[Gareth321]

We don't want anti-capitalist reforms. Perhaps reforms like those we use in Denmark would make sense? We're ranked higher than the U.S. in ease of business. We love capitalism here. But we also have high taxes, universal healthcare, and great social safety nets. It allows us to lean into the great parts of capitalism while also protecting those for whom capitalism isn't working so well. It's a great compromise without having to go full starvation and gulags, which would be worse than what we have now.

[godelski]

  > we also have high taxes

In plenty of places in the US we have high taxes and none of those things. Since it's HN I'll mention San Jose has some of the hardest water I've seen in any city and I've seen glass on the street for 6 mo before being cleaned up. I can't figure out where the taxes are actually going. Other states I've lived in I've even paid less and gotten way more.

I don't think people mind paying taxes, but it's when your taxes don't clearly benefit you that people get upset.

Honestly it seems to me like one party just wants to shift all costs to the poor (rather than the government) and the other wants to be the king of Nottingham. It's no surprise our citizens are feeling defeated. The choices appear to constantly be the lesser of two (geriatric) evils. Not choices between reasonable leaders, but with different beliefs

[Gareth321]

It really does seem like the U.S. gets the worst of both worlds: high taxes (well, not quite as high as Europe), and poor social services. Even worse: despite all this tax revenue and poor social services, the nation is borrowing trillions more every year. Where is it all going?? I suspect there is a lot of fraud baked into the structure of the system, and this makes the governance layer very resistant to change. I've seen many attempts to move to proportional representation over the decades and both major parties rise up to quash such attempts with fury.

I hope you guys find a better way forward. I have affinity for your people and culture and I think most of you have big hearts and mean well.

[godelski]

Don't forget that your governments can help too. The US isn't the only country with Epstein files to be released.

[topaz0]

I don't know what starvation and gulags have to do with anti-capitalist reform. In this country (the USA), capitalism is what produces gulags and starvation.

[Gareth321]

On the contrary. The U.S. has so much food that 72% of Americans are fat. There is simply too much tasty food available. This happened in a very short space of time, historically speaking, thanks to capitalism. As for gulags, one would need to use a very cynical definition to believe that. Especially when we have real gulags around the world today.

I imply that the alternative to capitalism is starvation an gulags because that is roughly what happened the last 37 or so times humanity tried something else. That's just from the last century. Capitalism isn't perfect, but it's infinitely better than everything else.

[topaz0]

My man, you suffer from capitalist realism. I don't think I can help you.