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It is in the interests of bankers and landlords to masquerade as capitalists
An comment worth noting on an interesting post Where Are You in the Economic Strata? by Barry Ritholtz is the following (hat tip Mike K.):
In my opinion, aspirational voting is the consequence of a rational
dedication to ethics based upon false assumptions of what is ethical.
As I see it, there are two forms of income. The first type of income
is generated through productive achievement that benefits others and
grows the economic pie – this is the symbiotic relationship between
labor and capital. The second type of income is generated through
rent-seeking behavior that simply alters the flow of money, but does
not grow the economic pie – examples of this include
fractional-reserve banking and the land increment of rent. It is in
the interests of bankers and landlords to masquerade as capitalists,
but they are not capitalists (since they don’t grow the capital stock)
– they are rent-seekers.Republicans are people who correctly see the benefits of capitalism
(the expansion of the capital stock that adds value to labor), but
they are fooled into thinking bankers and landlords are capitalists.
Democrats are people who correctly see the evils of wealthy
rent-seeking individuals, but they incorrectly attribute rent-seeking
to capitalism. In my opinion, Democrats would be wise to change their
target from “the 1%”, which may include capitalists that help others
(Apple is not the problem), and focus their attention specifically on
the rent-seekers (banking is the problem). By using this strategy,
Democrats can align themselves with Republican voters who support
productive capitalist activities, while at the same time exposing the
rent-seekers who masquerade as capitalists. In my experience,
Republicans are increasingly skeptical of banking. They are starting
to get that banking is different from other capitalist activities.
There is a real opportunity for Democrats, but they’ve got to be sure
they select the correct bogeyman.
2012-08-19 10:17:28
Source: http://www.angrybearblog.com/2012/08/it-is-in-interests-of-bankers-and.html
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