Lesson #27 - Clashing Views on the Economy

Adam Smith:
I think that the government bailout of the Auto Industry is a disgrace. These people have been running their businesses poorly and have not been following the law of supply and demand. In other words, they have not been making enough goods at a low price to meet demand and make profit out of the income. It is not the right of the government to chip in on this and help the failing Auto Industry. These companies should let the "invisible hand" guide them and they should fail so that more efficient companies can take their place. If they have these bailouts, they will continue to work at a loss and this will go on forever.

- Zach

The world today, needs a sense of direction and stability. All this could be achieved with Communism. Our economy would be secured, and everyone would have a job with the same amount of pay. And if we were all Communists, there would be no war, no unfair government. No classes or poverty, and no jealousy or unfairness. IF everyone committed to communism today, we would have no problems.

Karl Marx

What Would Karl Marx Do??? Sarah Etzold

Hi there I’m Karl Marx and if you were smart and used my system of government there would be jobs for everyone. The whole unemployment problem would be solved and everyone would at least be receiving some amount of pay. Communism is the way to go cause for once it’s named after me and all people would be literally created equal. Everyone would be the same. No jealousy, no one’s richer then the person next to them and no social classes. Equality is the way to go!

I, David Ricardo, disagree with American President George W. Bush for issuing the Stimulus Act of 2008. George W. Bush believed the Stimulus Act of 2008 would stimulate the economy by sending out checks to lower class American citizens. The lower class in America will always live in poverty. The government will never control the wealth of the lower class by giving each individual person $300. This will only lead to inflation. Lower class Americans should compete for jobs to root out ineffective workers. Also, I recommend that President George W. Bush should nullify minimum wage laws so more people could have jobs even if they are not receiving a minimum salary. If my recommendations take effect, the price of goods will decrease.

I, Adam Smith feel that the United States has been having too much government interference. The government thinks that having the government be involved in businesses and what they can and cannot do will help the economy. The government has become a lot more involved in peoples personal lives. I do not agree with this because I believe that government should not interfere. That the less government you have the better the economy will become. While the U.S. government thinks that the more government you have the better the economy will be.

Adam Smith

America finds itself in the middle of very challenging economic times. President Obama and his ilk are proposing a vast array of bailouts, mortgage protection, social incentives, and subsidies in an attempt to engineer a recovery with no pain. While there may be some appeal to this nigh eve delusion, what is really needed is the courage to maintain absolute free market principles and to let them run their course.

If banks fail, they should fail. If borrowers lose their homes, the market demands foreclosure. As we produce less and less due to the high costs of production in America, how can we lobby for an increased minimum wage and expect to compete? America should face the music now and endure the social fallout of a society without government interference, secure in the faith that over time the economy will reorganize and reshape society the way it’s meant to be, as if by magic.

Ben W with Karl Marx

Today society has become to accustomed to the labor of everyday life. Too use to what they have and not what everyone needs. The governments of today only hold power because the people hold no wish to govern themselves. Capitalism could change society for the best but only if the people are able to adapt to themselves and to the true equality.

I.Karl Marx, am not pleased at all with the economy today. there are so many problems with this capitalism system. one problem seems to be the gas prices, theyre all over the place, constantly going up. My advice is to make the wealthy people pay more for the gas, and the lower class should pay less. This is what would happen if the people of today followed my system, marxism, which has no flaws. Everyone needs to live equally, in my opinion, therefore there will be less problems in society.

-Amanda Magistad

I, Adam Smith, declare the state America is currently in to be absurd! The economic downfall of early 2008 could easily have been prevented had the government not interfered. Free markets need to be utilized as much as possible, and governments wanting too much control over the economy will only result in disaster. Furthermore, American citizens need to divide the labor of their country more equally among themselves, thus spreading the work, skills, and wealth throughout America. The United States government must for once take the back seat if we are to fix the current economic crisis.

Signed,
Adam Smith
(alias Hannah Myers)

I, David Ricardo, believe that the United States is on the wrong path towards improving their economic system. Capitalism is the best alternative to increasing profit and helping the economy back onto its feet. With the current national debt, what the United States needs to most is profit. First off, a free market system would be much more effective in reducing the national debt because it is the only way to make people truly competitive to make new products and, along with this, to make everyone work hard. This will cause more consumer interest and, in correlation to that, make companies have more profit. Another point is the United States' minimum wage laws. By instituting these, companies are making lower profits, which isn't helping to reduce the national debt. If no minimum wage laws were in place, then companies could be making more money, and the government and nation, in turn, would also be making more money as well. This is why my stance on economics, the stance of Capitalism, is the best alternative for the United States right now.

Hello comrades, Karl Marx (Not Mark) here, and I'm going to solve your US health care reform problem. Your solution is simple: Have everyone get themselves a job without payment, and offer free health care to EVERYONE. As long as everyone is working the same amount, this plan will work flawlessly, then everyone will reap the fruit of their labor. In addition to health care, officials should hand out food and other necessities to the people of the United States. Heed my word and auf wiedersehen.

Adam Smith writing as Adam Smith

First of all, I am pleased to know that the United States has chosen to use my ideas about economics. Capitalism is the most logical way to control the economy, and that has been shown by it's success in many countries. As I have learned the United States just pushed an enormous amount of money into the economy and to several large businesses and banks. I disagree with this strategy. In a free economy the government should not interfere. If these large businesses went into bankruptcy it would leave room for smaller companies to grow to fill their space. I believe that the trick for getting out of this poor economy is to let companies run their course and to not let the government interfere anymore.

Karl Marx – United States healthcare

I am shocked at how appalling the United State’s healthcare is. The cost is outrages and many people do not have the money to pay for it, especially the people who most need it including the poor, single parents, young people, immigrants, children and the unemployed. Even more disturbing is that people with a pre-existing medical condition are excluded from healthcare plans. Specialists who treat these conditions have high salaries drive health care costs even higher. Also, plastic surgeons get paid higher salaries than doctors treating malnourished children.
Obviously this system of self-interest and the free-market economy does not work. Wouldn’t it be better if the government controlled healthcare? All doctors would be paid the same salary keeping cost to a minimum. All people, rich or poor would have access to medical treatment. Without healthcare in the hands of the wealthy society would prosper.

I, Karl Marx, think that the United States is incredibly stupid, most notably for their capitalist system, which clearly does not work. At all. No matter what anyone says. The United States is currently facing a 9.8 percent unemployment rate. If they had followed my plan of communism, they would not be having to deal with the millions of jobless Americans who are unhappy with the government and the economy. In communism, there is no unemployment, a 0% unemployment rate. Everyone has a job; everyone is equal. It isn't necessary for people's jobs to be eliminated for money. Communism a flawless system. People in communist societies are less selfish, and don't need a $20 million paycheck while almost 10 percent of the population does not have a job! They do not have an income, but they still have expenses. It doesn't take a genius mathematician to know that they will be losing money, causing them to go into poverty. This capitalist system is flawed. How could anyone be in favour of a government and a people who allow such an unemployment rate and the poverty that goes along with it?

I, Karl Marx, believe that the current economic meltdown is a clear sign of the flaws of capitalism. This can only mean that it obviously will start a revolution once the working class realizes that they could avoid this if they switched to communism. I see the problems as being caused by the bourgeoisie being too greedy and trying to swindle the proletariat out of all of their money. Since the obvious solution is to simply have everything owned by The People, this is obviously what should be done. This would end all problems of greed and exploitation since there will be no more private ownership. Everyone would be equal, and there will be no more problems ever again.

What Would Karl Marx Do?
Issue: unemployment rate in the United States.

I am appalled that the unemployment rate in the United States is so high. Almost 10% of the population is unemployed, and that rate is rising. That is approximately 30 million people without a way to survive in this capitalist society, while the rich get richer. Just as I predicted, the capitalist economy is falling apart. The only way to solve this problem is to change the form of government to Marxism. If this is not done those 30 million people will eventually unite and start a revolt, which could be bloody. To avoid a bloody revolt, the government should immediately change from a democracy to a communistic one. Everyone will have a job and be able to help support society equally.

Karl Mark:

The new health care plan for the United States is quite the good plan. I think that the cost is equal to its benifits. It should only be for U.S. citizens though. There are many things that still have to change about the US Econonmy

WWED Karl Marx
Austin Smith

If Karl Marx were to see the conditions of the economy, he would most likely be outraged. He would be especially angry if he saw what we were paying for gas. He would believe that it is very unfair that the poor and wealthy were paying the same amount for gas. If he were to take power, and have control over the prices of gas, he would most likely make it so the poor were paying very little for gas, and the wealthy were paying a lot more for gas. So, rather than everyone paying say, $2.39 for gas, the poor may pay $1.49, and the wealthy paying $3.29. This is what Karl Marx would do if he were in the U.S.’ economic situation today.

Adam Smith

It seems to be true that banks, insurance companies, and even the government are foolishly interested in high-risk investments. Now, I can see that my three natural laws of economics are being carried out quite well, but it seems to me that businesses that went under were not interested in a free economy, but rather lining their pockets. I am a believer in competition by self-interest, but sometimes people go too far. If what you do competitively is so large of a blunder that you bring a nation down with it, you're doing it wrong.

-Colton Gerber

Karl Marx:
The United States should be a communist country because it would resolve their debt and unemployment problem. With communism the people of the U.S. would all be equal. Everyone would have a job and everyone would be taken care of if they work. There would be no poverty and no shortage of jobs.

I, Adam smith feel that the government is following Capitalism. People are working for themselves. The government is allowing people to have there own business without the government involvement. The US has better products due to this economic system. Though unemployment has gone up now, it will return to its normal state in time. With President Obama , hopefully he will be able to change the economy for the better.

As an advocate for free market capitalism, I do not believe that the current attempts to make amends are the proper path to economic stability. The bailouts and government support of various corporations serve only to allow damaged enterprises to limp along, sucking useful markets, materials, and workers to continue in their current position, stealing such resources from healthier enterprises. A free market is necessarily self-balancing, and needs no aid to stabilize.

To Whom It May Concern
My name is Adam Smith, I am a well-known English economist and I have a few tips for you. It has come to my attention that there is a leaning to the provision of free healthcare to the masses. I must advise against this. If not assisted consumers will provide themselves with their own chosen health care plans, which they will then purchase. Assisted retirement plans such as Social Security I must also advise against due to the tendency of the masses to rely on them too much. I am certain that these matters were already known to you but I thought it prudent to interject myself here.

Adam Smith

Karl Marx
Mike Herold

I fell that we should go back to communism because it would help the worlds economy because everyone is equal. It would help with the employment in this country by keeping every one in the job industry. There would be no poverty and Hunger in society.

Adam Smith- Sam Harper

Today's economic difficulties the U.S. is suffering from is caused by the government having too much control over the economy and intervening in affairs that do not regard them. The government harms the future of the economy by providing bailouts for failing corporations, allowing businesses that are poorly run to continue to exist versus dying out and letting more profitable ones to take their place.
The government is also attempting to disperse the wealth and dissolve the upper and lower class. They are doing so through taxing the wealthy at higher rates than the rest of the country, instead of a blanket tax percentage for all citizens regardless of socioeconomic position. This opposes the concept of capitalism in that one works for their own economic success, and in turn the economy becomes stronger. This in short is penalizing economic success.
Health Insurance (not "health care") is a point where the government should have no business. Health Insurance is a profit institution to protect a persons fiscal safety, in the case of a catastrophic event. This immediately raises flags if the basis of capitalism is the freedom to earn, spend, and lose money through your own actions and control. It has never been the job, or place of the government to say how, or at what cost, i am able to protect my money.

These are all examples of ways the U.S. is straying away from Capitalism, and endangering the future of the economy.

Peace,
Adam Smith

Karl Marx "If the world were to follow my political system of communism the world would never go into an economical crisis. If i were able to execute my system unemployment would stop and i would be able to reduce poverty drastically. instead of having a gap between poor and rich i could have everyone on the same level, true equality. That is a major flaw that capitlism faces.

Adam Smith

Capitalism was a smart idea to base the values of the country off of, but now it has changed much. Many of the things our government does such as health care for everyone and government taking total control, is what the country is leading to. IT was not the principles USA was created from and not the ideal way of ruling. If people all have same amount of money no matter what job they have people will work not as hard and the quality of everything will go down, which is not how smart way to save the economy. I think USA needs to think and go back to principles they were started on and not change and ruin their whole government.

The value of objects in this economy has strayed from necessity to liability. Car companies are making cars that, as gas guzzling monsters, counteract the need to conserve oil. Car companies also interfere with the economy, the wages played to the employees, if kept the same, are too great to sustain such a company in the presence of a failing economy. The benefits given to said employees are disproportionally large for the value of the given person. The Car companies will not be able to compete with foreign companies, which prioritize necessity. With no changes to the way these companies perform they will constantly be at the bottom of the economy dragging it lower and lower.

lydia wall

I, Karl Marx, see too many flaws in america's government today. People are doing things simply for their own well being and no one is doing anything for the good of the country. what else could you expect though, considering the fact that they are payed more to benefit themselves... they all like like pigs. they take other peoples things, and money, and make a profit doing it. if it was up to me, everyone would be equal and worldwide communism would be in effect.