Is the US heading towards being a secular society?

I suggest a distribution of wealth somewhere between the status quo, and the ideal Christian society, in which all excess (in fact, all privately held wealth of Christians, if you take Jesus at his word!) would be given to the poor.

When have I said zero out safety nets? How much is enough? Show me the math that is sustainable.

Economy - overview
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $48,100.

I suggest a distribution of wealth somewhere between the status quo, and the ideal Christian society, in which all excess (in fact, all privately held wealth of Christians, if you take Jesus at his word!) would be given to the poor.

When have I said zero out safety nets? How much is enough? Show me the math that is sustainable.

Let's begin with a ballpark estimate.

Economy - overview
The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $48,100.

Notice, that's nearly $200,000 per family of four on average. Of course, most families have much less income than that (and fractionally more children), while a very few have astronomically more.

330,000,000 capita * $48,100/capita = $15,873,000,000,000 ($15.873 Trillion)

So, here is the "math that is sustainable" you requested, with a side ethics of ethics at no additional charge. Half the current United States GDP could be earmarked for safety net programs (Less would be needed for modest but sufficient food, housing, utilities, medical care, transportation and education, I'm sure, but I'm using hyperbole to emphasize that caring adequately for everybody in need is easily sustainable.) and nearly $8 Trillion would still be available for defense and to stimulate competition by rewarding whoever is more productive.

The defense budget is something like $2 Trillion, last I checked. It could be half that or twice that, and it wouldn't really matter. The point stands that the remaining several Trillion dollars are more than enough to motivate such competition as the capitalist model requires, and whoever cannot be motivated to put forth their best effort for their equitable share of that jackpot is too insane to make anything that anybody needs or wants.

Nobody must suffer deprivation in order for all of us to enjoy the benefits of civilized competition. The math is sustainable.

Well there ya go. A total government take over of all production in the US would solve all our social problems. Utopia for everyone! Never been thought of or tried before in history. It's got to work. You've proved it mathmatically. Plus, we have the support of Jesus.

bobby, you don't think it's a bit more complicated than that, do you?

As a matter of fact, what I suggest has not only been tried, but has worked and continues to work across western Europe, in spite of recent economic disruptions caused by unregulated and insufficiently regulated financial speculation.

Utopia for everyone! Never been thought of or tried before in history.

Well there ya go. A total government take over of all production in the US would solve all our social problems.

Half ("half" < "total") the current United States GDP could be earmarked for safety net programs (Less would be needed for modest but sufficient food, housing, utilities, medical care, transportation and education, I'm sure, but I'm using hyperbole to emphasize that caring adequately for everybody in need is easily sustainable.) and nearly $8 Trillion would still be available for defense and to stimulate competition by rewarding whoever is more productive.

As has been pointed out a number of times, US taxation as a proportion of US GDP is at a low compared to the last 50 or so years, thus it would appear taxation as a higher proportion of GDP than currently in place has been demonstrated to be sustainable.

+1
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I also think capitalism relies on continuous growth.

I'm a discussant and it will take a lot more than a "BS" to show me where the error is in my thinking- Comprendee?

Renee

Let us hope the US is becoming a secular society. Religion has absolutely no proof behind it and is simply feel good superstition.

lower rates than we already have are not necessary for sustainable economic growth.

Yes, this thread is not titled appropriately for talking about the math of how to fix our financial mess.

Reed, I've got to hand it to you for being the first to point out our GDP and our government spending needs and the big difference between them. Welcome to these forums. I can't argue with you on those numbers. However, to talk about it like that makes it sound really easy to do. Seems like we could fix our financial problems overnight. Seems like it's a no-brainer.

However, its practical implementation turns out to be quite different from the academic discussion.

Yes, so I've started a new thread for this off-topic tangent that I started.

Yes, this thread is not titled appropriately for talking about the math of how to fix our financial mess.

Reed, I've got to hand it to you for being the first to point out our GDP and our government spending needs and the big difference between them. Welcome to these forums. I can't argue with you on those numbers. However, to talk about it like that makes it sound really easy to do. Seems like we could fix our financial problems overnight. Seems like it's a no-brainer.

However, its practical implementation turns out to be quite different from the academic discussion.