2. Love it or Hate it By Marcelo Bayon

3. What is Capitalism? Ask a Financially Poor Person.  If you ask someone who is in poverty, they might say that it is a system that it takes from the poor and gives to the rich.  You could also say that they are not happy and would like the government or the company they work for to take care of them in their old age.

4. What is Capitalism? Ask a Middle Class Person.  A Middle Class person might say that Capitalism has provided all their needs including: shelter, food, a high paying job, financial security, and a retirement account.  These people are the bread and butter of the Capitalist system since they are the educated workers who end up paying most of the taxes.

5. What is Capitalism? Ask a Financially Rich Person.  The might say that it is a system that protects and values individual rights.  They might also say that Capitalism is the only way Democracy can work.  They might also say that Capitalism is the best system to allow people to become rich and wealthy.

6. Do we live in a Capitalist country?  The United States has a free market where anyone can try and sell anything they want and try to make a profit from it.  We as a people do have our personal rights protected.  The middle class is burdened with taxes to support the poor.  We do live in a society with symptoms of Capitalism but there are also many signs that point to Socialism.

7. Socialism in a Capitalist Country  Government social programs that provide work, food, shelter, or bailouts is Socialism.  Firefighters, police officers, and public schools are all government “sponsored” for the people.  Unemployment benefits, food stamps, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Nurse-Family Partnerships, and housing assistance are all forms of Socialism.  See references for more details

8. Capitalism vs. Socialism Chart See references

9. Owners of Wealth In America today, approximately 90 percent of the wealth is owned by the top 10% percent of the population. The reverse is also true, the bottom 90% of the population own 10% of the wealth. See References

11. References  Big Brothers Big Sisters http://evidencebasedprograms.org/wordpress/?page _id=117 http://evidencebasedprograms.org/wordpress/?page _id=117  Nurse-Family Partnership http://evidencebasedprograms.org/wordpress/?page _id=57 http://evidencebasedprograms.org/wordpress/?page _id=57  Chart references http://www.cesj.org/thirdway/comparison3rdway.htmhttp://www.cesj.org/thirdway/comparison3rdway.htm  Graph references Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad’s Conspiracy of the Rich and the 8 new rules of money” page 122.