EVERYBODY DOES BETTER WHEN EVERYBODY IS DOING BETTER!

It’s a really an easy concept. When the folks at the bottom of the income scale are doing better they buy more products from the people at the top of the income scale. Everybody wins! Contrary to popular opinion capitalism is not “trickle down”…it comes from the bottom up. It’s a ground swell. We empower workers making the least and they spend it buying the products of businesses making the most. And, a little socialism mixed in with capitalism is a good balance…it’s not the beginning of communism. We have got to get past the notion that capitalism is all good, and socialism is all bad. Each has its good points and we’d be silly not to take advantage of the best parts of both. What would the road and highway system be without a socialistic approach? The rules of the road make us all equal when we take to the highway. The rules apply to the largest trucks and the smallest cars and pedestrians. And, the system runs smoothly because of the socialistic rules that make all of us equal to each other. Capitalism wouldn’t work constructing traffic rules.

The results of the Massachusetts Senate race will be dissected for the next several months. It appears now that the voters weren’t as concerned about health care because they have universal healthcare already in Massachusetts. This, in one way of thinking, is pretty sad. We’ve got healthcare…so, we don’t care about everybody else. But, solving the healthcare dilemma is one ingredient in the formula to improving the economy. Because as new businesses are created they and their new employees will have more buying power if they don’t have to struggle with health insurance cost. The best way to insure the maximum effect for the minimum of cost would be for new businesses to be able to buy into a “not for profit” governmental healthcare insurance program.

The next way to bring about the ground swell I speak of is to increase the minimum wage. Again, employees making more money spend more money on products the lucrative businesses create. Additional, help should come in the way of major banking reform that returns commercial banks back to lending and forces them away from the trading of stocks rather than making loans. Banks have become lazy…just like they did in the 1930’s, and in the 1980’s. They’d rather take the easy road and make one big loan rather than a lot of small ones. However, the small loans are part of the ground swell that will make everybody better because everybody will be doing better. Small borrowers who borrow for small businesses and buy small products create wealth for lower wage earners and higher wage earners alike. We all need customers. That’s what a ground swell does…creates customers.

Tax policies should be directed at helping new business owners and low wage earners. And those of us who earn more need to realize we owe more, and we help ourselves when we help those at the bottom. We all are aided when roads, highways, municipal and state services are built. Big government has never been the problem. Inefficient government has been the problem and we should guard and protect our population from the excesses of inefficient government and business alike.

We’ll improve when we start working together and turn our back on greed and self interest. Truly, everybody does better when everybody is doing better!