???? Is No one going to mention the nose dive clinton took at ground zero?

[downbeatplumb]

I'm thinking the solution looks less like Fabian socialism and more like Capitalism 2.0. Instead of spreading the wealth, maybe the better approach is to making everyone a shareholder. Not a universal income, but universal capital - a minimum asset portfolio for each individual wherewith the productivity gains of corporations create prosperity with dividends. Just a thought. Maybe unworkable, but my point is that the old solutions will not work for much longer.

This caught my attention, and I think it's a rather interesting proposal. I'm not asking for chapter and verse, Chad, but how do you see this working out in a rough sort of way? Does the government buy into a stock index fund at a certain value for each citizen up front, until they can take over the portfolio's management? Are employers to be responsible for doing so, rather than the government? And, if so, how would that work for the chronically unemployed?

And what about public goods that do not appear on the corporate balance sheets? Do you think an entire nation glued to quarterly reports and earnings projections would be more or less likely to hold corporations' feet to the fire when it comes to environmental and similar concerns? I don't ask that rhetorically or as a gotcha question. I'm curious to know if you think there is a point at which citizens' minimal financial wellness being so closely tied to the stock and bond markets might lead to a degradation of their sense of stewardship of and concern for public goods, or the reverse? Do you imagine this leading to more or less corporate regulation? Would sensible corporate regulation even be possible in a political climate in which all citizens stand to benefit by corporations continuing to take the view that short term gains trump long term investment or pro-active initiatives to curb pollution, etc.?

I'm curious to read your thoughts on this. As I said, I found the idea interesting, and I'm trying to envision how something like your proposal might work.