Economy steals from poor, gives to rich

Editor,

Every American has been affected by the social and political economy, particularly in recent years. We have all watched the recession unfold right before our eyes among ourselves and among our brothers and sisters.

What is not well-known is how the planners of our American economy have actually allocated our resources to themselves and to their friends. The American capitalist system is so dependent on the power brokers in Washington and Wall Street that they are able to inflate the system — only to maximize their own profits — eventually leading to a bubble pop.  

This process coincides with the vast majority of Americans standing by as simplistic, pathetic consumers — as apparently we are thought of in Washington — as we are negated in most political conversations.  

Furthermore, in the midst of all the malaise, some have questioned the very foundation on which free markets are constructed. Therefore, one must ask: Does socialism have relevance today? More importantly, has capitalism put itself beyond the assessments of socialism?

The capital system generated from the industrial revolution and 19th century imperialism is very often argued as the best way for free enterprise, a free mind and a free spirit to persist. But when one looks more closely and bears witness to what has happened, and is happening in real life, one concludes that this is not true. If one looks at the economy in which we actually live by lifting a newspaper, we see that the current state of affairs is unsustainable.  

Our states have paid testimony as resource allocations have been uncovered by a coincidental recession. For instance, New Mexican school children are currently starving during the summer due to lack of school lunches provided in the fall and spring semesters.

Look at the people in Washington living in the doorways of high-rise buildings and eating out of dumpsters.

See people in Michigan worry about the climate as a matter of political economy or Californians building tent communities as home foreclosures persist.  

And all this as New York has constructed a mass redistribution of paper resources from the poor to rich for the production of absolutely nothing; one comes to understand that capitalism and all of the progress it has made in production and distribution must be transcended and eventually replaced with more democratic institutions and local governing empowerments.  

Because, contrary to popular belief, we the people actually have stakes in our own lives. It seems that democracy in production is the only answer to our ailing economy. Companies that practice democratic principles at all levels of production and distribution can have definite positive returns.

Jose Flores
UNM student