Misplaced Priorities, Crony Capitalism, & The A.I. Bubble

The U.S. ranks high in GDP per person but lower in social well-being and equality. The U.S. scores low on metrics like maternal health, political rights, discrimination, and income mobility compared to other developed nations. In fact, the U.S. often falls outside the top 20 in overall social progress despite strong economic indicators. Wealth doesn't always translate to broad social benefits. 

Government policy and spending choices provide insight into how the U.S. has gone astray from the post-WWII shared prosperity model of common sense, broadly shared benefits, and best bang-for-the-buck decisions. 

Wisconsin, under Governor Scott Walker, rejected Obama administration funding (around $823 million) for a proposed high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee in 2010. Walker, a Republican, made stopping the rail project a cornerstone of his campaign, and after winning, he canceled the plan, leading to the federal funds being reallocated to other states.

Instead, Wisconsin has focused on road building. See this post regarding induced demand and why widening and building more highways is generally a bad idea. It's bad for the environment and it doesn't alleviate traffic congestion. Nonetheless, Wisconsin is doing more of it at a significant cost.  This $1.7 billion (currently) project is expected to last through 2033.  

Wisconsin is also throwing a lot of money onto the AI bandwagon. Wisconsin is experiencing a boom in data center development, driven by AI, with projects from Microsoft (Mount Pleasant) and Vantage Data Centers (Port Washington). Since significant public monies and resources are involved, many are raising concerns about energy use and environmental impact, along with negotiating for benefits like infrastructure and green energy. 

Clean Wisconsin reported, "Two approved data centers in Wisconsin will use more power than all the homes in our state combined. More than the generation capacity of the Point Beach nuclear plant, the single-largest source of power in Wisconsin."

Further, these companies are drawn to Wisconsin for the water. Data centers need a lot of water. As PBS detailed, "Wisconsin has become a destination for new data centers because of the extreme heat they generate, benefitting from cooler climates and lots of water to regulate their temperatures. That’s why companies are eyeing the state — for its climate and water."

Good Jobs First has substantiated that while Wisconsin's data center boom creates construction jobs and investment, the massive sales tax breaks (like those for Microsoft) cost taxpayers tens of millions in lost revenue, with few jobs created relative to the subsidies, prompting calls for better state oversight, transparency, and "guardrails" for fair pay and worker protection, as current deals often lack accountability and permanent job guarantees.

On top all of the money being given away to data centers, Tom Kertscher and Paul Kiefer note, "Obsolete power plants continue to cost ratepayers. Now, the push to generate unprecedented amounts of electricity for data centers risks creating another $1 billion in ‘stranded assets.' ... Wisconsin ratepayers will owe over $1 billion on retired coal power plants by the end of 2026 — a total that may climb in the coming years."

On top of all these issues related to AI data centers, they are also short-lived assets. Meaning they depreciate at an exponentially fast pace - the technology and equipment are obsolete within years. Further, the AI market is a bubble. Don't take my word, environmentalists, or other naysayers, big investors who've called other bubbles are saying so. Not only are they saying so, they are putting their money where their mouth is; they are betting against AI. Based on the initial investment to build these centers, and how quickly they need to be replaced or upgraded, the profits needed to achieve such are nearly impossible. 

The choice to continue building highways rather than more efficient ways of moving people and goods degrades our environment and our economy. Shoveling money into unproven and inefficient ephemeral and illusory catalysts (power plants, data centers ... not to mention stadiums and convention centers) is a drag on future growth. There is a massive opportunity cost imbedded in these choices. By wasting money on these boondoggles, the money can't go toward more meaningful and productive uses.

In the end, this all continues to hurt the country, the states, and the citizens. As usual, the only benefactors are those being given these handouts and corporate welfare.  

For Futher Reading:

The Hidden History of Prosperity

America’s Forgotten Generation (of Prosperity)

Why Did the Rich Pull Away from the Rest?

Restoring Shared Prosperity

The AI Industry Is About to Collapse

The AI Bubble and the U.S. Economy: How Long Do “Hallucinations” Last?

Talking With Paul Kedrosky

Michael Burry’s AI Warning Can’t Be Ignored

Questionable Economic Impact Claims

Wisconsin Department of Tourism claims $321 million economic impact from Republican National Convention. 

As Center Square clarified:

Economists who have studied the impact of national party conventions says a report from the marketing firm Tourism Economics does not accurately reflect the actual impact of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Economist Victor Matheson of College of the Holy Cross has studied and written on national conventions and large events, He called the release, which claims the event had a $321.5 million impact, a “promotional booklet/press release, not a serious economic impact study.”

Center Square, in other economic impact reporting, further noted:

Economists say the numbers produced by the marketing group do not follow economic study principals and are not reputable. The numbers are used by politicians and state tourism departments to justify spending.

“Viewing what ‘economic impact’ consultants do to be economics is like considering horoscopes to be astronomy,” economist J.C. Bradbury of Georgia’s Kennesaw State University recently wrote. “Newspapers are smart enough to put horoscopes next to the comics and Dear Abby, while economic impact ‘studies’ get banner headlines on the front page.”

Bradbury noted economic impact analysis is not something real economists do and there is a reason that work is not presented at conferences or published in journals.  

Economic impact is often claimed surrounding publicly funded sports stadium projects or sporting events.

The annual tourism reports are paid for by state tourism departments and national tourism agencies.

Urban Milwaukee reported:

But when the Common Council discussed the RNC in September, it wasn’t as favorable.

“It didn’t trickle into the neighborhoods,” said Ald. Marina Dimitrijevic of the economic impact.

In an email to Dimitrijevic, LuLu Cafe & Bar owner Cameryne Roberts said the RNC didn’t result in a business boom. “For what it’s worth, the RNC was a complete bust for us and most of the other Bay View business owners I spoke with, not to mention those in other parts of town.” 

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs asked for the final report to include a geographic breakdown and diversity data. “I just want us, as a council, in case we’re asked again to sign on to anything like this, to be aware of its impact. And where things might not have been how we wanted it to be, or we might not have achieved the goals we were going to achieve, that we recognize that and that we work differently in the future to better achieve those goals,” said Coggs. The final report does not include the breakdown requested.

Reports during the convention highlighted how many businesses outside of the hard security perimeter were seeing lackluster business. Across the month of July, sales tax revenue in Milwaukee was actually down year over year. But the state, which collects the revenue, does not collect data by week.

Per usual, many of these economic-impact no-brainers (conventions, stadiums, Olympics, etc.) which are touted to be win-wins for cities and states are anything but.  

Really Frickin' Petty (RFP)

New Land blasts city development office shortly before downtown site award

It’s a shame when things don’t go your way. But for those who are supposed to be the bastions of free market competitiveness, there seems to be a lot of dependency on the public sector. And when contracts aren’t awarded, some of these private entities lash out, point fingers, and cry the blues. 

This criticism is laughable considering development companies are the ones who continually beat the market drum all the while insisting cities and states fork over millions to help fund their projects. And then if they don’t get their way, and a pile of cash, something is wrong with the process. 

The Business Journal article notes:

New Land's criticisms of the city's development department extend beyond the Marcus Center parking structure project: Gokhman says the department has "chronic problems" and "deep dysfunction" that are "stifling development"

This coming from a company that has been awarded similar projects in the past. The company was also involved in foreclosure proceedings in the not-so-distant past. What's that old saying about glass houses? Funny how private developers believe they should be able to dictate what a city’s development department does.  

Regarding another often-used development handout, the article details, “Tax incremental financing is a tool local governments can use to pay for new developments that are expected to grow the tax base by using future property taxes those developments generate to help repay the city's investment in those projects.” What they leave out is that this financing was intended to serve blighted areas, not locations where development is already thriving. 

The Journal article quotes another developer:

"When you do put out an RFP, you have to be ready, willing and able to make the commitment to help make it successful," said Bob Monnat of Milwaukee development firm Mandel Group Inc. "None of these larger RFP sites have anywhere of a chance of creating the kind of outcome that everyone would like to see unless there's some major participation on the part of the city to help get it over the hump."

Talk about entitlement. Developers seem to believe the City should alleviate all risk from the project, while the private developers get to walk away with all the profits. What a partnership!

Aren’t some of these concepts what the free market is supposed to be all about? Isn’t this part of the conservative mythology we’ve heard over the last many decades about the private sector, job creators, the wise surveyors of the market? So why do they even need the inefficient, mismanaged, inconsistent, misleading, and dysfunctional public sector?

A big problem for New Land’s Gokhman seems to be that the City Development Department took longer than expected. I’m sure that developers never take longer than expected. They’re always on time and everything they propose is seen through to completion. [Sigh. Eye roll.]

Seems odd to have such an issue with not being awarded this site, but then to also state:

New Land supports Johnson’s vision of growing Milwaukee and believes the city's current zoning code and DCD's urban planning team are "one of the best in the country," Gokhman said. 

But then Mr. Gokhman continued:

He cites the downtown Fourth and Wisconsin site near the Baird Center and the former Army Reserve site in the city's Bay View neighborhood — which both remain undeveloped after years of discussion — as key examples of failure.

"No one at DCD loses their job if development doesn’t occur," Gokhman said. "There’s no accountability." 

So, unless every city site is maximally developed, by the city, someone has failed? Seems there is a lot of contradictory ideas and sour grapes going on here. Let’s not forget - failure happens. Everything doesn’t work out as planned in life. [As an example, see the above discussion of Mr. Gokhman’s company's foreclosure activities.] 

City development is booming. Newer offices, hotels, apartments, retail, etc. have steadily been built over the last few decades. Milwaukee has seen downtown development unlike anything since WWII. But the City should throw more money at private developers because a few sites have yet to be developed? Or should the City allow itself to be bullied by developers attempting to rake them over the coals in the media? I don't think either of these would be policy or process improvements. 

These developers' public whining is just a big bushel of bitter, sour grapes.

Keep It Simple, Stupid

Visit Milwaukee is claiming the Bucks Championship Had $58 Million Economic Impact.

That's possible. Anything is possible. But claims of such an impact are dubious at best. 

As Roy Cordato's article noted:

Economic impact studies are everywhere.

Whether it’s to support a new highway project, special tax breaks for solar energy, the building of a civic center or sports complex, or to promote subsidies for Hollywood film producers, you can find an economic impact study, often touting how great the project will be for the state or local economy.

The formula is simple, predictable, and effective. A special interest group that stands to benefit from the project funds an economic impact study that purports to provide hard numbers on the number of jobs, the increase in wages, and the additional output that will be generated by the project or subsidy, and it will do this on an industry-by-industry basis. It makes grandiose claims about how much overall economic growth will be enhanced for the state or region generally. Once the report is completed, the special interest group that paid for the study will tout these results in press releases that will be picked up by the largely uncritical media establishment, ensuring that the political decision makers and others who determine the fate of the project receive political cover.

These studies all have several things in common. First, they typically use proprietary, off-the-shelf models with acronym names like IMPLAN (Impact Analysis for Planning), CUM (Capacity Utilization Model), or REMI (Regional Economic Model, Inc.). Rights to use the models are purchased by professional consulting firms who are hired by the interest groups to do the studies. Furthermore, seldom do those who actually perform the studies have formal training in economics. Instead their expertise is in using one or more of the aforementioned proprietary models. And finally, all of these studies ignore basic principles of economics and, as a result, do not meaningfully measure what they claim to be measuring—the economic impact of the public policies and projects that they are assessing.

One big problem with economic impact studies is the idea of substitution. If money that would have been spent elsewhere was simply spent on the Bucks, growth did not occur. Spending that would have occurred in one spot was merely spent in a different spot. The project (the development, the event, etc.) hasn't catalyzed growth. They haven't made an economic impact. They've merely realigned spending.

Now, this isn't to say all projects are unable to spur growth. But unless the impact study accounts for concepts like substitution and opportunity cost, it's mostly measuring the rewards that will go to primarily absentee owners.

Milwaukee Magazine had their own questions regarding the local economic impact of the Bucks championship run.

The sparkling, shiny, loud things (sports and entertainment events) often get attention, articles and praise. Yet, as far as being supposed economic catalysts, all too often, the economic benefits and impact are ephemeral to non-existent.

Maybe it's time we stop deluding ourselves in the belief that all activities and projects can be or need to be fun and exciting. Clean water, smooth roads, public transportation, quality schools, affordable housing and health care, and maintained infrastructure provide a better return on investment and generate much more growth than any stadium or convention center could ever hope to. 

Conventional Delusion

There are so many more impactful ways to spend $420 million.

The Boondoggle Bandwagon lumbers on.

For Further Reading:

Milwaukee's Boondoggle Twofer

The Convention Center Cabal

Beware of the Economic Development Hucksters

The Economic Impact Mythology of Convention Centers

Weekend Reading

Wisconsin School District Rejects Universal Free Lunches So Kids Won’t Get ‘Spoiled’

Millions Lose Jobless Benefits Today. It Doesn't Mean They'll Be Rushing Back To Work

Census data shows split between growing downtown area and declining lower-income neighborhoods in Milwaukee

Richest 1% Of Americans Underpay Taxes By $163 Billion, Says Treasury

Kellyanne Conway didn't belong on the Air Force Academy board

The Billions Being Wasted in the Economic Development Subsidy Wars

Free Parking Is Killing Cities

Weekend Reading

Everything We Know About the Delta Variant, According to the Research

The Billions Being Wasted in the Economic Development Subsidy Wars

Ex-Newsmax Host Who Attacked ‘Lying Freak’ Dr. Fauci Over ‘Scamdemic’ Has Died Of COVID

Republican Lawmakers Defunding Milwaukee Police

Cardinal Raymond Burke, outspoken vaccine critic, hospitalized with COVID, breathing with ventilator

How the Supreme Court Flunked a Math Test on Gerrymandering

For Conservatives, Government Is The Problem and The Solution

Inspired by all the recent flurries we’ve had in Wisconsin, John Torinus is back shoveling the yellow snow of economic policy. He begins with two head-scratchers.

“Congress should think twice before getting too generous with weekly unemployment compensation. That’s because manufacturers are already having a hard time finding enough workers to man their factories.”

First, what is “too generous” for weekly unemployment compensation? Recent compensation has been bolstered by the fact that we’re living through a global pandemic. It’s part of a stimulus package to keep workers and businesses afloat. It’s not meant to exist into perpetuity.

Second, it’s been pretty clearly and universally established that manufacturers are having a hard time finding workers because the work is grueling and worth more per hour than the amount they are willing to pay.

Tornius alerts, “The labor shortage is real.”

Again, this is wrong. Pay that is not commensurate with the work that is being asked to be done is real. We have a compensation problem, not a skills shortage or a labor shortage.

Torinus then pretends that stimulus money distributed during the ongoing pandemic has left many just sitting at home collecting checks, and many others just planning to do this forever. This is classic Republican bullshit. They’ve been claiming this garbage forever. Poor and working class are lazy and will stay home if given then chance. Yet, conservatives will bend over backwards to cut taxes and provide incentives to the rich. Remember, The Haves are the job creators and something will eventually trickle down to the poor and working class.

He then talks of the plethora of living wage jobs available for any willing worker. “Employers have also raised starting wages in this area to $14 to $16 per hour.” $15 per hour results in a yearly income of just over $30,000.

Torinus continues with even more drivel, “Yes, it is a noble goal to want a minimum level of income for every adult in the United States. But the better way to get there is through good-paying jobs in the private sector. Government jobs, which always seem to keep growing in number, may be necessary, but they do not propel the economy.”

Last I checked, the private sector has been around a while. We’ve deregulated, cut taxes and genuflected to their omnipotence for decades. Yet, the economy has been a roller-coaster of recessions alongside declining wages and benefits for most workers. And, despite Torinus saying so, the number of government employees has been declining, not increasing. As Fiona Hill, of the Brookings Institution, found, “Contrary to popular belief in the bloated growth of the U.S. public sector, the size of the federal government proportionate to the total U.S. population has significantly decreased over the last 50 years.”

Torinus’ article seems, in the end, to be an elaborate smoke and mirrors, which concludes, somehow, that the government is preventing the private sector from employing more people and also responsible for helping the private sector to employ more people.

He concludes, “We don’t need excessive unemployment compensation if there are lots of open jobs with good pay and benefits. Congress and the president have to get the incentives right. We can’t afford disincentives for working.”

Again, what is “excessive unemployment compensation”? What and where are these “open jobs with good pay and benefits”? Funny, too, that, with Republicans, “We can’t afford disincentives for working.” Yet, the subsidies, tax cuts and giveaways to corporations and billionaires can’t be considered anything but a disincentive and/or welfare. Somehow, in the twisted Republican logic, giving incentives to The Haves is sound economic policy, but giving incentives to those who really need it, is bad for business.

Trickling Down or Just Getting Pissed On

Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor. Milwaukee's new Economic Development Commissioner wants to double-down on corporate welfare.

Milwaukee officials consider higher incentives to bring businesses downtown

According to the new Commish, "The city is exploring more aggressive policies to incentivize job creation and investments in the downtown area. Those could come in the form of employment incentives using the city’s main economic development tool, tax incremental financing, for example. Or it could involve new ways the city could help growing companies recruit workers to fill new jobs."

There's no money for potholes, we can't fast-track lead pipe removal, workers can no longer have affordable health care or secure retirements, a living wage is too much to ask, we can't upgrade public infrastructure, but there's endless and increasing money to giveaway to corporations.

Improving the roads and transportation options, upgrading broadband, updating the electrical grid and sewer system, greening public buildings, along with numerous other public projects, would go much further toward growing Milwaukee's economy than simply giving "incentives" to already profitable corporations.

For Further Reading:

Open For Business?

Ticked Off About TIFs

Development Gone Astray

The Con That Is Foxconn or How Republicans Learned To Stop Worrying And Love Socialism For The Rich

Job Piracy

Convention Center Expansion Approved

Hundreds of millions for another boondoggle.

Wisconsin Center Gives Final Approval for $420 Million Expansion

There are many better ways to spend this money.

See Milwaukee's Boondoggle Twofer, The Economic Impact Mythology Of Convention Centers, The Convention Center Cabal and Beware Of The Economic Development Hucksters.

Midweek Reading

A federal judge who accused Barr of ‘distorting’ the Mueller report has read an unredacted version — and now he’s demanding some answers

The devaluing of black property has led to the devaluing of black lives

Minneapolis may be the first city to dismantle the police

10 things we know about race and policing in the U.S.

Alex Vitale, author of The End of Policing, on why cops are being so brutal and what should be done with them

NYC has way too many cops

America’s Civil War

Amazon: Taxpayer Subsidies Help Build its Monopoly

10 Steps States Should Take to End Corporate Giveaways
Milwaukee now in phase 3 of reopening: Here's what that means

As They Scream Voter Fraud, Trump And His Press Secretary May Have Voted Illegally

Trump Has Imprisoned Himself in the White House

US billionaires have regained $565 billion in wealth since the pit of the crisis

Police unions dig in as calls for reform grow

After Protests, Politicians Reconsider Police Budgets and Discipline

The (Fox)Conn Continues

So, Scott Walker gives billions away to Foxconn. Thousands of jobs are promised. Now, according to Foxconn, Wisconsin actually doesn't have the workers to fill the jobs. Foxconn Says It Can't Find Enough Workers For Wisconsin Project. WTF?

Hopefully everyone can see this bribery that is called economic development is pure extortion. Inflated economic impact reports are released along with CEOs and politicians congratulating each other on the wonderful "partnership" they've created, which will result in massive job growth.

Business 101 instructs that you don't locate your business somewhere that can't efficiently provide your needed inputs (labor, obviously, being one of those).

The Wisconsin-Foxconn debacle perfectly illustrates how distorted our economic development policies have become. To pretend that Wisconsin had some underlying competitive advantage regarding Foxconn's business needs, and they just needed a little boost in the form of Wisconsin subsidies to reach that reality. Then, slowly, the job numbers decrease, and facility construction is delayed. Now, Foxconn tells us Wisconsin doesn't even have the workers for the jobs they are planning in Wisconsin. This is just another crony capitalist shakedown.

For Further Reading:
Skills Shortage, Labor Shortage, Skills Gap ... All Bullshit
The So-Called "Skills Gap" Is Complete Bullshit
More Skills Gap Crap

More Wisconsin Corporate Welfare

Convention Center Moves Forward

For Further Reading:
Milwaukee's Boondoggle Twofer
The Convention Center Cabal

Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Strauss, Amazon projects force local competition questions

“I’m told there was an informal agreement that no municipality would poach from each other,” Franklin Mayor Steve Olson told the Milwaukee Business Journal. “I’m not sure that’s the case any more.”

That's rich. Suburbs, like Franklin, exist because of poaching.  Suburbs were happy to offer 'economic incentives' to attract formerly good paying jobs and companies away from the central city.  Now that cities are seeing a resurgence and can compete, the suburbs are pretending this (economic development incentives) is some new occurrence.  Perfectly fine when they do it ... but when it happens to them, not so much.

For Further Reading:
Corporate Tax Breaks
Failure of Economic Development Incentives
Grading Places
Industrial Incentives
Rethinking Growth Strategies
Tax and Spending Incentives and Enterprise Zones
The Great American Jobs Scam

Ending The War Among The States

Economic Development, Tax Incentives and The Plutocracy It's Creating

Job Piracy

Blackmailed Into Oblivion

Legalized Bribery

Buying Jobs

Privatizing The Profits, Socializing The Loses

There the "free" marketeers go again. Milwaukee real estate execs question Housing Authority's high-rise plan.

So, the City is booming. Development, jobs, tourism, new businesses...things are looking up.

As usual, when things start to gentrify, certain people are priced out of the market...yet those workers are still necessary for the booming economy to exist.

Enter affordable housing. Another policy answer to a society that doesn't pay a living-wage. If you're not going to pay a downtown-wage for a downtown-worker, public policy steps in to subsidize and correct the market.

It's as much a subsidy to the employer as it is to the worker. By subsidizing the housing of these workers, the government is allowing the employer to pay below-market wages.

Also, as usual, and wanting to have it both ways, local developers are complaining when the government steps in to correct the market. The Milwaukee Business Journal reported, "The Housing Authority in April introduced its plan, which calls for spending up to $150 million on a high-rise tower with 350 apartments, a mix of market-rate and affordable units."

Tim Gokhman, director of New Land Enterprises, told the Business Journal:

He said if the city has figured out how to generate a profit from a high-rise to subsidize affordable units, “teach the rest of the market how those profits can be attained.”

Because the profits aren't high enough for private developers, because the returns on investment aren't elevated enough, because the government won't just give them the money to do it, private developers are complaining when the government enters the market to provide needed housing for citizens. (Privateers complain when the government does any of the many things the magic "free" market won't do.)

Developers can't have it both ways. They can't claim they're the experts - the "free" market and the private actors have all the answers and will provide as long as the government stays out of the way. But then, in the very next breath, they come to the public for giveaways, tax breaks and other hand-outs they claim the need for their projects.

If the public has to give tax cuts, subsidies and incentives to private actors to get them to do something, why shouldn't the public entity just complete the project?

The private sector does some things well. But it's time we re-realize the same can be said for the public sector.

Weekend Reading

Why And How Capitalism Needs To Be Reformed
The IRS Tried To Take On The Ultrawealthy. It Didn't Go Well.
The Tax Law's Big Winner Is The Millionaire CEO
Bernie Sanders's Fox News Town Hall Wasn't A Debate. Bernie Won Anyway.
Warren Has A Good Beginning For Ending Corporate Tax Avoidance
The Truth About U.S. Taxes Is That They Aren't High Enough
Yes, Graceland Actually Threatened To Move To Japan To Get $194 Million In Subsidies From Memphis
Ending The Economic War Among The States: A Strategic Proposal
Amazon's Next Frontier: Your City's Purchasing
The Undemocratic Making Of Indianapolis
The Future Of Unions Is White-Collar
Fun Fictions In Economics

Amazippi

Weekend Reading: Amazon Edition

The Backers Of New York's Giveaway To Amazon Still Don't Understand Why It Was Wrong
End The Subsidy Wars: Amazon Took Advantage Of A System That's Baked Into America's Economy. We Must Finally Fix It.
Amazon's Pullout From New York Shows That It Misplayed A Bad, And Expensive, Hand
New York Did Us All A Favor By Standing Up To Amazon
Amazon HQ2 Was An 'Unfortunate Distraction' From 'Needy Communities'
Amazon's Decision To Pull Out Of NYC Is A Massive Blow To Corporate Welfare
Amazon And The End Of The Growth Machine
Amazon Got Exactly What It Deserved - And So Did New York
How Amazon's Booming NYC Neighborhood Got Tax Perks Meant For The Poor

A Few Words On Socialism

So·cial·ism /ˈsōSHəˌlizəm/ (noun)
A political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.

Republicans and conservatives, and even some moderates and Democrats, have been demonizing the idea of socialism in the media as of late. (All while bitching about billionaires not being given billions in corporate welfare - socialism for the rich.)

Some of the Democratic 2020 presidential candidates have been talking of taxing the rich, fighting climate change, getting off of fossil fuels, providing Medicare for all and providing free college tuition.

The status quo, pro-business, free marketeers are up in arms over this.

Earth to douchebags - America is already a socialist country.  And conservatives are more than happy with socialism for the rich.  This is the predominant socialism (for the rich) in the U.S., hence rising income inequality over the past few decades.

But let's take a look at some examples of all the "socialist" policies America has:

Health Care (Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration)

Research & Development (NIH, Pharma)

Police and Fire Fighters

Public Education

Public Transportation (Buses, Air Traffic Control, Roads, Etc.)

Water & Sewer

Public Airwaves

The Military

Corporate Welfare (Farm and Oil Subsidies, Etc.)

Tax Breaks (Tax Cuts, Tax Incentives, Tax Credits)

Deregulation

The crux of the recent call for higher taxes and re-investment in our public goods is not some wacko commie scheme, it's the same plan of action the United States took after World War II, with high marginal tax rates, which led to our greatest period of growth and prosperity.  A rising tide lifted all boats. Our infrastructure was world class. People who worked were able to pay their bills and save for retirement.  

Republicans always reminisce about the great days of yesteryear.  But they forget to mention the fact that taxes on the rich were much, much higher then, too.  

For Further Reading:

Democratic Socialism? We're Already Living In It

5 Ways America Is Already Socialist

The Great Wealth Transfer

The Great Divergence

Wealth, Wages and Politics

Politics, Policy and Inequality

Graph: The Great Divergence

The United States Of Inequality

Disclosing The Costs Of Corporate Welfare

Where Is The Outrage Over Corporate Welfare

Taxpayers — not Big Pharma — have funded the research behind every new drug since 2010

U.S. Investments in Medical and Health Research and Development

The Public Airwaves as a Common Asset and a Public Good

Corporate tax breaks cost U.S. schools billions of lost revenue

Massive Spending Cuts: The Tax Act's Hidden Costs

Did Deregulation Work?

Talking Heads Upset Billionaire Isn't Given Billions In Corporate Welfare

Boo-fucking-hoo, you babies.  Sorry your usual status-quo shakedown didn't work.

‘Morning Joe’ Rips Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Over Amazon Pull-Out: ‘She Only Cares About Herself’

The set of “Morning Joe” was not happy about the decision by Amazon to pull out of their new planned headquarters in New York City yesterday, laying the blame for the decision at the feet of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and fellow recalcitrant progressive lawmakers. 

On set there was near unanimity that Ocasio-Cortez did not understand the broader situation and was unfamiliar with basic economics. 

“The protests that we saw were to get on AOC’s bandwagon. And what’s shocking to me is yet once again she shows how little she understands, about not just economics, but even unemployment,” show mainstay Susan Del Percio said. “Just because she has a progressive agenda, which some people like, does not mean she has the city’s best interests. What she showed me today, or yesterday, is that she only cares about herself.”

Um, actually she understands the economics better than the Morning Joe corporate welfare shills.

How much was New York giving Amazon?  What was the cost-per-job?  If you're not going to discuss the details of the giveaway and actually analyze it in comparison to other possible investments, maybe you're the one who needs to shut the fuck up.

I guess, according to the Morning Joe crew, giving billions to a billionaire is good use of public dollars.  Oh, but all these rich pricks hate socialism.  Yeah, unless it's for them.

For Further Reading:
Amazon To Pay $0 In Federal Taxes In 2019
Economic Development, Tax Incentives and The Plutocracy It's Creating