4.2.2.1 Social Issues of Anti-Authoritarian Capitalism
Three main issues support capitalism. They are free trade, taxation and war profiteering.
The first issue is about the free trade. One of the significant free trades is NAFTA. In Clinton’s term years, North America Free Trade Agreement
NAFTA was signed into law on December 8, 1993 and firstly implemented on January 1, 1994. It was negotiated among the North America countries, United
States, Canada and Mexico. The purpose is to remove barriers to exchange goods and service among the countries. For Clinton, NAFTA means Jobs: American
Jobs and good paying American jobs. It means that the agreement is expected to increase the welfare of American people. For some American people NAFTA has
benefited them such as consumers get lower price and provides jobs. However, Anti-Flag saw NAFTA tends to growing deficits trade and job
losses. It is seen that the policy of forming NAFTA is practically failed. According to AFL-CIA The American Federation of Labor and Congress of
Industrial Organizations report “NAFTA has proved to be primarily a vehicle to increase corporate profits at the expense of workers, consumers, farmers,
communities, the environment and even democracy itself” Johnson, 2014. The second issue is about war profiteering. America is known as the war
profiteer. The term has a negative connotation as any person or organization that profits from warfare by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The
war is considered as the “political instrument of policy, a continuation of political commerce, a carrying out of the same by other means”. It also describes as a
“business competition, which is also a conflict of human interests and activities” or “still more like State policy, which again, on its part may be looked upon as a
kind of business competition on a great scale Clausewitsz.2001 The tax dollars cuts come up as the third issue. In Clinton’s term, the tax
cuts are meant to the high incomes but contrarily in Bush’s term, it is purposed for the middle-working class. The policy of the tax cuts enacted in 2001 when Bush
lead as the U.S president. To argue about the tax cuts, the economists were separated into two groups. The proponents state that the policy brings some
positive impacts such as increasing pace of the economy growth and providing employment. Another group states that the policy of tax burden the low and
middle income class while the wealthy people will be more prosperous. The economy growth though positive does not mean that it will solve the
employment problems. It is even potential to cause the income inequality. The condition surely is a burden for the middle-working class. Bush tax cuts have
shifted the burden from the rich to the middle-working class. One of the problem makers is about the corporate scandals. The corporations have escaped to pay
their fair share as the result of Bush tax cuts. The proponents’ confidence that the tax cuts will bring benefits for both the rich and the middle-working class is out of
expectation. Obviously, the tax cuts failed. It contributed to the budget deficit which practically reduces government ability to fund essential services for the
schools, health, infrastructures and even basic research. Absolutely, it is fall to produce the economy growth. Therefore, during more than decades American got
less income. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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