Capitalism vs. Socialism Town Hall | Part 1

live from New York City making money with Charles Payne presents a town hall in the national discussion thank you thank you all very much good thank you thank you all very very much hello everyone and thanks for being here this is a very special edition of making money in fact it's our first for Fox business a town hall on capitalism and socialism now we're gonna get to the questions from our live studio audience in just a minute but let's meet the folks answering those questions first taking up the virtues of socialism bianca cunningham bianca is the co-chair of the New York City Democratic socialists of America in 2014 she was a retail worker at Verizon Wireless store in Brooklyn she organized her co-workers have formed the first ever union for Verizon Wireless workers with her you know this man is hot economic since 1967 at universities around the world including Yale and the University of Paris his most recent book is called capitalism's crisis deepens and here a champion capitalism as the man himself Herman Cain the former chairman of the Federal Reserve the Kansas City and he ran for president in 2012 you might remember that well did you know he started from humble beginnings he grew up in Georgia during the 40s and 50s and finally my men we are joined by Fox Business it's very own stuart varney hosted the top market show on television Barney a company in 9:00 p.m. in New York on this network rather if you watch a show you know that Stewart likes to say that he has quote a refugee of European socialism he came to America decades ago and he's never looked back now throughout today's Town Hall other Fox Business stars will be joining us to speak candidly about the state of capitalism and the American dream Neil Cavuto is Coming Kennedy's coming Lou Dobbs and of course we've got great questions lined up from our audience but before we get to that the question right now why are we doing this Town Hall and why now Jackie the Angelus is here she's got those answers Jackie good afternoon to charles capitalism versus socialism there is more at stake now than ever but two people who look at socialism and ask for it do they know what it means as the election looms a national debate is raging on one side capitalism free market economy the individual creation of wealth here in the United States we are alarmed by the new calls to adopt socialism in our country on the other side socialism government control of enterprise wealth shared by all democratic socialism to me is creating a government in a economy in a society which works for all rather than just the top one percent according to a new Gallup poll 47 percent of Americans say they would vote for a qualified presidential candidate who is a socialist it means putting democracy and society first instead of capital first Democrats are embracing the same tired economic theories that have impoverished nations and stifled the liberties of millions so who's right when America and the American people do better embracing a society based on socialism instead of capitalism that question may be on the ballot in 2020 the Fox Business is exploring that today with this town Charles let's get some answers let's get them thanks so much Jackie in the audience well they've got a lot of questions for this group so let's start with Alex who is in school Alex what's your question how can we call our country great or our society moral when a small number of wealthy people have far more money that could ever be required to live a comfortable life while several people lack basic human rights such as housing health care or even food Alex great question I want to start with Herman Cain [Applause] Alex I first reject your assumptions the assumption that a lot of people are not able to pursue the so-called American dream I am an example I started when I was very poor and because I was willing to take risks I was willing to invest sweat equity I was willing to change jobs multiple times I was able to climb up the corporate ladder so I reject your hypothesis that only a few people secondly the thing about rich people that a lot of people don't don't know and a lot of people don't talk about if they'll socialist is that when rich people have a lot of money do you know they spent a large percentage of their time trying to figure out how to give it away to causes that they like not causes that the government likes Bianca but you worked at Verizon you felt it was an unfair system and so you did something about it and you think there's an only one way to really write this and that's through a socialistic Society right yeah socially so we believe in putting the power back in the hands of everyday Americans taking away from the few at the top that have means to control the agenda for the rest of us in this country we want a government that's for the people by the people truly what would you say to Herman in the sense that he started out in the 1940s and Georgia we know what the circumstances were like and he was able to propel himself to a place does that not exist anymore for someone in your age I believe that Millennials are entering the really difficult economic system I congratulate miss Carmen for his successes but I do think that people shouldn't have to put their safety and security at risk in order to achieve the American allow me to respond because that's another fallacy into thinking never in the history of the world has a socialist model worked most people want to point to Venezuela and then they are in denial they want to point to Cuba and they are they in denial have you ever heard of the USSR United Soviet Socialist Republic they tried socialism for 17 years and it failed right and when they finally figured it out the 15 countries went their separate ways Richard though you've taught all over the world I mean have you seen examples of socialism working absolutely the biggest and most important ones we can think about he referred to the United Soviet Socialist Republics that's not correct it's called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that's all right it's not a big mistake but the big one is not to understand what socialist societies have grown we are currently as the nation in a big fight an ugly fight initiated by President Trump against China as you know tariff Wars when after a big company today that's a big effect why because China is the second most important economy in the world was the first most important just a second 42nd forty years ago China was one of the poorest countries in the world it used a very powerful socialist economic model to do one thing to grow quickly to stop being poor and to become wealthy they did a lot of things along the way I don't agree with and you don't it's not an example of rapid economic growth through then that is the example of our lifetime China took off when the assumed capitalist connotations they took off when I can't remember the name of their leader who said let a thousand flowers bloom and the thousand flowers were capitalist enterprises and that's when China's [Applause] you've been teaching kids in our schools [Applause] I've been teaching kids a bit longer than you've been talking on TV keep the conversation I want to respond to Alex's question or because what you are really asking about was income inequality and I'm sure that's what upsets you about our society today I have a different view of income inequality I think it's a good thing that you allow some people by their own brains Drive talent and ability to become rich but more rich people yes it is the more rich people you allow the more growth in your economy the more innovation the more innovative more efficiency and the greater prosperity can I just have 30 seconds I'm an example of that I got rich in the 1990s by investing in stocks I got rich I then got out and put that money into real estate in California what dozens of houses did them up rented them out made a profit took that money put it into land I now run a large tree folk don't know what you're laughing at young man I invested in land I've now got a profitable tree farm employs people in a very depressed area and now with my wealth that I made by myself I'm looking after six kids and nine grandchildren and I'm not looking for anything of you let's all here [Applause] we actually have another audience member named Alex and we're gonna go to him for his questions so go ahead Alex so many of the policies we pursue and label a socialist in America are called by the more accurate term of social democracy in Europe I was wondering how do you think this rhetorical differences stunted our ability to discuss effective policy and even have a rational conversation about economics no Richard I'll pose that to you because what you're now you're not even talking about democratic socialism you're talking about chinese-style socialism which includes a million Muslims who are now in concentration camps and you know stifling of Free Press surveillance the surveillance society that will be nineteen eighty-four soon as soon as you look around the corner is is there there's so many nuances we're very now inclusive capitalism progressive capitalism Democratic so I mean socialism what socialism do you think it is that will work in this country because now we're hearing a variety from all these presidential candidates I didn't endorse Chinese socialism like yeah I know that's why I'm helping you here what I'm doing was showing you that the statement that have this kind of an economy can't create economic wealth and develop a mass of people in a quick time is wrong that's what China did whatever else you like or don't about that society rapid economic growth which is one of the great goals of most people on this planet was achieved at a faster rate than in the United States let me just finish this point over the last twenty years so we're not talking a short amount of time the average annual increase in output in the People's Republic of China was in the neighborhood of ten to ten and a half percent over the same period of time the average annual growth of output in this country was somewhere around three percent it's not even close and that has to be a reality you face unless you're living in a fantasy world look at what you but we should also put an improper perspective if I got a quarter in my pocket and I find a quarter I double what I have in my pocket up 100 percent if I got 20 bucks in my pocket a final quarter come up a few percentage points we started at a much higher base god god Bless America that we have Bianca do you think then this is a race to get to a certain place and if it is would you be willing to give up freedom of press like the that comes along with a lot of new Soviet or socialist economies the democracy a lot of them involve ultimately dictatorships one one leader one political party would you be willing to give all of those things up for a tighter income inequality so socialism is an old term with a bad rep in my opinion it predates Marx I'm part of the largest and fastest growing organist organization in the country the Democratic socialists of America and what we in a country with so much excess it's not equitable that some people are starving it's not right that families have to make a decision between putting food in the fridge are buying prescription drugs and what we're trying to move towards is a model that works for all of us not a few and at the top you ever wonder where the excess came from its yes madam I did may I respond to absolutely something that she said I'm I live in Atlanta Georgia I don't buy your argument that you got people who don't have food to eat and they don't have shelter you want to know why there are homeless shelters and food banks all over downtown Atlanta that some homeless people choose not to go to so you think the government is going to company do you think the government is gonna come in and use its clout in order to take from the rich and give to the pool right now I mentor in New York City public schools and I can tell you that the schools that I mentor in almost 65 percent of the kids are homeless when given $2,000 at the project to say what should we spend money on they're asking for community gardens so that they can bring food home they're asking for rooms so that they can sleep overnight in because they're afraid of sleeping on the streets with their parents people are dealing with real issues in Europe claim that people are not homeless or going without is just false well your claim I grew up taking biscuits to school for lunch with no meat so don't talk to me about people coming to school who don't have food and this and that it's available if they go out and work for it like everybody else because Stewart actually came from from the UK where there was sort of a command-and-control us right and yeah so you've lived both differences let me respond to Alex's question here because that's a valid question and yes I do want a rational conversation about things but I also want to talk the truth European socialism does not work and I'm an example of that in the 1970s that was when I was in England yeah I don't know why you're laughing sunshine but I'm telling you when I was in England in the 1970s the coal industry steel industry rail industry gas industry road transportation what else we got here Oh electricity healthcare all of that and the airline's owned and run by the government and they ran it into the ground that was English socialism it failed miserably they come here and I find a capitalist society we can work your way up the food chain with brains Drive talent and ability and by the way it was Margaret Thatcher a capitalist who restored England to prosperity after the degradation socialism in 1970s first still laughing I don't know why

Channel: Fox Business

Views: 301,282

Rating: 4.6225343 out of 5

Keywords: Fox Business, FBN, Business, Business News, News, fox business network, capitalism vs socialism, town hall, socialism vs capitalism, income inequality, democratic socialism, making money with cpayne, charles payne, economic systems, us economy, socialism, capitalism, lisa kennedy, lou dobbs, stuart varney, neil cavuto, socialism debate, capitalism and socialism, fox business town hall, us economic systems, government spending, 2020 election, capitalism vs socialism debate

Id: t7zMF8Bgkb0

Length: 15min 16sec (916 seconds)

Published: Thu May 16 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/seeking-abyss]

lol at Stuart Varney heckling the questioners

[u/seeking-abyss]

The other panelist on the socialism side talked too much about vague terms like “democracy” and not enough about how it should be implemented.

[u/errythangberns]

Every time I try and listen or watch Wolff I just don't get the hype. All this clip has shown me is that Fox News was able to mislead it's viewers by conflating universal health care with USSR styled socialism and that Wolff was just there as a useful idiot to distract from the substantive debate.

[u/mrhouse1101]

Is Richard Wolff really a socialist though? Some socialists say that Marx ultimately wanted a Macroeconomic change which involves getting rid of market forces and not just giving workers more power. Richard Wolff is a market socialist and takes the position that a planned economy won't work but changing the structure of the enterprise will . Or at least that's how I understand this.

[u/rochesterjones]

Richard D Wolff looks like Christian Bale playing Dick Cheney