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CV Diary, Part 10: I can see clearly now

5/3/2020

8 Comments

 
Ya know how people will post a meme that you are supposed to stare at for a minute before the secret image materializes? Isolation works the same way. After a while, our perspectives can become clearer…
 
The Limits of Capitalism

 
Capitalism is a great system, but it has its limits, and the current pandemic has exposed every one of them. Will we give this any thought or will we just continue the mindless “capitalism/socialism” mantras that make us sound much dumber than we realize?
 
I like capitalism. It’s been a very good system for me, both as a worker and as an investor. But I also recognize that capitalism is not patriotic and it certainly isn’t conservative, and free markets aren’t the answer to every conceivable question.
 
For instance, companies focused on profitability and repeat sales will emphasize disposable products, rather than reusable ones, with can make shortages of masks or gloves or respirators more challenging. The emphasis on efficiency and profitability leads to zero slack in the supply chain, which makes it harder to adjust to any disruptions anywhere. And, need I mention the profit-driven displacement of U.S. manufacturing to lower-cost centers like China?
 
Of course, every capitalist becomes a socialist when survival is at stake. We’re bailing out the nation’s airlines for a third time in two decades, after they spent almost all of their excess cash on dividends and share repurchases at the expense of debt reduction. Congress imposed stiffer terms this time than in 2010, which is progress of a sort. Still, the same people who are calling for help now will be insisting that government butt out of the free-market system two years hence. Unless there’s another meltdown, in which case they’ll be back for another handout and screaming that any limitations imposed by the government are “socialism.”
 
Maybe Universal Health Care isn’t such a bad idea
 
It might turn out that employment-based health insurance is a really stupid idea. First, it creates a major cost differential for U.S. companies that pay for employee health care versus firms in countries that have universal care. Second, it disappears when people lose their jobs, which multiplies their economic risks. I’ve never been a big proponent of universal health care, but I’m waffling on it a lot more than in the past.
 
Ditto for paid sick days, which used to be the norm for employees, before everyone became a contract worker. It seems our business masterminds have outsmarted themselves by giving employees an incentive to work while sick, spread disease, and force essential businesses to close. Clever.
 
Mainstream Media aren’t so lame after all
 
We need the traditional news media much more than we recognize. It’s almost de rigueur to talk about left-wing media conspiracies and unfair coverage, but the fact is that the mainstream press has been doing a solid job.
 
People accuse them of being unfair and biased when the media criticize their favorite politicians, but they do tend to be similarly “unfair and biased” about everyone. They’ve been the source of the most credible information about the virus and the most balanced insights about everything else. Compare that to the “news” sites where everything is the fault of X and THEY are all conspiring against Y. No contest.
 
While the cable outlets are all politics all the time, the mainstream media cover pretty much everything like they always did. You wouldn’t know it from watching most cable news, but there are actually some people in this country who are helping each other out, donating to charities and finding no need to protest, accuse, blame or destroy. There are stories that don’t involve politics, but you’ll only find them in your lamestream media.
 
Of course, you can’t depend on the media to report on developments at Dad Writes. Nope, the best way to keep up on our deep thoughts and shallow personalities is to become a subscriber by clicking here.
 

 
 

8 Comments
Howard Lifshitz
5/3/2020 11:06:30 am

So right on target. Time for us to check our own biases and positions. If enough of us do, this might be a positive consequence of the virus-time.

Reply
Dad Writes
5/3/2020 03:33:25 pm

I'm not seeing a ton of evidence so far, but maybe if we all clap our hands together...

Reply
Larry Clark
5/3/2020 12:03:47 pm

It seems like some of the yearning for capitalism is for a system long gone, and which never anticipated the way stocks and ownership operate today.

Archie Bunker's famous “Let me tell you something about beer: You can never buy beer, you can only rent it” seems to apply to the current state of the market.

Regarding health care, this dates back to 2008, but is worth a look:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/sickaroundtheworld/

For a summary of the countries T.R. Reid looked at:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/sickaroundtheworld/countries/

Reply
Dad Writes
5/3/2020 03:36:32 pm

Yes, there was a time when most people tempered their love of capitalism with their love of other people. Now, people talk about free markets as if they, or anything else, can exist in a vacuum.

Reply
STEVEN THOMAS
5/3/2020 12:04:52 pm

The only thing you left out was abortion...

Unbridled capitalism (not rooted in ethics) is evil...it seeks to plunder short term at the expense of everything except financial benefit.

We have only to look at other nations that have Universal Health Care to see its benefits. People in the UK or people in Canada that have it come to the United States when they really, really need Specialized Care.

It's unfortunate, but we just have to realize that the media is politicized.

Reply
Dad Writes
5/3/2020 03:47:13 pm

Taking the last comment first, we'll need to define what we mean by "media." Rush and Sean talk about "the media" as if they aren't a part of it. Ditto for all kinds of online "news sources." I was a reporter for several years and it's my impression that the media is not really more or less political than before, but discussion of media has, indeed, become more politicized. Most pronounced has been the claim of a left-wing media conspiracy, which is promulgated for profit by members of the right-wing media. The strategy has been effective in terms of ratings and revenue, but it has damaged our social contract. IMO.

Finally, not sure what I was supposed to say about abortion, but send me an email with your recommendation.

Thanks.

Regarding medicine, rich people can always obtain the best treatment wherever and whenever they want. Poor people cannot come here to get high-priced specialists to treat them, because they cannot afford it. Poor people here cannot get anyone to treat them, in many cases, because they cannot afford it either. This is an example of placing capitalist principles ahead of morality.

Reply
David Brimm
5/3/2020 12:15:37 pm

Very well done Michael.

Reply
Dad Writes
5/3/2020 03:47:53 pm

Thanks.

Reply



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