Democrat or Republican, left wing or right, there is no argument that the economic system we are currently using is failing. As the wealthiest continue to see their income increase, the working class has earned nothing more than a stagnant income for the last twenty years. In this system there will be income inequality. That is a difficult fact to swallow, but capitalism is the most efficient way in which to run an economy. Although, the way the U.S. is running its economy is proving to be more and more inefficient. The backbone of this country is the middle class, yet it is shrinking, has little influence over politics, and has been cheated by a corrupt system.

First of all, I must be clear. Capitalism is not the problem, the problem is how we are running it. The first issue is corporate welfare. While politicians on T.V. constantly complain about how much we spend on welfare for the poor, they neglect to state the fact that the biggest recipients of welfare are corporations. Bernie Sanders (Senator of Vermont) estimates that we spend 125 billion dollars annually to big business. Both democratic progressives and libertarian conservatives can both agree that this is not how you run capitalism. Capitalism is about competition, letting the best businesses compete so that society can receive the best products. When government interferes with business, it gives corporations no incentive to produce since they will be reaping in profits year after year from the Federal government. This ridiculous flow of money to the private sector transitions into my next point.

Secondly, when corporations have all this extra money from government, they are going to want to keep this flow of cash coming every year. In order to get what they want, they send lobbyists to persuade politicians to pass laws that enable big business to receive more money. Not only do they lobby for corporate welfare, but they influence both parties on every decision. Both the Democratic party and Republican Party are virtually the same. Each party receives money from business during election time, and in return they pass laws that enable businesses to make more money whether it be through less taxes, deregulation, or increased corporate welfare. The system is blatantly flawed in this sense, especially since the electoral vote plays a major role in deciding who is elected as president. If businesses fund the parties running during election time, do you really think that the president is going to answer to the people first? Of course not, the president will tend and cater to the needs of those who funded him.

Also, corporations want to make as much money as possible. Nothing is wrong with this statement. The issue that arises is when businesses want to increase their surplus by lowering wages for the worker. The surplus (extra money) then goes directly into the pockets of business men. This is the main reason why income inequality has grown incessantly. Obama wants to raise the minimum wage to 10 dollars an hour. The truth is businesses could raise it much more without having to lay off workers. Although if we do raise the minimum wage, businesses will lay off workers regardless in order to make more revenue. This is the major flaw in the system.

How do we fix this growing issue? First of all, we need to reduce the amount of intervention the federal reserve has in the system. Constantly, they raise inflation and destroy the currency in order to give handouts to businesses. Keynesian economics is failing, and the Federal Reserve’s solution is put Keynes’s philosophy on steroids, and pump more money into an already failing system. Secondly, heavily penalize both businesses and politicians involved in lobbying. By doing so, the system will return to true democratic ways where the people come first, not corporate interests. The government needs to cut corporate welfare as well. In order to revive the true American capitalist society, we need to stay out of small business and make sure that big businesses do not monopolize like they already have. The greatest thing about these alternatives is that whether you are right wing or left wing, you can agree on them. Some of the solutions I proposed are supported by the right wing Ron Paul and the left wing Ralph Nader. These are not left or conservative propositions. These are common sense solutions that will bring the free market back stronger than before. This is not a battle between left or right or rich or poor, but a dispute between what is right and wrong. What will work and what will fail. If we continue on the absurd path we are on right now, our economic problems will only worsen.