United States

States that are united should work with each other, but neo-con capitalism is encouraging states to fight/compete with each other. 

If you listen to neo-conservatives, they talk about how we have to make concessions to big businesses, in order to encourage jobs. They say that if you want to encourage job growth, you have to reduce business taxes and regulations. In many ways, we know that to be true, since corporations frequently move to another state because of huge tax incentives. In states where they have the most strength, neo-cons reduce or eliminate business taxes and regulations. Once corporations move to that state, neo-cons can tell every other state that you better do the same, before all of your businesses move. Their candidates speak that message loudly, to try to instill fear into the voters. Neo-cons know that if they can make the public worry, then they get more votes (see Fear, Neo-cons).

But what the neo-cons know and intentionally fail to mention is that making concessions to businesses is a never-ending cycle. Neo-cons want state after state to compete with each other for jobs. It really is a rather clever plan, in which they get all of their goals: huge profits for corporations, fewer regulations so they can pollute, fewer social services since states won’t have the money for them, and lower wages for workers. That is achieved simply by making each state afraid that if it doesn’t make more concessions to corporations, then it will lose jobs. 

What makes their plan work so well is that on the surface, it seems logical. We all know that many corporations have moved to another state. But remember, these are the same neo-cons that drafted NAFTA and promoted Globalization and Free Trade. Corporations aren’t just moving to another state but to another country. So, states might reduce or eliminate corporate taxes and regulations, but they will still lose jobs in the long run. If states follow the neo-con plan, it will result in a temporary gain in jobs but a big loss in revenue and environmental quality. If the people of that state support the neo-con plan, they will end up with higher unemployment, lower wages and fewer social services, another words, a much lower standard of living. The neo-con plan has every state competing to see who can hit bottom first while corporations gain greater power and make even larger profits.

What’s the solution to this problem? A limit on income to eliminate obscene greed would work (see Greed). If a corporation were making enough money for the executives to reach the income limit, there would be no huge incentive to move the company. Investors who receive a modest return would be satisfied, especially if they were also hitting the income limit. Excess corporate profits would be funneled into more equipment and possibly higher worker wages. Both of these would stimulate the economy, and would create more jobs. This would be a long-term solution, since as long as corporations made enough to get by; they could stay in the United States, insuring jobs. This plan is more likely to succeed at creating and holding on to jobs, then the neo-con plan. Of course, the neo-cons will criticize an income limit, because they will be forced to survive on a mere $500 an hour.

States that are united should work with each other, and devise a plan that will benefit the United States and not greedy corporate executives.