http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/opinion/campaign-stops/can-the-democrats-r esurrect-the-middle-class.html <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/13/opinion/campaign-stops/can-the-democrats- resurrect-the-middle-class.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=sto ry-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region®ion=opinion-c-col-left-region &WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0>
My comments:
The economy of this country and the world is in a long depression and no light is in sight out of the Great Recession tunnel. Most economic policy tweaking within the confines of capital have been tried and failed. New ideas come and go like fireworks and they seldom leave anything of tangible material benefits. Let's not blame on scholars' ineffectualness - no one can do anything given the disaster-ridden system of capital in such a late stage.
The fundamental contradiction between the system and society is that while capital has hijacked society for its development, it fails to grow the economy because it refuses to engage in expanded reproduction by investment as the investment return dwindles down.
There are many reasons why this happens and one of the most important roots is that capital finds itself being haunt by own success -ever advancing production force that profit-maximization propels finally arrives at such a high level that automation, A.I., internet, technology, robots and machines literally take over labor to which the laboring masses used to hang on. Capital hires less and less labor and displaces them by more and more machines. It's a well-known fact that although machines can do work faster and more efficiently than human, they cannot create new value called surplus value for capital the way human workers can. And the new value is of paramount importance to capital because that's wherefrom capital earns profit and pays rent, interest and tax; if new value could no longer be ceaselessly created (by living labor) to compensate the obsolescence-caused depreciation and temporal wear-and-tear old value imbedded in machines, raw materials, energy supplies, factories, facilities, offices, knowledge properties, software, etc. or in what's known as the constant capital, capital would find its profitability or investment return dwindled down to an intolerably low level while . That's the quandary in which capital will eventually be caught. But for now capital has picked up speed to rapidly approach the profitability trap in an earthling black hole.
Is there a way to increase investment return without holding automation back? The simple answer is no; not if investment is for private profit maximization. If on the other hand investment is for social needs and investment return is for state to own, then state controlled production and investment will have to replace private capital ownership and operations. Under state ownership, the profitability trap will be levelled off. But then the "profit" or budget surplus belonging to the public can no longer be appropriated by private capital.
The worst scenario is the one that the government squanders tax-payers' money in boosting private capital's profit. In the article, many economists recommend for investment in infrastructure project which is exemplified by noticeable low-profitability of the heavily automated transportation/building sector; another one is the renewable energy (photovoltaic and wind) project which is even worse in the sense that it brings about negligible profitability as solar cells and wind turbines industry hires no workers after the installation is finished contrary to the C.O.G. (fossil fuels) power sector which does hire workers for operation. Infrastructure capital wants to force the government under capital's Congressional-Military-Industrial Complex pressure to subsidize its low profitability by administrative/policy means such as privatization of roads, ports, buildings, etc. and other benefits like long-standing tax exemptions, tolled roads, exclusive ownership and rights for sale of infrastructure, etc. Establishment or the governing class being what it is will be more than willing to subsidize and deal with capital by means of private-side quid pro quo.
The article also mentioned "focuses on a pair of crucial factors underlying slow growth: a lack of corporate dynamism and the weakening of competitive forces in the marketplace. Diminishing vitality in the marketplace has become a mounting concern among economists and policy makers." These are routine establishment ideas of economic reform bit by bit for income distribution within the self-handicapping confines and one should take them with a grain of salt because "a nation suffering from what amounts to economic arteriosclerosis" can be cured only by changing it systemically.
Mark Wain
(https://www.facebook.com/andrew.colesville/)
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