You do know that corporate profits are literally where old people get their money, right?
Take the posterchild of capitalism as an example, the US. People over 55 own 52% of all assets, from money to homes to companies. As a group they outweigh the billionaire class about 8 to 1 by wealth (and of course most billionaires are themselves also old). That’s how retirement investments work, you live off the backs of young people who work.
Get rid of capitalism, you just get a different way to route young people’s productivity to old people. Hell, get rid of currency and it doesn’t change. Everyone’s producing food and goods, but a large share of it goes to people who are old and no longer work. The larger the share of people not working, the larger the burden on the people not working.
Unless the population is constantly growing, retirement is a burden on young people regardless of economic system.
Nothing I said related to capitalism at all as far as I can see, so you’re going to have to connect the dots for me if you want me to understand, sorry.
So productivity as measured today is only going to decrease by the amount corresponding to corporate profits? How do you figure? What is that amount - do you have an estimate?
As the other reply points out, profits are probably not what you care about anyway, because profits often just become the savings of ordinary people. So you want the proportion of profits that go to the already wealthy, plus the salaries of the mega wealthy.
But regardless, that figure is some finite number and you’re saying it’s more than the productivity we’re going to lose due to an ageing population: how do you know? Actual estimates for how much we could free up by getting rid of profits and CEOs are highly uncertain and often negative.
Corporate profits ARE old people’s retirement. Over 55s own 52% of the entire US economy. Boomers own 8 times more than billionaires. It’s similar in all western countries though perhaps not all are as bad. Billionaires are leeches but old people in general are the bigger drain on an aging society.
congrats, you’ve described capitalism
if we didn’t need to make corporate profits, communities could look after each other
You do know that corporate profits are literally where old people get their money, right?
Take the posterchild of capitalism as an example, the US. People over 55 own 52% of all assets, from money to homes to companies. As a group they outweigh the billionaire class about 8 to 1 by wealth (and of course most billionaires are themselves also old). That’s how retirement investments work, you live off the backs of young people who work.
Get rid of capitalism, you just get a different way to route young people’s productivity to old people. Hell, get rid of currency and it doesn’t change. Everyone’s producing food and goods, but a large share of it goes to people who are old and no longer work. The larger the share of people not working, the larger the burden on the people not working.
Unless the population is constantly growing, retirement is a burden on young people regardless of economic system.
Nothing I said related to capitalism at all as far as I can see, so you’re going to have to connect the dots for me if you want me to understand, sorry.
we already have enough productivity
why do you think we need more?
I think if we decrease productivity, it will cause problems.
but it’s not going to decrease. it’s just not going to be spent on unnecessary stuff like toiling for corporate profits
So productivity as measured today is only going to decrease by the amount corresponding to corporate profits? How do you figure? What is that amount - do you have an estimate?
As the other reply points out, profits are probably not what you care about anyway, because profits often just become the savings of ordinary people. So you want the proportion of profits that go to the already wealthy, plus the salaries of the mega wealthy.
But regardless, that figure is some finite number and you’re saying it’s more than the productivity we’re going to lose due to an ageing population: how do you know? Actual estimates for how much we could free up by getting rid of profits and CEOs are highly uncertain and often negative.
Corporate profits ARE old people’s retirement. Over 55s own 52% of the entire US economy. Boomers own 8 times more than billionaires. It’s similar in all western countries though perhaps not all are as bad. Billionaires are leeches but old people in general are the bigger drain on an aging society.