washingtontimes.com

Obama on capitalism vs. communism: ‘Just choose from what works’

The Washington Times http://www.washingtontimes.com/

President Obama told a group of young people in Argentina not to worry about the differences between capitalism and communism and “just choose from what works.”

“So often in the past there’s been a sharp division between left and right, between capitalist and communist or socialist,” the president said Wednesday during a Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative town hall meeting in Buenos Aires. “And especially in the Americas, that’s been a big debate, right? Oh, you know, you’re a capitalist Yankee dog, and oh, you know, you’re some crazy communist that’s going to take away everybody’s property.

“And I mean, those are interesting intellectual arguments, but I think for your generation, you should be practical and just choose from what works. You don’t have to worry about whether it neatly fits into socialist theory or capitalist theory — you should just decide what works,” Mr. Obama continued. “And I said this to President Castro in Cuba. I said, look, you’ve made great progress in educating young people. Every child in Cuba gets a basic education — that’s a huge improvement from where it was. Medical care — the life expectancy of Cubans is equivalent to the United States, despite it being a very poor country, because they have access to health care. That’s a huge achievement. They should be congratulated.”

The president admitted that while those policies are working in Cuba, the economy there is still failing, “and so you have to be practical in asking yourself how can you achieve the goals of equality and inclusion, but also recognize that the market system produces a lot of wealth and goods and services.”

Mr. Obama argued that most successful economies are rooted in a market-based system, but “a market does not work by itself.”

“It has to have a social and moral and ethical and community basis, and there has to be inclusion. Otherwise it’s not stable,” he said. “And it’s up to you — whether you’re in business or in academia or the nonprofit sector, whatever you’re doing — to create new forms that are adapted to the new conditions that we live in today.”

http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/25/obama-on-capitalist-versus-communist-theory-just-c/
-----------------------
Obama: ‘There’s Little Difference Between Communism and Capitalism’
http://www.infowars.com/obama-theres-little-difference-between-communism-and-capitalism/

He is an Idiot!
Dangerous Idiot,but nevertheless an Idiot!

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/united-states-of-argentina/

Eh.

I think I can kinda see what he's doing.

I mean Cuba still has factions in it that fight each other, doesn't it?

So he has to walk a line between complimenting antagonists like a politician without taking sides.

Communism/castro side, not bad.
Anti-communism/castro side, not bad.
We can all get along.


IMO the scariest part about the speech he's giving, as a representative of the U.S., is it comes across to me that he sees himself as kinda supranational.
Like he sees himself as a great president, leader, uniter, who just happens to be president of the U.S. because for some reason the little stupid people have decided to make borders and boundaries and identify as different countries, but really if those stupid national boundaries didn't exist he'd just be president of everything and just "help" lead them.

“And it’s up to you — whether you’re in business or in academia or the nonprofit sector, whatever you’re doing — to create new forms that are adapted to the new conditions that we live in today.”



how controversial,,,,,,

From your link...oh sh@t!

For Americans, the Argentine experience offers multiple warnings, not just about how dreadfully things can go wrong but how a nation can reach a point of no return. Not only did Argentina squander its many blessings, it created a situation from which the society could never recover. Argentines still suffer from the blunders and hubris of their grandparents without any serious likelihood that even their most strenuous efforts will make a difference. A nation can get into such a situation easily enough, but getting out is a different matter. A corrupted economy can’t be cured without being wiped out and started over.
-------------
The road to economic hell is paved with excellent intentions—a desire to save troubled industries, relieve poverty, and bolster communities that support the present government. But the higher the spending and the deeper the deficits, the worse the effects on productive enterprise and the heavier the penalty placed on thrift and enterprise. As matters deteriorate, governments have a natural tendency to divert blame onto some unpopular group, which comes to be labeled in terms of class, income, or race. With society so polarized, the party in power can dismiss any criticism as the selfish whining of the privileged and concentrate on the serious business of diverting state resources to its own followers.

Quite rapidly, “progressive” economic reforms subvert and then destroy savings and property, eliminating any effective opposition to the regime. Soon, too—if the Perón precedent is anything to go by—the regime organizes its long march through the organs of power, conquering the courts, the bureaucracy, the schools, and the media. Hyper-deficits bring hyperinflation, and only for the briefest moment can they coexist with any kind of democratic order.

Could it happen here? The U.S. certainly has very different political traditions from Argentina and more barriers to a populist-driven rape of the economy. On the other hand, events in some regions would make Juan Perón smile wistfully. California runs on particularly high taxes, uncontrollable deficits, and overregulation with a vastly swollen bureaucracy while the hegemonic power of organized labor prevents any reform. Thankfully, the state has no power to devalue its currency, still less to freeze bank accounts or seize pension funds, and businesses can still relocate elsewhere. But in its social values and progressive assumptions, California is close to the Democratic mainstream, which now intends to impose its ideas on the nation as a whole. And at over 60 percent of GDP, U.S. public debt is already higher than Argentina’s.

When honest money perishes, the society goes with it. We can’t say we weren’t warned.

"President of everything"

Bingo

Unless it makes you more money then what we deem appropriate...then we take what we want.

Unless it offends us.

Unless it unites us...we like to keep separate factions so we can claim discrimination when needed.

Unless it works because of Christianity...we cant have that...unless it involves the pope.

Unless it triggers us.

Signed,
The Liberals

Hhhaaa... I laugh & I laugh

..he's following Marx and Lenin and all of the other Socialists that his mother steeped him in during his formative years...reinforced by neo-liberal educational institutions who put learning in the background while taking care of their primary purpose: Indoctrination. He is the accumulation of hate and stupidity that is neo-liberal and Progressive-Think.
And not forgetting his "Uncle" Frank!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Neocon/
----------
CELENTE: FOR YOUR PROTECTION DERANGED PSYCHOPATHS http://youtu.be/wQ1I1t8pIeM/
00:04:00

Love it when Clente gets on a roll & gets loud..
----------
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoconservatism/

Still looking for reasons to pretend anything and everything that Obama says is wrong, I see.

Capitalism as practiced everywhere in the world, is an a-la-carte deal. Everyone "picks and chooses what works" from what's possible to choose from, and assembles their own version of capitalism.

If you are opposed to "picking and choosing what works for you," then you are opposed to self-rule, to democracy, and to freedom.

Is that what you all are declaring?

.... what you all are declaring?

Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina:
http://youtu.be/M7zmHMlZJCM/ 5:30

Have you read it?
Naw,you didn't!

Yes, I read it. I also read a lot more, so I know what communism and socialism and capitalism are, and what they are not.

I also understand the importance of self determination in such things.

Now, if someone said to "go ahead and choose what works," and they were referring to things like whether or not to try to violently overthrow neighboring governments and build empires of oppression, I would probably take issue with them.

This is about detailed economic decisions. I support practicality and adaptation of concepts and systems to each situation.

After all, unless you are so ignorant that you think economies work via magic, there's no other way to go BUT making detailed, practical, and independent decisions.

Anoop Verma
It is really bad that he is equating capitalism and individualism with a mass murdering ideology like communism. He is actually laughing at the old tradition in America of differentiating the country's culture from what is there in the evil communist regimes.

so,you are praying on the Altar of Collectivism then?
BTW,Sunshine,whom are you calling ignorant?

If anyone is the Ignorant One,its your Savior BHO!