09-13-2018, 12:12 PM
(09-02-2018, 07:38 PM)David Horn Wrote:(08-31-2018, 08:31 PM)Eric the Green Wrote:(08-31-2018, 10:55 AM)sbarrera Wrote: Eric, I think the idea is that all Americans then join the investor class. Everyone becomes a capitalist and so capitalism serves the people better. I know you are strongly against fossil fuels but there is no way they are going away any time soon. But I agree with David that it would take a long time for such a fund to really grow to a point where the benefit to ordinary citizens is substantial. But it might be a good thing from an "America first" perspective as it could let ordinary Americans ride the wave of the rising "developing world" instead of just being victims of outsourcing and foreign competition.
I also agree that they are all good ideas and I think that Warren's is the least disruptive in the short term but has great long-term potential. Imagine if the Big Tech companies that are taking over society had voices on their boards speaking on behalf of ordinary people.
Yes, I am against an investment scheme that invests in fossil fuels; it would be counter-productive. Fossil fuels do need to go away over the next few decades; that's the number one priority of our times. Capitalism often does not serve the people, it serves first and foremost the capitalists; so it wouldn't serve the people if everyone became the capitalist. Most people are not capitalists, in the way that capitalism's leaders and bosses are. There might be possibilities in such a fund though, no doubt, if it were more socialistic I guess, in what it invests in. There are always enterprises, and entrepreneurs create wealth. So I am not anti-capitalist per se. But using pure capitalism as a government cure for the economy would probably fail, for as great as capitalism can be, it is also the source of most problems in a capitalist society, and government needs to counteract those in a consistent way. None of the three ideas alone would solve our economic problems, but I wouldn't expect one plan to do that.
There are several reason why this is a good idea, and one runs counter to your preferences. The idea is simple: owning large stakes in everything gives the general public a big say in every decision by every company n the country. If they insist on only listening to the investment class, then being the biggest fish in that class makes the sovereign wealth fund the boss's boss.
In a sense, that would be a real public takeover of those companies that have "gone public," but today are run by the investor class, which usually also consists of the officers of the companies themselves. Seems like a challenge, but a possibility.