mirandelion
Robert ReichI refuse to accept an economic system in which school teachers pay a higher tax rate than billionaire investors.
scrambled1839@rbreich I wish I had an option but unfortunately billionaires will always cheat the system. (They wouldn’t be a billionair if they followed the rules)
C F@rbreich This school teacher agrees 🤯
Paige B (she/her)@ChristineBK @rbreich this teacher also agrees.
rutger1969 
@rbreich Why do you (ppl) support your system?
Jane Ayers
Christine 🏳️⚧️🦋
Ω 🌍 Gus Posey@rbreich
As a teacher, let me tell you that a lot of those larger structures (pay, benefits, career trajectories, etc.) loom like plagues when one compares their efforts to their rewards.
Steve Barajas@rbreich Me too and my wife is a teacher!
NowWhat?@rbreich Yet, here we are?
Bc Clarity Carlton-Martin
Emma@rbreich This teacher couldn’t agree more. 😳
Glenn H.@rbreich What's the next step in economic systems? What replaces our hybrid-capitalistic-social system as an improvement?
TVanhoof (hij/hem)(he/him)@glennhiggins @rbreich
If we could "just" get rid of the #hypercapitalist #neoliberal excesses for starters and then quickly transform the worldwide #economy into #regenerative #DoughnutEconomics with sufficiency for all, within planetary boundaries, humanity and the planet would be so much better off!! Let's start with terminating tax loopholes, off-shore tax havens and financial products without benefits for the real economy and move on from there. A dream 2b made true!
If we could "just" get rid of the #hypercapitalist #neoliberal excesses for starters and then quickly transform the worldwide #economy into #regenerative #DoughnutEconomics with sufficiency for all, within planetary boundaries, humanity and the planet would be so much better off!! Let's start with terminating tax loopholes, off-shore tax havens and financial products without benefits for the real economy and move on from there. A dream 2b made true!
ScreamName (He/Him)@rbreich wait, are you done with capitalism?
hwebb@rbreich "The rich will invest the money, which will create jobs."
That lie has had traction since the 1980s, if not earlier. It's part of what keeps middle- and working-class people voting against their own interests.
Jan Antoš@janantos It shouldn't be so hard to find a healthy balance, but it seems that corruption is woven into both of our systems.
@hwebb you don’t understand it, it is not about balance, it’s about people, and those who goes to the power all the times think just about them, never mind what system is it. Power and money destroys humanity ;-) however believe me, capitalism at least does not imprison and death punish its opponents.
@janantos US capitalism is responsible for massive amounts of suffering and death. Maybe something else we have in common is that our systems are dominated by oligarchs (getting back to Robert Reich's original point).
@hwebb but no one has been sentenced to death as in my country, you know there has been lack of toilet paper and queues for meat in 80s. While communist party high members were eating caviar. Waiting time for car has been several years. However so am glad for European system of capitalism.
@janantos I agree with you, but please understand that while "it could be worse" is truthful, it is also dismissive.
💠 Dave No One 💠
Tyler Wasson@rbreich B uT ThE bILlIoNAIreS CrEaTe JoBs
AshevillewithGrace
MoffettGalactic@rbreich hell yeah!
Marc P Beauchamp@rbreich we may need to consider marching on the Bastille?
CGdoppelpunktI refuse billionaires.
PoeticLicenseDK@rbreich
@[email protected]
@[email protected]
Sirs, I wish you would give this plan your full consideration. My 92 year old father asked me to check this article to see whether I could find any holes in it. I challenge any of you to poke holes in the argument.
Overview of the Economic Democracy Act | Center for Economic & Social Justice https://www.cesj.org/learn/economic-democracy-act/overview/
KFair@rbreich …you forgot that they pay higher taxes AND pay for all the school supplies for their students out of their own pocketbooks. #truestory
✨Jes ✨
SocialistStan@rbreich Asking that everyone be taxed the same is just seeking equality in oppression, we should be asking that the government take less from people not more.
But as long as they're taking stuff they should target the billionaires and leave normal people alone.
Ukraine Will WinIsn't the idea of "limited government" really just a perpetuation of the inequalities that exist in society?
This is a common "libertarian" tactic, espouse "limited government" except for building a wall on the border, or funding the military. No limitations there, its just things like health care where they want "limited government."
I know you're not actually a libertarian, but IMO contemporary libertarianism is a fraud perpetuated by the rich to impose inequality.
@UkraineWillWin @rbreich Libertarian capitalist ideas of limited government are functionally just feudalism, the rich playing the roll of the state.
@UkraineWillWin @rbreich Under libertarian socialism however the 'state' is the people, its functions are carried out by the people as a horizontal structure.
@UkraineWillWin @rbreich It's interesting to think of how a libertarian socialist 'state' would interact with the rest of the world. In Rojava where a lot of these ideas have been implemented they have a figurehead legislature with no real power because that's what other countries expect to be able to interact with.
There are no examples of "libertarian socialist" governments, so I'm not sure how you can state what their roles are. Their roles don't exist yet!
You can envision a role, but since we're both socialists, its a long way from Marx and Engels to the October Revolution, and the implementation details would not even be recognized by Marx or Engels.
But don't you think a PRIMARY role of government should be to provide equal health care to ALL its citizens?
@UkraineWillWin @rbreich Equal healthcare should be a primary concern of society, whichever form it takes. There have been examples of societies that could be called 'libertarian socialist', Rojava is a good current example.
Meh, anything can be a primary "concern." Being "concerned" doesn't provide health care though.
Health care can ONLY be delivered by either a socialist or capitalist system, and both are EXTREMELY expensive. The capitalist system imposes inequalities and costs more, while the socialist system tries to eliminate the inequalities but sometimes lacks entrepreneurs to improve it.
@UkraineWillWin @rbreich I think the idea that socialism lacks entrepreneurs is overstated, it's in human nature to want to improve things.
The truth is even under capitalism most entrepreneurs are themselves exploited by the capitalist class, under socialism they would be freer to implement their ideas without having to turn everything into a profit making machine for some VC.
I don't agree that "human nature" wants to always improve things. Sometimes humans do want to improve things for non-monetary reasons, and other times humans want to improve things purely for money. But many other times, the status quo is the desired state.
However, I agree the capitalist system exploits the entrepreneurs. Elon Musk is a great example, born white and rich under an Apartheid government he just buys things actual entrepreneurs created.
Koray Karatay (MD,Scifi maker)@rbreich You don't become billionaire with avoiding tax bud.
Billy Boola@rbreich Welcome to Earth 😀
Robin from Colorado 🇺🇸🇺🇦@rbreich it’s morally wrong that we build the infrastructure and services that they exploit for profit.
Shaya@rbreich agree completely!
@rbreich Thanks! I am a Speech Therapist who works in public schools. Both of my kids make more than I do. with 30 years of experience and 2 Master’s degrees. They are in their early 30s. #NEA #PublicEducation
@rbreich Thanks for supporting educators
Marketing Genius@rbreich it’s called capitalism.
RadicalWoman111@rbreich
We need Elizabeth Warren as Senate Majority Leader. Manchin needs his chairmanship of the Senate Energy Committee stripped. He's corrupt.
We need Elizabeth Warren as Senate Majority Leader. Manchin needs his chairmanship of the Senate Energy Committee stripped. He's corrupt.
Kurtis M.@rbreich this teacher is sick of it. Every year we are given more duties, more expectations, but no increase in compensation. I don't want to be a billionaire; I'd just like to be able to reliably provide for my family. I feel I'd have much more focus and motivation in the classroom if the stress of affording basic needs wasn't looking over me every week. I care for my students, but I love my own kids more.
SCY@rbreich I understand the sentiment but teachers (and everyone else) pay the same tax rate on investments
Yugoboy@rbreich Amen, brother.
Until billionaires are taxed into not billionaires, they will continue to be bad for democracy and existential dangers to each and every one of us.
Until billionaires are taxed into not billionaires, they will continue to be bad for democracy and existential dangers to each and every one of us.
Accretor@rbreich Tax rates are the result of public policy not economic systems. Capitalism is still capitalism whether you have flat tax, progressive tax, or no tax. They're two different subjects. But, yes, they are both messed up.
@rbreich Hi I read your book supercapitalism and in my mind get stuck the duality citizen/investor now what would be the equivalent in a supersocialism? I hypothesize that in the other part of the spectrum, the duality will be Citizen/welfare recipient.
contumacious
ydna 🍻@rbreich Just stop taxing income from teaching?
Ceagn@rbreich what are you going to do?
Mark Douglas@rbreich Boston Tea Party II