Confronting Capitalism: Real Solutions for a Troubled Economic System
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Confronting Capitalism: Real Solutions for a Troubled Economic System
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I hesitate to review this book because the author believes that federal taxes actually provide revenue that the federal government uses to fund its spending. While taxes may be useful for leveling out income inequalities, he consistantly refers to taxes as federal income rather than as the drain in the money supply as they really are. That conventional view of taxes taints my trust in the rest if the book, even though I think he makes excellent and clearly explained points.
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Unlike our founding fathers whose ideals for our nation’s growth were through democratic principles, hard work, decency and fairness in business and the marketplace, today’s foundering fathers led Americans, particularly the poor and middle class, over an indecent financial brink.
According to Confronting Capitalism, lenders encouraged individuals to borrow outrageous sums to build mansion-like homes, or to start new businesses on unsound practices, knowing full well that in all probability, they would default. And they did!, The bubble burst. A domino effect of the Great Recession (2008-2011) rippled across America and other countries where capitalism, in one form or another, undergirded economic policies.
Out of the ruins, more than ever, people needed employment. Author Philip Kotler in Confronting Capitalism explains how failed businesses yanked uncountable numbers off job payrolls. Seemingly, the great divide between the “haves” and “have-nots” increased exponentially: the rich grew even wealthier, the middle class slipped backward and the poor grew destitute. At the same time, computers and automation sucked up many hands-on jobs. Desperate unhappy jobless people cried out for new leadership—America had lost its soul.
To make matters worse, as individuals and entire nations were attempting to avoid bankruptcy, scientists were loudly exposing the blatant, maybe even irreversible, harm done to the environment by exploitation of natural resources and uncontrolled damage to its protective ozone layer. The “good life” had quickly morphed into the “grim life.”
In Confronting Capitalism, Author Philip Kotler not only lists fourteen serious faults of capitalism but he also discusses down to earth solutions so that ALL might pursue happiness through financial well-being. For sure, good leaders were needed to return decency to the world. The Obama administration took a huge step in this direction by preventing the collapse of the American economy (150); almost alone, he confronted naysayers by bailing out General Motors, Fannie and Freddie Mac, and AIG.
In one of Kotler’s solutions, Confronting Capitalism proposes several plans for insuring that workers earn a basic income (72) or a minimum wage sufficient to live on. He suggests that rather than pay for food stamps, unemployment benefits and welfare services, the government could publicly finance jobs: to repair the nation’s infrastructure, to take care of a thinning but aging population, to work on projects to repair a fracturing environment, to teach out-of-workers skills to refit them for higher level jobs.
He proposes that workers take part in running the companies that employ them. He suggests influencing them to purchase stock and/or shares in that company. He goes so far as suggesting that the government provide every citizen with a minimum income to make sure that no person would go hungry. With a guaranteed income, persons would be free to shop around for a job they liked—better still, they would be free to start their own enterprise.
Confronting Capitalism is an excellent book because it sends this very clear message to workers, bankers, industrialists, CEOs, politicians and presidents. IF America is to reclaim its former global glory, leaders must infuse heart into the capitalism begun by our founding fathers. It is not sufficient for a CEO to snatch the highest salary or for a business to boast the largest profit, unless they have used bona fide initiatives to reach this plateau pulling its workers with them. Kotler feels that all is not hopeless but change is, indeed, needed but difficult. Once aware of what can be done, his book will make each reader aware of how s/he can do their part to put heart back into the American dream.
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Our economy is failing. We have gone from a society based on manufacturing, production, and technology to one dependent on
maintaining consumer consumption and growing consumer debt. Where banks and a select few are designated "to big to fail"
while ordinary taxpayers can barely pay their bills, amid declining real wages and smal business struggle to keep their doors open.
Meanwhile, the US Government continues to follow wrongheaded economic policies which benefits the top one percent.
This recent aberration known as "Corporate Capitalism" has lead to a near collapse of our economy, the "Great Recession",
increased poverty, wittle new job growth, and a decline of the middle class and the "American Dream". The one question on everyone's
mind is "what can we do?"
Dr. Philip Kotler has accurately described in everyday language what went wrong and what can do as nation and a local economy about it.
"Confronting Capitalism" is just the book to provide a clear explaination of our economic strenghts and weaknesses, and how to get
America back on track. This book is for anyone interested in a common sense approach to understanding and correcting our economic
malaise and what we can do to return America to its preeminence...while there's still time.
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