The Application, Not the Idea

        While clickbait articles are a terrible scourge and must be destroyed for the good of mankind, they sometimes do offer a valuable look into the zeitgeist. I am sure most have heard news reports or seen headlines espousing some other market millennials have ruined. It has slowly evolved over the past few years to further encompass a disdain for capitalism in general. The flaws of the articles, lack of understanding of economics, and seemingly willful ignorance of inflation and wage stagnation aside, I do not agree the younger generations have a disdain for capitalism. But rather, it is the application of capitalistic principles to various markets and services that we do not agree with.
        I often begin my arguments with a test, to understand whether or not a person actually believes what they say, or simply has not thought of a better way to explain their idea. My first question here is “do you have a problem with walking to a store and buying a candy bar?” It is not a question about a candy bar, nor the store, nor the walking, nor the price, nor the production methods. It is a question about the buying itself. Logically answering the question, one would say they do not have a problem. This answer means they do not dislike capitalism, nor do they have a problem with it. Capitalism makes sense as an economic method. Assigning value to products and services, allowing governments to back that value and transfer the meaning of value into a currency, and allow groups and individuals to work for and accumulate the currency to further gain those products and services. As far as an economic system goes, it works quite well.
        Questioning further, it becomes clear what the issues actually are. The application of capitalistic principles to systems we do not think should be monetized, and the continued lopsided advantages within the system.
        The clearest example of the wrongful application is the healthcare system. While the insurance market itself is a nightmare, the most important factor is the cost. The United States spends roughly 18% of its GDP on healthcare costs, the average expenditure for the rest of countries is 11%. Keep in mind, this is a yearly expenditure where the government does not pick up any of the tab. Procedures such as birth, cancer treatment, insulin, and even COVID, all have drastically uneven charges in the US, varying from state to state and insurance to insurance. We simply do not think a profit motive should be the primary driving force behind the providing of an essential service, like healthcare. Even the Supreme Court fundamentally understood healthcare is different from other kinds of insurance, eventually, everyone will use it. This was the basis for their decision on the ACA. It is simply following through on the promises of equality and opportunity in the United States, if you get sick, cost should be the last thing on anyone’s mind. Health is not just for the rich, but for all.
        The same attitude can be applied to the continued advantages provided by a system for the rich while leaving the poor behind. This is not simply a millennial talking point, it is encoded in our very laws. The two most recent big actions from the federal government were the Tax Cuts and Jobs (“TCJA”) Act of 2019, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act of 2020. In the TCJA, the plan cut the corporate tax rate by 14%, and individual tax rates by about 2%. Tax rates for individuals and families are set to expire in 2025, corporate rates are permanent. The standard deduction was doubled for personal taxes, but state deductions, housing debt leveraged against income were limited. Meanwhile, the estate tax was changed to only kick in at $22 million, up from $11 million. Corporate deductions were increased by large amounts, the corporate minimum tax was repealed completely, and all tax cuts were permanent. These complaints are not ideological or theoretical, they are in our tax code. This is the source of our distress, we as a society are actively choosing to focus on corporate welfare first, and then hoping some benefit comes down to citizens.
        We do not hate capitalism, we do not hate money, and we do not want handouts. We want to reallocate our funds to different programs and readjust our priorities to focus on directly helping the people, rather than through secondary means. Capitalism is a tool, and we are not using it correctly. In a democracy, we are supposed to abide by majority rule. The system should serve who has the most votes, not the most dollars.

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