• hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip
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    4 days ago

    I’d rather pay half my income in tax to ensure everyone, including my family, the basic dignity and survival of food, housing, education and medical care.

      • hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip
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        4 days ago

        That would be on the electorate voting for that. In a socialist democratic government, the electorate has the power to recall officials anytime with a vote, for unsatisfactory performance and wastefulness. Any fraud, waste and abuse (which currently was estimated at around $135 billion dollars, out of a total budget of $7.1 trillion dollars), accounts for 1.9% of the national budget.

        The top two in vulnerability to waste are Medicare and Medicaid, of which a significant portion is payments made to fraudulent payees. The DoD is right up there too, in terms of waste.

        It’s VERY hyperbolic to say government programs are incredibly wasteful. 1.9% waste out of the national budget is pretty impressive. Still, there is room for improvement, but if citizens don’t have access to direct democratic process, versus a corrupt Republican capitalist system, change is an uphill battle.

        • panthera_@lemmy.today
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          3 days ago

          The government is wasteful because it has no competition. Consequently, workers might be overpaid or more than necessary. In contrast, private companies compete with other companies, so they have to be efficient. Of course, government programs are necessary, just be careful that they are truly needed.

          • hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip
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            3 days ago

            We live in the age of AI. Government workers that do menial tasks can be replaced. The governments primary job in a socialist society is to ensure everyone has basic needs met. Various levels of nationalization can exist run by workers. With technology, government programs can run leaner and more efficient than ever, and ensuring that the maximum amount of dollars reach beneficiaries with little to no waste, and much lower overhead cost.

            • panthera_@lemmy.today
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              3 days ago

              Without competition, the government might not attempt to use AI. Private companies try AI when they think it will give a competitive edge. Workers might own a company but can’t run it. Stockholders own part of a company but don’t run it.

              • hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip
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                2 days ago

                There is no need for competition in a socialist society. You’re trying to view this through a capitalist lens. Socialism isn’t capitalism. People still need and demand goods in a socialist system, and production is driven by this demand. The difference is there is no bourgeois or elite class profiting from the surplus value of goods or services workers produce.

                • panthera_@lemmy.today
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                  2 days ago

                  Without competition how will wages and prices be determined? Demand is sometimes created. What would be the motivation for inventing something if there is no profit?

                  • hoppeduponcoffee@lemmy.zip
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                    21 hours ago

                    The incentive is created through public funding approved by the body of the electorate. People can still make money in a socialist system and it can be used to creative incentives. Instead of that funding given to those who are simply looking to maximize their profits to maintain social and material position, it’s given to those who hold collective concerns in mind. Like prioritizing funding of alternatives to fossils fuels and animal agriculture, versus capitalists who only want to profit at the expense of overall suffering and deterioration of the planet.

                    When you only reward people’s greed and shallow materialistic desires, it’s a detriment to humanity overall. People prioritize their selfishs interest over the good of the collective. Capitalism is the modus operandi of spoiled adult children who hate doing the right thing and tantrum when they’re denied instant gratification from their favorite toys.