Numbers change but common sense is forever. I love capitalism. Specifically, because it's so much about the numbers. Very quantifiable. But like the stock market is heavily dependent on the moods of its investors, so is progress dependent on people following common sense.
Poor people and the middle class need more capital. They, we, spend to survive. On needs which are ultimately the businesses of the wealthy. Food, shelter, water. This is a predictable and stable means of capital redistribution. Just focusing on the rich is just trusting the rich to focus on philanthropy, etc.. to save us and this proves an unpredictable and volatile means of capital redistribution. Government does not have a choice but to take care of its people as that is its mission. And the peoples power is in their vote and their involvement.
The rich have a choice. They may spend for philanthropy but you take away any incentive they have tax wise to do so and I think it'd be a safe bet that you'd see their philanthropy dry up. It's volatile because the rich will spend in areas they care about so not all people will benefit in some way, just a few in a big way. And the wealthy, beyond their philanthropy, spend their money where they congregate. This is townships and locations where other rich people live and work. This doesn't help those who live in outlying areas that do not or cannot live or work in those areas.
Some mention faith-based initiatives but they focus on their pet groups or projects. I've heard of people needing help and asked their local churches for help but because they were not part of that church group they was denied. This is all so highly volatile and mood driven. We already have a market for stock, now we need stock in our people. Once the poor have greater capital they can spend on food, etc.. It'll incentivize those who want to become rich to create businesses to feed, etc.. these masses. The 99 percent, as it were.
One may argue that they'll spend it on alcohol or other vices, so even if a percent spend on alcohol, etc.. when the rich spend their money on harder illegal and expensive substances such as heroin and the poor only have money for alcohol (again, one is legal and one is not)-- whose to say the rich are free to access such vices relative to the poor? It comes down to choice but choice is unpredictable. It needs to come down to common sense by covering your base. Which is as a plant grows, you drop the seedlings and the economy is upward bound.
Former President Ronald Reagan himself said, "trust but verify." We must trust those with economic means to do good works but we must verify through some means. How do we do this? We tax proportionately to economic impact. Those of greater economic impact are taxed at a higher rate. We can do this without creating new taxes. We can change the tax system to decrease taxes for the poor/middle class and close tax loopholes. However, I also agree that we need to give breaks to those who invest in California. That includes property and jobs.
And along with, we can have social programs to protect us when we are down and still have the most powerful capitalist state. I dont want to see people hungry or without proper medical care... neither do you. So we must cooperate. The animal world is all about survival of the fittest but the most evolved societies have learned or must learn that it is about survival of the greater good-- that is, cooperation. A cooperative environment yields not solely economic equality but equality to our basic needs like food and health care. We must take care of eachother, to together succeed on a planet with limited resources. Because ultimately capitalism is nothing without its most core element: human capital.
