I spoke to my grandfather the other day (who just turned 97!) and I asked him what he thought of Obama. His response: “What happened to the American dream when you work harder to keep more?”
Since I am an economist the first thing that pops into my mind is Adam Smith and his 'Invisible Hand'. I was reminded of this conversation when I came across this article. If I were allowed to post on the article (I am not a member) I would point out to the first commenter that what they write about are what laws are for.
On the flip side Keynes was criticized in his day for expanding the size of the government and was considered by many as anti-capitalist. His response was that he was trying to save capitalism, not destroy it. Then again this argument probably carries greater weight in the days of the Bolshevik revolution (which lead to the communist USSR)… maybe less weight today?
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As a social work major, I've been challenged to conceptualize what appear to be U.S. American agreements on basic ethics, such as "hold[ing] accountable those members of the business community who cheat, take advantage of others, or misuse public funds" and "address[ing] those issues of social injustice that prevent citizens from reaching full economic empowerment, such as mounting education and health-care costs" which the article author mentions. I believe if these ethics and morals are generally agreed on and shared, they should be, for lack of a better term, capitalized and legislated by the government. The U.S. Constitution and other laws have the ability to be changed as times and culture do, as "work[s] in progress," which is important, as I realize that there are conflicting definitions of and a lot of head-butting about said ethics. Why not let the government be a useful facilitator and administrator of shared ideals?
ReplyDeleteOur current America is so different from the days of Adam Smiths era. However some things remain the same and some have changed. One ideal that I feel is constant is that America wealth is in our workforce, not the currency it posses. However since we see a diminished workforce we see diminished wealth and morale. Today we work so hard for so little. The world war 2 generation where it was possible to own the amercian dream with ah high school diploma has sailed long ago. Today the Amercian dream is different its less dream for a higher price.
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