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Originally posted by 1kiki:
So why do we trust our lives to this stupid and foolish human system?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
Are you saying that rich folk determine our beliefs?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:

How do you think we're taught this?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
I need to think about that. I think it's based on what is a deep-seated basic human survival mechanism

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
But big-picture wise? State of the planet, sustainability, survival? Very foolish imo.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
"And Capitalism isn't foolish. It's a shrewd system for the maintenance of a class of people."

But big-picture wise? State of the planet, sustainability, survival? Very foolish imo.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
But - uhm - so many people don't know much. In fact, they believe what they've been told rather than look at the facts. If people are to be free, how do you reverse and prevent them from being misled?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:

It (capitalism) looks at the entire universe of data and asks only one human-related question - can it make a profit?

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Originally posted by GEEZER:
So you're assuming that anyone who runs a capitalist enterprise is interested only in making a profit?

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
At this point government exists to serve business.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
I'm not sure I agree. I suspect it's not a matter of doing it right, because it seems to be a fundamentally flawed system.

It's the stupidity and foolishness I was referencing in my opening post. You can't have JUST capitalism. By itself I think it is a destructive and self-destructive system.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
I'm not sure I agree. I suspect it's not a matter of doing it right, because it seems to be a fundamentally flawed system.
It's the stupidity and foolishness I was referencing in my opening post. You can't have JUST capitalism. By itself I think it is a destructive and self-destructive system.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
Profit is the difference between what you pay the person who does the work and what you sell the product for. In capitalism the person who makes the Mercedes, by definition, can't afford it.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
Magons

I don't know if your country has been infiltrated with US-style capitalism yet. You seem to still have a social compact between citizens and government as a counterpoint to capitalism. But here we have what I think of as malignant capitalism, which has reached its tentacles into everything. At this point government exists to serve business.

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The Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) is a tax on profits generated from the exploitation of non-renewable resources in Australia.[1] It was a replacement for the proposed Resource Super Profit Tax (RSPT).

The tax, levied on 30% of the "super profits" from the mining of iron ore and coal in Australia, was introduced on 1 July 2012.[1] A company was to pay the tax when its annual profits reach $75 million, a measure designed so as not to burden small business.[2] The original threshold was to be $50 million until independent MP Andrew Wilkie negotiated an amendment.[3] Around 320 companies will potentially be affected by the changes.[4]

On 24 October 2013, the new coalition government announced a plan to repeal the tax, citing its belief that the tax never raised anywhere near what was predicted, had led to negative impacts on investment in mining projects, and resulted in significant compliance costs. Treasurer Joe Hockey asserted that the repeal of this tax will save the government $13.4 billion.[5] A January 2014 poll conducted by UMR Research, however, found that a majority of Australians still think that multinational mining companies do not pay enough tax. [6] Supporters of the tax also point to continually-large profits produced by Australian-based mining operations, 83% of which are foreign-owned.

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Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
The most depressing aspect of our current government is the enthusiasm for which it embraces the characteristics of the failed state of the USA.

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Originally posted by chrisisall:

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Originally posted by GEEZER:
So you're assuming that anyone who runs a capitalist enterprise is interested only in making a profit?

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Thanks for breaking rule #4 here.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
That is the very premise of capitalism. Those who do not make THE MOST profit will succumb to those that do.

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Originally posted by GEEZER:
Kiki states that the only motivation for a capitalist is making profit

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