th century. Also Spain after 1939.

"Read up a little bit on Germany and Italy in the early 20th century"

you might want to go in depth on that. no one's gonna look up shit they don't believe

Nah. It doesn't work that way. Capitalism ONLY works with freedom. Income tax is slavery but it is not the only kind of slavery. Besides North Korea abolished the income tax when they went to 100% taxation. The people do not own anything, the government does. All of what the people produce goes the government.

When the people are free to decide how to run their own lives without the government then they can prosper.

Free the people and you free the market. Free the market and you free the people.

You mispelled "Lincoln."

If you're going to borrow from what I say, do it correctly.
Corporatism is a major GOP thing, since its inception. As is big centralized goverment. Lincoln's push for both isn't exactly a secret.

Reagan was not on the left.

Capitalism has failed us, because our bosses are risking our health to maintain their profits, prices are being raised so capitalists can make up for their losses during the height of the pandemic, workers are losing purchasing power and are taking pay cuts and supply can’t keep up with demand.

Except most bosses aren't risking anyone's health.

Prices are being raised specifically because the Federal Reserve is printing money at a record pace. It has nothing to do with businesses, it is all about the Federal Reserve. Because Nixon took us off the gold standard our money is not backed by anything. Whatever value it has is being depleted by excess currency. The more money being printed the lower the value of each dollar. The lower the value of the dollar the higher the prices are.

If a business is raising their prices it is only because their suppliers are raising their prices and so on.

A whole lot of businesses collapsed because of the pandemic. I doubt they are trying to gouge anyone when their business is gone. There are two things responsible for our current economic crises, the pandemic and the World Economic Forum. The WEF's henchman, Joe Biden, was installed to take this country down.

So you just admitted that businesses suffered during the pandemic yet you refuse to believe that they would raise prices on their own accord to make up for lost profits? It’s insane how you simply think that “capitalists wouldn’t do that, the free market wouldn’t allow it!” Capitalists set prices. Yes, printing more money devalues the dollar, but the biggest cause for inflation is the capitalists, the price setters.

Where I work, my employer offers few sick days. And we aren’t a very small company. One of my coworkers walked in yesterday and told me he was very sick, but still had to make money. Nearly all of my coworkers have come down with COVID at some point. They don’t offer masks or testing or anything. They don’t enforce mask wearing either.

You are just so jaded and just so wrong. You just cannot seem to get past this notion of monolithic capitalists who all think and act identical to each other. They are not your straw man. Every business owner runs his or her business differently. Some are wonderful people and other are evil and there is everything in between. They are not all evil.

It sounds like you work for an ogre. That's unfortunate. I don't work for an employer who is anything like that. I have worked for those kind of people in the past. And usually the lower your pay is the worse treatment you get. That doesn't have anything to do with capitalism, that has to do with the quality of employee you get at a low pay. They are less committed to the company and many times unreliable.

But rather than complain about it you can do what any good capitalist would do, either find a better job, negotiate a better work arrangement with your employer, start your own business or get better educated so you can be more valuable in the work place (either at your current job or somewhere else).

Or you can be a good communist and do what Bernie Sanders did. Live on welfare and/or freeload off of friends and family until you decide to run for office. And then when in office become so wealthy that you own 3 mansions.

I wish my employer did NOT enforce mask wearing but it is not their fault. I work for a government contractor and all government contractors have to bend to the iron fist of the Democrat party. Masks are worthless. If they worked COVID would have ended after the 15 days to flatten the curve. There is just no point to wearing a mask. If you are going to get COVID then you are going to get COVID regardless if you and everyone else is wearing a mask or not. It doesn't even reduce your chance of getting it. The virus is airborne and not in spit droplets that come out of people's mouths.

This is like talking about the police and saying it’s a few bad apples. The problem is the institution of police. The problem here is the wage system.

I blow the majority of my paycheck each month and I already have a loan at the bank with my car so tell me bud, how am I going to start my own business? People of the upper classes don’t have a clue what it’s like to live with a lot less. This is precisely why, while capitalists big and large might be slightly different, they all have similar interests as opposed to the working class.

I also have a criminal record and get denied almost everywhere I apply.

Mask mandates were in effect under Trump. I don’t know why you’re blaming the Dems. Masks are shown to reduce COVID incidence by 56%.

Mask mandates were stupid under Trump also. I'm blaming the Dems because early on when the Republicans had enough if it the Dems just kept the ball rolling. They are still controlling people's lives. In fact controlling people is all it has ever been about and the Dems are leading that charge. That's what socialists/fascists/communists do.

It depends on what kind of business you want to start up. I'm a software developer. If I thought up an idea for some new program all I would have to do is turn on my computer and write it. I could sell it from my house and have people buy it and download it online. That means I don't need to copy the program to disks to sell it.

My dad worked as a plumber for a number of years and then decided to open his own business. He had accumulated tools for the trade over the years of working for someone else. So when it came time to open his business all he needed was a business license. He worked out of the house the majority of my life and most of the time he worked alone. He took on fairly sizable new construction and did the plumbing by himself. I worked with him off and on from the time I was about 14 until about 25 years old. In between school.

There are lots of ways you open a business without a loan. Those are just two. They just take time and dedication.

If you do not like the wage system what do you propose to replace it with? Before you tell me, you need to think things through. Is your solution sustainable? Can it be accomplished without going out of business from cost overruns and too much overhead (non billable) hours?

Wages are in YOUR control. You either need to obtain the skills and knowledge to demand a higher wage OR you need to successfully negotiate with your employer OR you just look for another job. That ball is in your court.

You're thinking that your criminal record prevents you from getting a loan. My dad didn't have a criminal record but all the time he was trying to start his business up and buy supplies he said that he could not get a loan. It wasn't that his credit was bad, it was something else and he never knew what it was. Banks just would not loan money to him. He just didn't quit trying. He never got the loans he could have used to really build his business but he was successful in spite of all of that.

https://youtu.be/pmDN3FQpOPQ

https://youtu.be/kuhggLAQVaY

Yeah, CringeToons is bad.

" Yeah, CringeToons is bad"

And I bet you watch The Young Turks too! LMAO

No, but Majority Report is enjoyable.

Go ahead, call in to the Majority Report and debate Sam Seder. You’ll lose.