First, by
way of introduction to this discussion, a key political economic question:
Is there any
reason that virtually everyone in our country should not be provided with enough quality education and employment
opportunities to allow them to:
a) purchase,
rent or otherwise acquire what is today
a median-priced home,
b) pay what
is today median family expenditures for food, dentistry, child care,
transportation and utilities
c) pay for basic medical/health care such as is
now provided, by way of Medicare, to those over age 62.
And why is
it that in some countries of northern Europe, a much larger percentage of the
population has the ability to acquire these things than we do here in the
USA? What sacrifices must they make to
provide these benefits in their society, and wouldn't we be better off, as a
society, and as individuals, if we had national policies, laws, and programs,
that allowed us to do something very similar?
And if not, why not?
In today's American
economy, the only way we can even begin to provide enough employment for all
the people who need jobs is to spend hundreds of billions of dollars every
decade in the promotion/creation of wants for products and services most of
which the vast majority of people would not buy unless they were surrounded by
a 24/7 barrage of advertising, marketing efforts, as well as a culture that
emphasizes the personal gratification and status that can be gained through
consumption of these products and services.
What's so wrong with this existing system
of work, want and consumption?
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