WEBVTT - Is Capitalism A Force For Good? #479 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:02.920 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I in Matt. 0:00:03.080 --> 0:00:06.280 Today we are asking the question is capitalism a force 0:00:06.400 --> 0:00:29.400 for good? That's right, and this was intended to be 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:33.440 a provocative title for this episode. Is capitalism a force 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:35.639 for good? Didn't we didn't? We recently have a beer 0:00:35.680 --> 0:00:38.600 called a force for good? Yes, we completely missed an 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:43.000 opportunity and had a good parent here. Um. However, this 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:45.000 is a topic that we feel is important. We want 0:00:45.040 --> 0:00:47.920 to talk about capitalism in a way that we feel 0:00:47.960 --> 0:00:50.320 like it's fair, while at the same time, we're you know, 0:00:50.360 --> 0:00:52.520 we're addressing the fact. We know that this isn't gonna 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:54.720 be one of those episodes where at the very end 0:00:54.840 --> 0:00:56.840 you're going to have like your three things to do. 0:00:57.640 --> 0:00:59.280 We're hoping that this is going to be an episode 0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:01.960 that causes you to think, because ultimately, we believe that 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:04.520 the attitudes that you have about something as fundamental as 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:08.040 capitalism will impact how it is that you interact with 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:10.720 different businesses and with the world around us as well, 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:14.000 and maybe even that desire or not to start your 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:16.880 own business someday kind of how you view the system 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:19.480 that we all kind of live in. To a certain extent, 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:23.760 matters in in your actions. Actually, it is going to 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:26.560 be somewhat deterministic in how you move about in the world. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:29.360 But Matt, before before we get to that, let's I 0:01:29.440 --> 0:01:32.240 just saw this great article from our friend jd Roth 0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:35.160 who writes it Get Rich Slowly, and it was all 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:38.160 about speaking up for yourself. And I think this is 0:01:38.200 --> 0:01:39.959 like one of those things that maybe we don't do 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:43.399 enough as consumers. Basically, he had someone come out to 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:46.480 his house to repair a leak in the roof, and 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:49.000 he they had told him, Hey, it's gonna cost us 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:50.240 this much to come out, and then this is our 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:53.280 hourly rates. They were out there for at most I 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:55.160 think you said, two hours, and then the bill he 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:57.200 got along at all. He was shocked. It was like 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:01.680 and so um. He at first was just kind of upset. 0:02:01.840 --> 0:02:04.160 I wasn't sure what to do about it, but he decided, 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:06.520 you know what, I'm gonna speak up for myself and 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:08.840 he ended up calling the company and the bill was 0:02:08.960 --> 0:02:11.560 without you know, him having to really even harangue anyone, 0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:15.320 cut in half essentially and to to something that made 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:19.000 made more sense commensurate with the labor that actually was 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:22.320 involved in fixing his roof. And it just made me think, like, 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:24.359 there are so many times that that happens, and maybe 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:27.720 we bemoan it quietly or we're upset about it, we're 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.360 frustrated on the inside. But so much of the time, 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:33.679 the way to go about getting something fixed, uh, when 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:37.359 when something is wrong, when we have been overcharged or underserved, 0:02:37.800 --> 0:02:40.480 is to reach out to that business and to tell 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:43.000 them and ask for them to fix it on our behalf. 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:45.520 That's right, Yeah, we need to advocate for ourselves. And 0:02:45.560 --> 0:02:48.240 like you said, he didn't have to like go, you know, 0:02:48.440 --> 0:02:51.000 stay in front of an appeals court or something like that. 0:02:51.040 --> 0:02:53.480 It was literally a phone call. But I think that's 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:57.160 honestly the biggest uh disconnect or not disconnect, but that's 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.520 the hurdle that keeps us from moving forward and doing 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:01.760 something uh that would allow us to cosse some of 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:03.800 our money back. Is that if there isn't like a 0:03:03.840 --> 0:03:06.799 button to click or an app where you submit a 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.400 complaint or something like that. If those things don't exist, 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:11.360 it's almost as if there's no path forward. It's like, 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:12.960 what do I do? It'm I supposed to actually pick 0:03:13.040 --> 0:03:14.880 up the phone and call this company. And a lot 0:03:14.919 --> 0:03:16.880 of times, yes, that's exactly what we need to do. 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.320 And I loved he He actually started that post talking 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:23.080 about the fact that he hates confrontation. He does not 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:27.080 like to confront people to ask questions that we don't 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:29.600 necessarily need to be asked. But in this case, his 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:31.080 money was on the line, and I was glad to 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:33.600 see him, Yeah, advocate for himself, and that is something 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.520 that we need to do more of ourselves as well. Yeah, 0:03:36.520 --> 0:03:39.360 and it's it's certainly uncomfortable at times, but when our 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:41.720 money is on the line, we we have to we 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:43.760 have to be willing to speak up, to push back, 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:45.960 to ask the question at least, can you explain this 0:03:45.960 --> 0:03:47.400 bill to me a little bit further? You don't even 0:03:47.400 --> 0:03:50.560 have to get hyper confrontatefrontational, you know, I don't think 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.480 j D j D did. I think he questioned where 0:03:53.560 --> 0:03:55.880 why the bill was as much as it was, and like, well, 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:57.360 what was the actual work done? Because they were just 0:03:57.400 --> 0:03:59.440 here for a couple of hours, And so asking those 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:01.960 gentle questions, even as you're starting to prod in the beginning, 0:04:02.240 --> 0:04:04.720 can help the company realized, wait, we screwed up, we 0:04:05.000 --> 0:04:07.000 build you the wrong amount, and we will fix it 0:04:07.120 --> 0:04:08.840 without you even having to make a fuss, and so 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:11.240 sometimes you do have to take it to the level 0:04:11.440 --> 0:04:14.320 of confrontational. You do have to maybe make a post 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:17.680 on Twitter or or you do even in extreme circumstances, 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:19.560 have to like pick it out in front of a 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:22.680 company in order to get a problem resolved. But most 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.240 of the time a simple phone call will clear things 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:27.760 up pretty easily. That's right, man. Let's go ahead and 0:04:27.760 --> 0:04:31.160 introduce the beer that we're going to share during this episode. Uh, 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.240 it is a bourbon barrel brick kiln. This is a 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.800 beer by Jackie Os. Looking forward to drinking this one 0:04:36.839 --> 0:04:38.720 and sharing our thoughts on this one at the end 0:04:38.720 --> 0:04:41.600 of the episode. Yeah, especially this one. Jackieo's is one 0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:43.680 of my all time paper brewis at this point, and 0:04:43.720 --> 0:04:46.360 so they are. Yeah, they're awesome. Should be a good one. 0:04:46.400 --> 0:04:48.719 All right, Well, let's let's get onto the provocative question 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.160 that they do. It is capitalism a force for good? 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:53.880 And this question made me think for some reason about 0:04:53.920 --> 0:04:57.360 the movie and the book Moneyball, And um, yeah, if 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:59.240 you've read that book, if you watch the movie, Brad 0:04:59.240 --> 0:05:01.440 Pitt Brad Pit was in it. Yes, that's right, Jonah Hill, 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:03.640 I think and I read the actual book because I'm 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:05.839 kind of a baseball nerd, and I found it fascinating 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:08.120 and and Michael Lewis is just such a great writer. 0:05:08.360 --> 0:05:10.119 But if you've read the book or watch the movie, 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:14.000 you have probably acquired maybe a new understanding of the 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:18.839 word underrated, because that book basically details the true story 0:05:18.960 --> 0:05:22.520 of baseball general manager Billy Bean how how he changed 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:25.240 the face of the game of baseball by starting to 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:29.279 amass players who had certain characteristics that were kind of 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:32.960 boring but ultimately led to more team victories. That's right. Basically, 0:05:32.960 --> 0:05:35.240 he was drafting and training for players who took a 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:36.960 lot of walks, like that's one way of saying, instead 0:05:37.000 --> 0:05:39.760 of the the sexy or features of baseball like home 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:42.479 runs and stolen basis, he realized that those don't actually 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:44.440 pay off when it comes to victories as much as 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.000 guys who can take walks. And so he got these 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.560 really undervalued players who had actually add a lot of 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:54.320 value to the team, even though most of baseball said, yeah, 0:05:54.560 --> 0:05:56.640 we'll basically give these players to you because they don't 0:05:56.640 --> 0:05:59.280 fit the mold of a traditional baseball player that were 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:01.640 used to see. And so that that group of underrated 0:06:01.640 --> 0:06:04.440 players actually ended up taking the Oakland. A's basically from 0:06:04.480 --> 0:06:08.880 from worst to first. And Matt, I think similarly, capitalism 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:11.240 is it's it's kind of like the baseball players that 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:14.360 Billy Bean was finding. It's this system that has at 0:06:14.400 --> 0:06:16.800 least in recent year, has been a little more denigrated. 0:06:17.160 --> 0:06:19.840 It's been undervalue maybe, And so yeah, you and I 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:21.920 we think that it is a force for good and 0:06:21.960 --> 0:06:23.320 we're going to kind of make the case for that 0:06:23.360 --> 0:06:25.760 in today's episode. Yeah, quite another quick example that I 0:06:25.760 --> 0:06:28.960 can think of that's not sports related. It's basically like 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.040 taking care of your teeth, right, Like you can get 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:33.400 the fancy toothpaste, you can even get a nicer toothbrush, 0:06:33.480 --> 0:06:36.400 like one of those fancy ultra sonic toothbrushes. You can 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.000 even get like some of those super fancy water jets. 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:40.800 I don't even know how much those things cost, but 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:42.960 all that being said, you can do all of those things, 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:46.279 or you can get somedental floss, which is like the 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:48.920 most basic thing, and flash your stupid teeth. It's gonna 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:51.080 win every single time. It is not pretty, but it 0:06:51.080 --> 0:06:53.839 gets the job done. I feel that way again similarly 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:57.160 as the you know, Billy Bean, floss is just this 0:06:57.279 --> 0:06:59.640 underrated thing. But it does get the job done every 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:01.960 single and it makes a big impact. And so yeah, 0:07:02.000 --> 0:07:03.839 that's this is a big reason why we're talking about 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:06.040 capitalism during this episode, because I mean one of the 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:07.640 other things too, is we feel that it's become in 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:11.840 vogue recently to hate on capitalism. We're seeing socialist tendencies 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.760 actually growing in our society. Uh. And you know, we're 0:07:14.760 --> 0:07:17.360 gonna do our best here to present a nuanced take here, 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:20.480 because it's not like we're saying that unfettered capitalism is 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.800 going to be like this glorious pinnacle of humanity or 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.880 anything like that. But the stats show that only half 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:30.160 of younger Americans actually view capitalism fondly. However, as recently 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:33.960 as two thirds of people felt that way. Uh. And 0:07:34.040 --> 0:07:37.400 some of that pivot is understandable. It seems that young adults, 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:40.760 they might be tending towards the socialist viewpoint for reasons 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:42.680 of security. You know that that might make sense. The 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:46.360 job market has evolved quickly. We'll all likely work a 0:07:46.400 --> 0:07:48.960 bunch of different jobs in a variety of different sectors 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:52.680 over our working lifetimes. Uh. And that might be anxiety 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:55.800 inducing our parents, their parents, our grandparents, you know, they 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.800 didn't have that same experience. But just because that reaction 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:02.040 might be a understandable it doesn't mean that we think 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.400 gravitating away from capitalism is best. Okay, So I think 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:07.640 we should define our terms then, Matt, while we're starting 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:11.160 out here, we should maybe say what capitalism is and 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:15.600 what matter. And capitalism was essentially founded by Scottish economist 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:18.120 Adam Smith. He wrote the book The Wealth of Nations, 0:08:18.200 --> 0:08:21.000 which most of us learned about as we were studying 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:25.120 history in school. And the literal definition of capitalism is, 0:08:25.480 --> 0:08:28.640 and I quote, an economic system in which private individuals 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:32.439 or businesses own capital goods. It's the production of goods 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:35.520 and services based on supply and demand in the general market. 0:08:36.040 --> 0:08:39.520 But there's also the reality that even before the terms 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:43.240 free market and capitalism came into our vernacular, before we 0:08:43.240 --> 0:08:46.400 we knew what capitalism was, that free trade has been 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:51.160 this basic human instincts, right even before physical currencies were created, 0:08:51.520 --> 0:08:54.400 before we can trade things back and forth with metal 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:58.760 coins or you know, paper currency, right exactly like what 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.199 we learned about when we talked with Jacob Goldstein, people 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.800 were trading agricultural goods back and forth, like grain or cattle. 0:09:06.240 --> 0:09:09.160 And when it comes down to it, capitalism is kind 0:09:09.160 --> 0:09:12.080 of more like the lack of a system than a 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:17.040 complex structured one, and so really it functions around individual 0:09:17.080 --> 0:09:21.040 needs and then the subsequent ingenuity that comes along attempting 0:09:21.160 --> 0:09:22.800 to meet those needs. That's right, And you know when 0:09:22.840 --> 0:09:25.559 you see ingenuity, Basically what you're talking about here is competition. 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:28.200 And we feel that that is core to the capitalist system. 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:30.960 Because here's the thing, like we're not saying that, like 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:33.400 we're not we're not anarchists, right, we believe that there 0:09:33.480 --> 0:09:36.320 is a certain amounts of law, like the rule of 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:38.120 law needs to exist in order for there to be 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:42.720 healthy competition, and that actually helps foster robust capitalists. Yeah, exactly, 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:44.920 because if you don't have any laws, then competition just 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:48.720 leads to death as people are literally clabboring each other 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.720 for the scarce goods. And so I wanted to quickly 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:55.640 provide a foil to capitalism. Let's mention the Scandinavian countries. 0:09:56.200 --> 0:09:59.160 Everybody likes talking about those, uh your motherland. Yeah, I 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:01.520 feel like there's been a lot of discussion in recent 0:10:01.600 --> 0:10:05.840 years about Sweden, Denmark, about Norway, uh, the favorite of 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.880 those your country, and how these like quote unquote socialist 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:12.680 countries are basically like the gold standard. Many have said 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.320 that the U S should actually aim to be more 0:10:15.440 --> 0:10:19.640 like these countries, and interestingly enough, we don't completely disagree here, 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:22.920 and that's because these countries aren't actually all that socialist. 0:10:23.200 --> 0:10:25.600 Sure like, they definitely have higher tax rates, they've got 0:10:25.600 --> 0:10:28.760 a stronger social safety nets. But when we're talking about 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:31.640 economic freedom, most of these countries have ranked higher than 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:33.640 the U S in recent years. Here's the thing. The 0:10:33.640 --> 0:10:36.800 governments in these countries, they don't own the means of production, 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:40.280 which is what socialism actually is. Uh. And so if 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:42.200 you're looking for that type of economic system, you're gonna 0:10:42.240 --> 0:10:44.600 have to look back in history to the USSR, or 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:48.080 more recently to Venezuela and Cuba. Those aren't countries where 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:51.080 most of us want to live. Uh. But interestingly enough, 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:54.880 these Scandinavian countries, they seem to prioritize free markets better 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:57.199 than we do here in the US these days. But 0:10:57.320 --> 0:10:59.480 that's just an interesting note because it seems that these 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:02.680 SCAN and Navy in countries have prioritized free markets recently 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.920 better than the USS. Yeah. I think it's an important 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:09.200 part of the conversation because those countries have admirable qualities, 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:12.120 and there is a lot to admire about some of 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:15.080 those Scandinadian countries, what they've been able to produce, and 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:18.240 the happy people that they've been able to produce overall. 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:21.320 And it's interesting to see that actually capitalism has been 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.960 a robust part of that, and and more so lately 0:11:25.000 --> 0:11:26.800 over the past couple of decades actly, there have been 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:28.520 a lot and we can link to an article too 0:11:29.120 --> 0:11:33.079 from recent magazine where John Stossel details how skinn how 0:11:33.080 --> 0:11:36.000 Sweden in particular, has changed over the years to looking 0:11:36.040 --> 0:11:40.000 more like the United States than the traditional Sweden of 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:43.520 the six season seventies. And uh, yeah, this isn't to 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:47.600 say that there's more overall economic freedom in Scandinavian countries 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:49.720 than there is in the US. There are still lots 0:11:49.720 --> 0:11:53.320 of government run services, but they also have the taxes 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:55.320 to fund them. And so while the US has a 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:57.920 tax to GDP ratio of somewhere in the range of 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:02.319 it's closer to forty five percent over in the Nordic countries. 0:12:02.480 --> 0:12:04.720 So more of your paycheck, a good bit more of 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.959 your paycheck is going to fund those social services. And 0:12:08.080 --> 0:12:10.359 that's not to say that those countries are worse off. 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:13.080 It's okay to have different countries doing different things. We 0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:15.400 think it provides a nice balance to the world. You know, 0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:18.240 folks who want to take it easier can move to Norway, 0:12:18.240 --> 0:12:21.480 although I think the immigration policies there are are pretty tight. Uh. 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:23.199 And if you want to, I might be able to 0:12:23.240 --> 0:12:25.960 get in just because of my ancestry, but it's because 0:12:25.960 --> 0:12:28.160 of your name and if you want to duke it 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:31.079 out then you know. That's what the US does really well. 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:34.560 And companies like Apple, Google, forward Visor, and Delta, they 0:12:34.600 --> 0:12:37.920 have all flourished under the capitalist system. That these are 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:41.120 all US companies that haven't only just made our lives better, 0:12:41.120 --> 0:12:42.800 but like I mean, they literally have made the entire 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:44.600 world better exactly. Yeah, when you look at some of 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.600 these companies, um, many of them make more money overall 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:50.040 outside of the United States than they make inside of 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:52.360 the US these days. And Matt, you and I were 0:12:52.400 --> 0:12:55.880 obviously not not all knowing beings, but I'm guessing that 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:59.040 these companies might not even exist if it weren't for 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:03.640 the capitalistic work that exists in the US that lead 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:06.560 them to flourishing. We probably wouldn't have Netflix or eBay either. Yeah, 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.079 these are companies again, like, can you think of one 0:13:09.080 --> 0:13:12.080 company from like a Scandinavian or Nordic country, Like you 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:16.120 probably can't think like Nestley in Switzerland there maybe I don't. 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:18.160 I don't even know, though it sounds kind of like 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:21.360 an American company, like like Nordic track that doesn't count either, 0:13:22.679 --> 0:13:25.240 But it is interesting to see the privatization that has 0:13:25.280 --> 0:13:28.520 happened over time in some of these countries. Spotify, I believe, 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:30.760 where of a British company or they maybe they might 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.360 even be a Swedish company. Actually, yeah, yeah, And so again, 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:35.040 why are we talking about this because we normally stick 0:13:35.040 --> 0:13:37.199 to personal finance and now we're gonna be getting more 0:13:37.240 --> 0:13:40.320 into the broader field of economics with this discussion. But 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:42.640 because we live in a free market economy, we feel 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:45.160 that it's important to know how it functions so that 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:47.560 we can thrive inside of it. And maybe this episode 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:50.560 will help you to understand just the societal waters that 0:13:50.640 --> 0:13:53.200 we are all swimming in. And another reason we feel 0:13:53.200 --> 0:13:55.760 compelled to talk about capitalism today is because of just 0:13:55.800 --> 0:14:00.360 the changing perceptions by many that free markets aren't actually good. 0:14:00.480 --> 0:14:02.400 We think that they are, uh, And so we're going 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:14.679 to discuss that and more right after this break. All right, 0:14:14.720 --> 0:14:17.240 we're back, Matt. Let's keep annoying our listeners talking about 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:19.760 capitalism here for a second, and kind of it's not annoying. 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:21.880 This is this is an important converence. Yes, I agree, 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:23.280 I think it is. And and you know you and 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:26.280 I again, this is not necessarily the normal route we take, 0:14:26.360 --> 0:14:30.160 but we feel compelled to discuss this because when knowing 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:32.200 the water that you're swimming in and knowing kind of 0:14:32.440 --> 0:14:35.160 how a capitalist system operates and what's good and what's 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.520 bad about it, We're gonna cover both of the sides 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.800 of the coin here on today's think about it and 0:14:39.840 --> 0:14:41.640 talk about it in a way that's just fair and 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:43.840 well rounded. Yeah, because it's trying to do here because 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:45.880 like you you mentioned before the break, like perceptions have 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:49.280 changed around capitalism, um and quickly really and even just 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:52.200 the last ten to fifteen years. And perception tends to 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:56.320 define our reality, Like how we view things influences um 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:58.520 the way that we interact with the world around us, 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.240 and and and it seems that we as a society 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:04.800 have developed developed like um what I would define as 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:08.760 a bipolar approach towards capitalism and then generally, and then 0:15:08.760 --> 0:15:13.080 towards big businesses specifically, because when Americans are are surveyed, 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:16.880 the stats show that we don't trust businesses very much, 0:15:17.240 --> 0:15:19.200 at least that's how we respond to folks that do 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:22.040 the polling. Roughly eighteen percent of folks who were asked 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:25.200 whether they trust big businesses said yes. So that's um 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:28.160 a paltry some of people. Most of them are like 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:30.520 pretty low approval ready, Yeah, no, I don't trust business 0:15:30.560 --> 0:15:32.480 at all. But at the same time, some of the 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:36.920 biggest businesses out there are actively adored, Like folks love 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.040 their iPhone and they use Google products or or search 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:43.960 on a daily if not in hourly basis that we're 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:46.440 fascinated by Tesla cars were amazed at the fact that 0:15:46.600 --> 0:15:49.360 Costco can sell a fully cooked rotist or chicken. For 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:52.920 There's this disconnect between the way we think about big 0:15:52.960 --> 0:15:55.840 businesses broadly and then the way we interact with them 0:15:55.880 --> 0:15:59.120 in our our daily lives totally man and unfortunately, I 0:15:59.120 --> 0:16:01.520 feel like it's like at the core, like what's at 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:04.280 the root of this is selfishness, right, because we think, oh, well, 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:05.800 I want to enjoy the things that I want to 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:07.960 that I like to purchase or the services that I 0:16:07.960 --> 0:16:10.360 like to participate in, but generally speaking, when it comes 0:16:10.360 --> 0:16:12.600 to these large businesses, I don't trust them. Like it 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:15.480 makes me think of uh, Like, if you've identified that 0:16:15.760 --> 0:16:18.680 housing affordability as a problem, basically, like what it comes 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:20.680 down to is that there is not enough housing here 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:22.440 in the United States, especially as there are more and 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:24.240 more folks who are looking to buy homes. And so 0:16:24.280 --> 0:16:27.040 one of the most obvious solutions is housing density. Right, 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:29.880 we're talking about condos, we're talking about apartments. But that 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.080 same person who might be like, oh, yeah, that's what 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:33.880 we need, they might be the same person that goes 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:36.520 to a community meaning where they're proposing some apartments on 0:16:36.520 --> 0:16:39.480 the corner and they're in their neighborhood exactly. Yes. And 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:43.120 so there's this cognitive dissonance here, and that is the 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:45.120 biggest thing that we're trying to address head on here 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:46.560 during this episode. And I think it's a good way 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:48.440 to put it, because I think there there's like one 0:16:48.480 --> 0:16:52.000 thing that we do with our wallets, with our habits, 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.120 with our actions, and there's another thing that we're saying 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:56.040 with our mouths or thinking with our brains yea, And 0:16:56.080 --> 0:16:58.480 we would argue that what we're doing with our wallets 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.320 really reveals where our part is when it comes to 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.119 these matters. Um and another sort of I guess argument 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:07.520 here for capitalism is that, like country, to a popular opinion, 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.600 the purpose of a business it's not necessarily to make money. 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:12.440 That might be mind blowing to some people and they're like, 0:17:12.600 --> 0:17:14.000 what are you talking about? Of course that's the reason 0:17:14.040 --> 0:17:16.840 businesses exist, like money, Well, profits are necessary of course 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:19.120 in order to run a business, but the primary reason 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:22.240 businesses exist is basically to provide value, right And so 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:25.360 for instance, if this podcast doesn't provide enough value for you, 0:17:25.600 --> 0:17:27.639 like you're gonna find another money podcast to listen to. 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:30.400 Maybe you'll listen to like true crime, Like I just said, 0:17:30.680 --> 0:17:33.520 I hate Joel so much. I'm done with money podcasts altogether. 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:35.480 Like the same is true with like a grocery store 0:17:35.560 --> 0:17:37.639 right around the corner, you know, I love Aldi. Is 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:40.000 Aldi taking an advantage of their customers or are they 0:17:40.000 --> 0:17:43.200 providing a valuable service because I might not personally shop 0:17:43.200 --> 0:17:46.080 at fresh Market myself as an individual, but they certainly 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:48.879 aren't taking advantage of anyone as long as folks have 0:17:49.000 --> 0:17:52.680 the option, and there are lots of options because of 0:17:52.760 --> 0:17:55.280 the competition you talked about earlier, Matt, And there's just 0:17:55.320 --> 0:17:57.879 so many examples we could come up with here, like 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:00.840 as to companies that are per binding value, that are 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:03.120 that are changing things in a way that are making 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:05.800 things better for us as individuals, Like why have so 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.800 many how do money listeners switch to Mintmobile? Well, part 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:11.480 probably because we have they're good competition. But but it's 0:18:11.480 --> 0:18:14.280 this fairly new company really on the scene that's offering 0:18:14.320 --> 0:18:16.959 better service and lower prices than the old school cell 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:19.880 phone companies. People are starting to realize specifically lower prices. Yeah, 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:22.679 it's like it's like the same service, uh, for the 0:18:22.680 --> 0:18:24.679 best price exactly. So instead of paying fifty bucks a month, 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.719 I'm paying fifteen and I'm getting really the same exact product. 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:30.880 And so, yeah, that is capitalism at work. Or why 0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.920 are folks leaving big banks for online banks with better features? 0:18:33.960 --> 0:18:36.840 Also capitalism and competition and all the things that we 0:18:36.880 --> 0:18:38.560 love to talk about that we're trying to convince people 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:41.000 to switch over to exactly, And and this is just 0:18:41.119 --> 0:18:44.119 all voluntary really, like nobody's forcing you to do this. 0:18:44.200 --> 0:18:46.240 Nobody's holding a gun to your head saying like you 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:49.199 must switch to Mintmobile. We're suggesting it, and you you know, 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.520 many of you have taken advantage, but you don't have 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.040 to if you're like listen, I love paying a hundred 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.000 and twelve dollars a month to Verizon. More power to 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.000 you keep doing it, like you don't have to make 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:01.520 the switch. You don't have to buy stuff on Amazon 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:03.879 if you don't want to. Either you do it or 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:06.280 lots of people do it, because that business has created 0:19:06.280 --> 0:19:09.159 an immense amount of value, and I think that value 0:19:09.320 --> 0:19:12.320 was made even more apparent during the pandemic. During the 0:19:12.359 --> 0:19:14.560 last two years. You can find almost anything you want, 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:17.520