Economic inequality being one of the biggest drivers of democratic back sliding.
Shitty part is that authoritarian doesn’t really offer anything better.
Hey! Let’s solve “economic inequality” with more statism! That’s not authoritarian at all!
Obviously, wanting to reduce the monopolical privileges of politicians, public spending and taxes (robbery), erradicating the central bank, increasing work flexibility and advocating for individual rights and liberty is fascist af. Believe me, guys!
I cant believe an actually informed comment exists on this thread, everytime Milei pops on here its an Article calling him fascist and everyone on the comments agreeing to it
If taxes are robbery then using public infrastructure like roads without paying taxes is also theft.
Taxes exist because public goods are actually good, and benefit everyone. The sum of the parts is greater than the individual parts. Your taxes pay for roads and public transit which are used to get people to work to create wealth for a community. It turns out the thing that makes humans great is community and banding together. Taxes are a formal way of doing that.
Now, we need equitable taxes, but that would involve taxing the rich proportionally. This is economically sound because wealth doesn’t trickle down and the mega wealthy are, well, mega wealthy because they hoard wealth. That money would be better spent creating better roads, better public transit, better education, or in short, a better community. The prospect of a better community only upsets those who are not members of the community, because their insane wealth puts them in a different class, and those who think defending that class will somehow get them privilege. The only privilege we need is a better community.
Taxes exist because public goods are actually good, and benefit everyone.
Taxes raise money for transfers to special interests and public employees. Why would you trust an oligarchy of politicians (the State) to decide which goods are useful “for a community” and which don’t?
In contrast to private businesses that supply the goods that consumers voluntarily want to buy, public officials lack of the capacity to pick data as to what people truly demand, much less how to go about meeting those demands economically. They don’t have direct feedback of what every individual in the community want; they don’t pass the test of economic rationality.
If the Monopoly of Violence can’t act economically, they have no other choice but respond to interest groups, so tax money will necessarily end up with narrow interest groups rather than the provision of “public goods”
The sum of the parts is greater than the individual parts.
The end does not justify the means. The mere existence of taxation is detrimental (and antithetical) to the very source of economic growth, that is, voluntary exchange.
Goods like education and roads, for example, are goods like any other: they can be supplied by markets and markets alone.
The only privilege we need is a better community.
A better community will be formed if it’s achieved by voluntary means. Moral obligation is not the same as legal obligation. How can individuals be virtuous? By letting them act freely.
Why would you trust an oligarchy of politicians (the State) to decide which goods are useful “for a community” and which don’t?
Because we voted for them. We didn’t vote for the board of directors of private companies. There’s plenty of waste and corruption in private enterprise. It’s not voluntary if they lie cheat and steal just like bad politicians.
I don’t believe that demand is solely driven by voluntary consumer choice. On the contrary, demand is manufactured by misleading and manipulative advertising and marketing. It’s driven by making cheap products that don’t last and encouraging a throwaway culture. It’s driven by planned obselesence.
Nor is buying essential items like food and utilities voluntary. People who live in food deserts don’t have choice.
If the thing you want is not popular with the masses then the capitalists have no incentive to make it. Endless growth and all that…
The problem is when crooks privatize these things they steal billions of dollars worth of taxpayer money. Yes Argentina is messed up, but it’s because of corruption. Privatization or socialization, both will fail because of corruption.
Like, private school or public school, they both fail if the principal is stealing money, this isn’t a leftist/rightist issue.
Let’s solve “economic inequality” with more statism!
I can vote the State, I can’t vote the CEO.
Obviously, wanting to reduce the monopolical privileges of politicians
That’s the citizens job, not his. Milei just wants to reduce the privileges of those disagreeing, at no point would Milei want to reduce the privileges that allows him to unilaterally reduce the political privileges of those opposed to him. Let him actually put forward something that actually indicates that HE wants less power and we’ll talk about this aspect.
public spending and taxes
Again it’s the citizens that dictate that. I can vote for people wanting to build something in the State, not a CEO that wants to build a highway for the goodwill of mankind.
erradicating the central bank
Nobody wants to be the “bad guy”. Many nations are suffering the fate of too long supportive monetary policy without fiscal policy to follow. Same can be said about the USA. They rode too high and too far on quantitative easing at some point the party ends and nobody likes being “that guy”. Again, that’s mostly on the backs of the capricious voters who don’t like mild inconveniences so they hold out for major ramifications. And why? There’s way less disposable income in the hands of the many. So literally any inconvenience is a massive blow to their way of life. And it shouldn’t be a hard guess for you to figure out why so many in the public have so little.
increasing work flexibility and advocating for individual rights and liberty
Every “work flexibility” I’ve ever seen pitched is just code for turning people into wage slaves. Sort of how like the UK got a lot of “trade flexibility” with Brexit. Once I’ve seen a working example that didn’t actually fuck everyday citizens over, we’ll talk.
As for individual rights and selling organs. I’m actually cool with that. There’s quite a list of incredibly wealthy people I’d like to exercise those rights on.
fascist af
It’s just that every time I’ve seen someone purpose breaking the system to make it better, they just want to break the system so that they can profit. I literally expect nothing less from Milei. This is the age of grift, why should anyone believe any one who pitches “I swear, I’ll build something better, just first give me the power to destroy every protection you have first.” Sure buddy, sure you will.
I can vote the State, I can’t vote the CEO.
You vote for certain politicians, other people vote for other politicians, and whoever wins, the tyranny of majority will emerge. The success of the CEO is dependent of supply and demand, if there are no monopolical privileges. (I discussed this in another reply).
That’s the citizens job, not his.
Following your logic, the citizens voting him is a perfect clue of this, am I right? Otherwise, I agree with you about what Milei will do with his powers. I don’t trust 100% any politician, even him, but he’s the only one who explicitly showed that, like donating each month his salary (funded by taxes) and not funding certain political campaigns.
Again it’s the citizens that dictate that. I can vote for people wanting to build something in the State, not a CEO that wants to build a highway for the goodwill of mankind.
Citizens has no direct influence in the process of decision politicians make. The CEO (at exception of lobbyists) wanting to build a highway is: using his own factors of production achieved by social-cooperation (capital, land, technology and workers) and his desire of providing it emerges by supply and demand, by competence in a free-market setting and the economic calculation of consumers in a system of prices.
Nobody wants to be the “bad guy”
Sorry, but I don’t get what you’re trying to tell me here. Read about the Austrian Business Cycle Theory.
Every “work flexibility” I’ve ever seen pitched is just code for turning people into wage slaves.
Leaving aside the exact policies of Milei about this (as I’d prefer no policy at all), any governmental intervention in labor markets will cause unemployment among less productive workers. The term “slave” is not valid because those workers voluntary agreed, in a contract, the amount of money they’d get to do certain job.
“Wages represent the discounted productivity of labor in satisfying consumer demand. Demand for consumer goods translates into demand for workers.”
It’s just that every time I’ve seen someone purpose breaking the system to make it better, they just want to break the system so that they can profit.
Fair enough. Distrust in politicians is perfectly logic and ethical, but accusing him of fascist? It does not make any sense.
the tyranny of majority will emerge
Which is why in most democracies there are inalienable rights and due process.
The success of the CEO is dependent of supply and demand, if there are no monopolical privileges
Unless they are a monopoly. Which most societies have established rules to prevent. Outside of those rules, we’ve seen time and time again such form. Capitalism doesn’t have an inbuilt mechanism that prevents a single person owning everything, that tends to be the problem we run into often.
Following your logic, the citizens voting him is a perfect clue of this, am I right?
He’s allowed to follow the process to remove the process. That doesn’t mean that’s a good choice. But yeah, you can absolutely use that logic to follow to that end. That’s the nice thing about democracy it’s flexible enough to become a ship we built to wreck. And voters are empowered enough to sink themselves if they so wish. So I question what freedom is not present currently that you lament the lack of?
but he’s the only one who explicitly showed that, like donating each month his salary (funded by taxes) and not funding certain political campaigns
Yeah, that’s not the altruism that it looks like. He’s ultimately picking who is getting that money of his. He’s picking which campaigns to not find funding. That’s the point, not the money part the power part. The money part is one thing, the power part is something that one would be ill advised to lose sight of.
Citizens has no direct influence in the process of decision politicians make
They’re not made to. Citizens have oversight and challenge on the wisdom of representatives. It would be unwise to have 500,000 peoples’ hands on the steering wheel. There’s no one direction we would be going in then.
The term “slave” is not valid because those workers voluntary agreed, in a contract, the amount of money they’d get to do certain job
When the choice is “go hungry” or “work” that’s hardly voluntary. You will find it hard to convince me otherwise.
but accusing him of fascist? It does not make any sense.
If you read though my comments, at no point did I indicate him as fascist. Authoritarian, yes. He’s looking to consolidate power to himself to enact change unilaterally, that’s authoritarian. Not every authoritarian is fascist but it is important to understand the fertile ground such leaves for the future. Lenin didn’t invent Stalin but he sure opened the door. And that’s something to consider.
Saying taxes are theft has to be the most brain dead take. Even if your government is corrupt, its not the fault of taxation.
With the levels of corruption in Argentina taxes are pretty much just a way to give money to politicians.
It doesn’t matter. That is an issue with the politicians not taxation. If you were to abolish taxes you’d also have to figure out a way to run your society without money because you won’t be paying for shit without them.
