[AidanRyuko]

Well all I can reply with is that whether it be the fault of Capitalism or Corrupt Government, America might need a few changes soon.

I refuse to quote the huge, OMG sized walls of text, but I'll try to reply anyways.

@Fipherion:

Sure, Competition leads to advancement, and things like Laser Eye Surgery went from "Very risky" to "99% Safe" in a very short amount of time. However, the main thing that drives any inventions or innovations in America, is the military. Why were televisions made? So in the event of an emergency, there would be a way to get information out very quickly. Also for entertainment, but that was an underlying reason.

And again, why was the Radio made? Same reason. Internet? Same reason. Satelites? Pretty much the same reason. Why did we advance from Modern to Pre-Atomic in a few decades? Military purposes.

So yeah, hardly any of today's inventions didn't somehow originate from the military, which has nothing to do with capitalism.

@ Moshi -

I think what destroys America the most is well, TOO much personal property. Women gettings $6,000 of Makeup and cosmetics, Men getting $30,000 trucks when they never use them. Children wanting the latest and greatest fads, the list goes on! Now, it doesn't hurt to get something enjoyable every now and then, but there are people who buy buy buy buy BUY everything they THINK they need. Our stupid consumers are what drives the companies to think they don't need to do much else to make profit.

Also, Quality of food? In Southern America? You're fucking me. Are we forced to buy it? Almost. Why? Because nobody makes enough money down here to pay their bills, AND eat expensive food. Did you know the cheapest housing down here is close to $800/mo for a 1 bed 1 bath appt. Yeah, you think it's about average? Then go look it up, I at least know South Mississippi has an alarming unemployment rate, at least more than 10-15% of the people here don't have jobs. The salaries and hours SUCK. Everywhere. Granted yes, it's affordable, but what if someone's tire blows out? It's Ramen noodles for a month.

The thing I think America could use is a Semi-Socialist system. As owl pointed with his numbers, Everyone should be helped to be made equal....To a degree. +20 people got lucky, or worked hard, and -20 people either had bad luck, or just a shitty family. The -20 should be helped up to -5 or 0, so they have a chance to work harder to get up to +20 one day.

But see, with the teacher thing, The worst states in education only get worse. Because there MUST be a ranking system, There has to be states on the bottom. See, Mississippi is like 48/50. As a conseqeuence, no one wants to teach here, the salaries and benefits suck, and as a result, the children and teenagers get half an education. The system we have is going to kill itself unless the government steps in..Oh wait! That'd be socialist!

The main concern I have with capitalism, is that while consumers might get better stuff, cheaper stuff, and more stuff in general, it doesn't give too much room for the poor people to work hard anymore. My dad worked almost every day of his life after the age of 16, and raised himself up from lower-middle class, to now Upper-Middle class. That's not possible anymore. It is, but find me someone who didn't profit a while back. (like Bill gates earned his money in what? the 70's?)

It just needs a little tweaking. Also, we need a government that knows how to budget it's money @_@. Put it this way, if the goverment passed it's debt to the citizens of America, we'd be in debt for a century.