Forum Post: Based on logic and fairness, the cap on sales profit is the perfect solution.
Posted 11 years ago on April 26, 2012, 10:06 p.m. EST by FriendlyObserverB
(1871)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Do the math -
The problem we have is a lopsided distribution of wealth.. a small portion of the economy has a large portion of the wealth , while a large portion of the the economy struggles with a small portion of the wealth.
Many people would say wealth is distributed according to ones skills and hard work .. this is absolutely false on the grand scale.. We see most of the highest wealth earners doing little to no work what soever while the low income earners are working three jobs..
The solution is perfect, place a cap on profits .. this will help evenly distribute wealth amongst everyone , and certainly prevent the lopsidedness we have today.
The final outcome would be : everyone would have a near equal share of the wealth within the economy.
A cap on profits would replace the worry of debt with a content peaceful feeling of having enough to survive from day to day.
How would that work, if you could ever get it enacted? Something like Walmart operates at a much lower profit then say a privately owned convenience store. Wouldn't it be better to focus on making the tax system more effective at redistributing profit and income?
"Wouldn't it be better to focus on making the tax system more effective at redistributing profit and income?"
No. It is best to place a cap on profits.
"Something like Walmart operates at a much lower profit then say a privately owned convenience store."
Walmart may look like it makes less profit but Walmart is the wealthiest retail chain in the nation. Because Walmart buys in such huge quantity it receives a lower purchasing cost than smaller convenience stores.. therefore can sell for less.
"How would that work, if you could ever get it enacted?"
It would be a simple cap on allowable mark up of pricing by the retailers, wholesalers, and banks. The cap would provide consumer protection against over pricing. Thus giving the consumer a stable income /expense account to work with. The cap is like a consumer safety barrier. It doesn't allow the middleman to take as much as he can from the consumer.
Now a tax does nothing to protect the consumer.. raising taxes will ultimately fall onto the consumers burden. The consumer is the heart of the economy and needs to be protected.
With all those stores Walmart makes billions, but it's profit is only around 3 or 4%. Most retail businesses seem to operate at around 5 to 10 %. There are industries like the beverage industry that earn around 25%. What kind of number were you thinking of?
Based on the level of skill and labor to operate a retail/middleman the profit cap will be as minimal as possible.
JenLynn, if you were to suggest a fair cap , what would you suggest?
I don't know enough about the different businesses and what they require to stay in operation. Walmart thrives on 4%, yet that is about the smallest profit for successful businesses I could find. Does a beer company need 20 or 25% or are they gouging either way it's more a luxury item not a necessity for people? How about railroads at about 12%, utilities at 8%? You'd have to be able to demonstrate that a one size fits all approach would work.
It's not an easy question to answer..
How does "The most you can make and have your customers not go next door to the cheaper option" sound? Oh wait, that's what we have.
Thats what we have and it has failed the entire global economy , except of course the middleman ..
JenLynn, the first cut is always the deepest , .. and I assure you it will be DEEP.
wait you ain't JenLynn ?
Competition is what brought down the global economy.
I see.
Why would I be another random member of the site? Are you Shooz?
I find this interesting. You are skeptical of everyone except the people you get your ideas from. Broaden yourself out a little, come up with your own ideas instead of relying on other people for them.
It amuses me greatly every time I see it, but many of the ideas pushed by people on the left benefit the rich greatly. I don't know if this is accidental, or if the people promulgating these ideas do it on purpose, but many forms of government regulation benefit corporations many times more than small businesses.
I've read abut too many unintended consequences with laws that actually do get passed to simply hop on to every new idea that comes along. I like to see ideas explored though, talked about and explained fully.
Not like anything is really going to get done. No one here has any plan for actually go to legislators and getting involved in the process. Ideas just get tossed into the forum.
A cap on profits will have magical consequences .. as certainly as Sarah Palin wears lipstick. The cap will benefit the world greatly, in fact I predict an overnight recovery !
I'm not sure any idea matter, whatever it's merits, there is no way to get it into effect or even test it.
You are being to pessimistic.
I didn't think it was possible to be too pessimistic when talking about government. My feelings are the result of what I see. Nothing but ideas and no way to implement them.
There you go again with negative thought.
The best thing about democracy is the ability to see new ideas evolve..
What do you mean, "Your feelings are the result of what you see"?!
Be a little less scientific for once, sheesh! Profit caps will work because I want them to!
And they will appear in place by magic.
Well, sure, you call it "magic", I call it the beautifully omnipresent redistributionary ruling power of the state. I don't care what we call it as long as I get me some free retail shop owner money!
The logical results of a profit cap are obvious for any one to see.
The cap on profits would end the economic troubles we face.
Have you got your Ebay store up yet?
Wow, that is odd because i have the same sentiment towards the right. I believe a Working class Republican is an oxymoron, You know, kinda like the Libertarian Party. lol :)
No... working class Republican is no more an oxymoron than rich Democrat.
You see, the people in positions of power in both parties promulgate ideas that benefit the rich over everyone else.
That's how they got positions of power in their parties.
Show me any law that has been passed practically in the last five decades and I'll show you the special interest group that benefited from it.
Or, you are free to believe in partisan fairy tales if you like, and religiously cling to the idea that one party is on "your side".
I guess i look at it from the long perspective. Forty hour work week, workmen's compensation and other pro worker legislation that was progressive in scope. But I will say that neither party has been really responsive to working class people lately and back during the progressive era, there were progressive republicans. So I guess there is some truth to your sentiment. But where I still have a little respect for Democrats is that most of the legislation that has people vilifying Obama were bills that helped average people get back to work, where as Bush's bills were give aways to rich people. Or as he says, his base.
Actually, you're right, progressivism started in the GOP. But it doesn't matter of course, it is just the letter after a person's name after all.
You don't think Obama's jobs bills were giveaways to rich people?
You think Obama altruistically helped people get jobs while he left his rich friends to rot?
Bush's bills WERE giveaways to rich people. So were Obama's.
Where's your skepticism? This is hard to watch. Why do you not question authority? What has this 1%er done any more than Bush to earn your blind trust?
You don't seriously think that the rich and powerful are not getting stolen money at the same rate as under Bush, do you?
Trust me I don't have blind trust for anyone, especially a politician. I just have not been presented with a better alternative, At least one that has the potential to win. I believe the SCOTUS is a power full institution, and I will ensure that liberal justices sit on the bench. That alone is what is keeping me voting for Obama. Sorry I'm not a pure revolutionary, I like the idea of OWS, but Until I see a new way forward articulated, I'm stuck playing the old game. Maybe what we need is a Proportional Representational system to replace the majority takes all system we have.
Proportional representation? Like, the amount of votes you get is determined by the amount of taxes you pay?
I don't think I can get behind a proposal like that, sorry. I'm not sure if taxation without representation goes both ways or not, but I believe in the premise of one person, one vote.
The fact that you think Obama's jobs bills were not giveaways to rich people proves the fact that you trust him. You know full well that Obama is as bad as Bush. But, typically, when people bring this up they are told "What's the alternative?" It's a Mexican standoff. If you don't religiously go to the polls and vote for Obama, OH GOSH NO ROMNEY WILL WIN AND HE'S GOING TO START BOMBING LIBYA (!), KEEP TAXES ON THE RICH LOW (!), AND ACCELERATE THE WIRETAPPING PROGRAM OF THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION (!). IT'S GOING TO BE A DISASTER AND IT WILL BE YOUR FAULT!!
I think you need to research PR republicanism a little more thorough before guessing what I meant by it. PR is designed to give more people in society more choices to vote for. BUt since we are stuck with the form of republicanism we have, majority takes all, I'll stick to my convictions. Majority takes all breads "lesser of two evils" thinking. It's more of a numbers game than an ethical one.
I realize that isn't what you meant by PR, I was trolling.
One thing promulgating the two party system we have now is the massive perks the parties get. For a third party candidate to get on a ballot they have to jump through hoops, and the establishment duopoly can get stolen federal funds for their campaigns any time they want. It's despicable.
A cap on profits will benefit the special interest group called "the consumer" which is nearly everyone.
Hahahahaaa... good one.
Wait, you're serious, aren't you.
Darn, it's getting hard to tell...
So larger, more efficiently run businesses such as Wal-Mart will not benefit? Okay, that's good.
How will I benefit when businesses start going under because they can't make any money? Did you fall for the fairy tale that the market does not naturally set profits as close as they can realistically be to zero?
Tell you what, try running an Ebay store for a while and tell me what you think then.
Why should he run an Ebay store when he can just whine for other people's money?
Don't know, maybe this is easier.
Put the idea on http://the99percentvotes.com to get organized feedback and maybe get it to be popular
nice...i like it
thank you.
How many times does this thread need to be posted?
how many times have you changed your username..?
I don't see how it matters, honestly. Ask what you wish though.
Until we have a socialist utopia! Yay! We will all be resting comfortably in the providence of the government! The 1%ers running the government won't take advantage of our dependency and use it to their advantage! Never! Just vote for the "honest" politicians (You can tell them by the letter after their name) and everything will be fine!
God fucking damnit stop using logic!
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We really need to do something about it, you're right, there's certainly no competition in the market or anything out there to limit prices. Thumbs up!