
Capitalism Needs to Be Reformed: Ray Dalio - EGreg
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-how-capitalism-needs-reformed-parts-1-2-ray-dalio
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solidsnack9000
It's interesting how Dalio highlights systemic issues, and makes some
proposals for tax legislation, but seems to be willing to take a non-
governmental approach to getting change to happen. For example, the work of
the Dalio foundation that he highlights in the latter part of the article.
Public/private partnership is a big part of is message.

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paulddraper
> I believe that all good things taken to an extreme can be self-destructive
> and that everything must evolve or die. This is now true for capitalism.

Wait....is the author asserting that capitalism at an _extreme_?

* On average, Americans pay 24% of their income in taxes. [1]

* The top 1% of U.S. taxpayers pay over a third of the federal income tax. [2]

* 19% of Americans are currently on Social Security, a UBI-like program that almost all receive at some time. [3]

* The U.S. provides 13 years of free public schooling, which accounts for the vast majority of all primary and secondary schooling. [4]

* The U.S. food assistance program SNAP feeds 15% of the population. [5]

* In total, government spending is _38%_ of the GDP. [6]

The United States seems to be rather firmly a mixed economy, not an extremely
capitalistic one.

[1] [https://www.fool.com/taxes/2018/04/22/how-much-does-the-
aver...](https://www.fool.com/taxes/2018/04/22/how-much-does-the-average-
american-pay-in-taxes.aspx)

[2] [https://taxfoundation.org/summary-latest-federal-income-
tax-...](https://taxfoundation.org/summary-latest-federal-income-tax-
data-2018-update/)

[3] [https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/policy-
basics-...](https://www.cbpp.org/research/social-security/policy-basics-top-
ten-facts-about-social-security)

[4]
[https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=55](https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=55)

[5]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assista...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_Nutrition_Assistance_Program)

[6] [https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/government-
spendi...](https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/government-spending-to-
gdp)

~~~
solidsnack9000
It may be we are in a place not of extreme market freedom, but of extreme
returns to capital. This looks like too much regulation and too much
capitalism, at the same time.

~~~
paulddraper
Sure. Which makes it mixed, not extremely capitalistic.

If I understand we you are saying, the U.S. needs both more capitalism and
less capitalism.

