• Infynis@midwest.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    18
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Nothing in America stops the workers from owning the factory or the profits.

    Fully stop? No, not technically. But our society makes it as close to impossible as it can be without being illegal

    • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      arrow-down
      9
      ·
      1 year ago

      Give an example. That is hyperbolic as hell since there are several successful ones out there.

      • gerbilOFdoom@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 year ago

        Sure: becoming a member of a corporation costs money. You either have to pay to get it set up or buy a share to get in so those who already paid are made whole.

        Unfortunately, the US as an example, our society is structured such that the majority of people here have zero savings with wages decreasing in value every year due to inflation. A person in this situation cannot produce money to buy-in; squeezing water from a stone situation.

        • Hot Saucerman@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          All people are essentially born with no assets, and if they want to secure wealth, they must sell their labor to achieve it.

          In other words, children of parents who own an outsized number of assets do not have to sell their labor to achieve it, because it is offset by their parents assets. This inherently produces an unequal/unbalanced system where some people simply never have to work this way. This is why extremely in-demand internships at companies in places like New York City are often unpaid, and thus generally end up going to people who already have money, access, and support systems. Because only those kind of people can afford to take on an unpaid internship to move upward in the capitalist system.

          This is also the source of generational poverty, because it can be really hard to escape when generation after generation are born to no assets.

          • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            0
            ·
            1 year ago

            All people are essentially born with no assets

            False. The children of rich people are born rich. That’s a major part of the problem. It creates dynasties.

            • DataDecay@beehaw.org
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              0
              ·
              edit-2
              1 year ago

              This is an area I have said needs to be taxed to hell, there is no good reason we should allow the passing of wealth without heavy penalty. I’m convinced that if we taxed all forms of wealth transfer at something like 80%, we could pretty much get rid of income tax. Income you have earned should be your entitlement, assets passed down to you should be where the taxes cut in.

              • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                0
                ·
                1 year ago

                So, you have to sell off 80% of your dead mother’s mementos unless you’re rich? Careful—your proposal is good in spirit, but has ugly side effects that need to be carefully avoided.

                • DataDecay@beehaw.org
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  1
                  ·
                  edit-2
                  1 year ago

                  I’d rather sell off mementos than lose livelihood. We all know the top 1% shelter and live off non income based tax shelters, and then just pass those shelters on through legacies. Given the arbitrary caps on assets your grandmother’s Polaroids would likely be safe. You wont see good faith attempts to fix taxes regardless though, as politicians are in the business of making money, so would never go after their own livelihood.

        • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Inflation is a recent event. Historically inflation has been low. I will admit it hasn’t phased me much since I make a good income but I really noticed it today at the store. A week of groceries was 250 dollars. That is insane.

      • Sanctus@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        1 year ago

        Look at the current environment in America. Look at the absence of worker co-ops besides like Winco. Why aren’t there more? What factors are at play that is seemingly preventinf the natural formation of worker co-ops if they are allowed? Are children taught they can do that? Do people getting MBAs learn this in their classes? There are a lot of questions to ask here. While we do have some examples, for whatever reason they are not common here. I do think it has something to do with the resources the average citizen has available, the current ecosystems within existing markets, and all around education of the average American citizen.

        • Neuromancer@lemm.ee
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          arrow-down
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          They are more common than you think. They appear to be grocery stores and engineering firms. Just do a quick google and you will find hundreds of them, many you have heard of.