# Socialism(or at least, a version thereof) Vs Capitalism **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/socialism-or-at-least-a-version-thereof-vs-capitalism/927389 **Category:** Great Debates **Created:** [December 6, 2020, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/socialism-or-at-least-a-version-thereof-vs-capitalism/927389 "2020-12-06T16:18:39Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 38
### Author: ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies) #### Post date: [December 7, 2020, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/socialism-or-at-least-a-version-thereof-vs-capitalism/927389/38 "2020-12-07T15:43:01Z")
Thanks for the correction. They do have us by a nose on that metric, but I still see much lower numbers, generally, in the other advanced economies. [speaking generally, to the thread, now, and not directly to you] I suspect if I tried to correlate GINI’s for wealth _and_ income with the OECD-style metrics that usually help inform Quality of Life discussions, more income equality would equate to better outcomes. Helping to refute the impression that it’s all a zero sum game – something I think is quintessentially American. Our model does pick winners and losers. Our model, I’d wager, creates shockingly less upward mobility than we like to imagine. Our model is confiscatory and extractive, based on the general premise of The Greedy and The Ignorant. Our model spends most of its time trying to get every waking hour of labor, and every last penny, out of people with precious little to give. And this is yet another good place to make reference to my thread about income taxes: > [@Do the rich pay their fair share?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-rich-pay-their-fair-share/921817/): > > I did a quick search and found very little specifically about this. In association with the latest story about DJT’s tax returns, I heard a statistic that the wealthiest Americans pay an average of 24% in Federal Income Tax. I presume they’re talking about [Effective Tax Rate](https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/taxes/what-is-the-effective-tax-rate-15102865). But Effective Tax Rate reminds me of an old joke in medicine: The surgery was a complete success, but the patient died. Sometimes, our definitions differ from the definitions used by others. According to [Pew Research](https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/06/a-closer-look-at-who-does-and-doesnt-pay-u-s-income-tax/): … I don’t like the labels, as they tend to devolve into false dichotomies. I do think our system is likely at least as rigged as in any advanced economy, and the rigging isn’t democratic in nature. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/socialism-or-at-least-a-version-thereof-vs-capitalism/927389)._