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Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

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Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#71

Post by bsenftner »

hndude wrote: post #26
rcarrigan87 wrote: post #11

Further down in the article, some interesting points about the motivations behind philanthropy. "philanthropy is about more than just social responsibility—it’s about social stability." So other than a genuine desire to do good or vanity seeking that can motivate philanthropy, you have a third element in China - preventing a revolt by the poor on the rich. If you give just enough, you'll keep the poor subdued. I wond…

>I wonder if there are similar motivations for super rich American philanthropists. My guess is they're less worried about revolt and more motivated by vanity. This is a bit more pessimistic view but what about the raise in minimum wage for fast food workers (in NY) to $15 an hour? I daresay those employees are less likely to participate in Occupy Wall Street protests now, not that the balance of power in this countr…

All $15 an hour does it raise them to the new subsistence level. The aware of them still want major changes.

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#72

Post by FooBarWidget »

icebraining wrote: post #21
vijayr wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

even if food is not. Good food is not cheap. In NYC, we pay 8$ for a decent sized watermelon - almost all fruits are expensive, and most vegetables too. Only shitty food like chips, soda, candy, fast food etc are cheap.

Watermelon is good food? As far as I know, it's not particularly rich nutritionally, it's mostly expensive sugary water.

I beg to differ: https://www.google.com/search?q=watermelon+nutrition

1 serving contains 31 daily percent vitamin A and 37 daily percent vitamin C, as well as a good amount of iron, vitamin B-6 and magnesium.

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#73

Post by FooBarWidget »

roymurdock wrote: post #31

Funny to think that China was reforged under communist ideals only 50 years ago, and that the hatred of the poor rural folk for the wealthy, corrupt royals and warlords was strong enough to unite allow the country to expel the Japanese, the British, and the KMT. It's my view that the standard of living for the poor and lower classes has improved enough that there would not be enough hatred to fuel a revolution. Disgu…

At least my grandparents-in-law, who are retired and live at a farm, don't seem to particularly care. They have a comfortable amount of wealth nowadays and are living decently.

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#74

Post by tehwebguy »

themartorana wrote: post #59
vvvv wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is exactly the control mechanism that was used by a number of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, to prevent the Arab Spring revolutions from happening within their borders. They handed out billions of cash to the populace. "...the Saudi state began spending $130 billion to pump up civil servant salaries (paying two extra months’ salaries)" "In Kuwait, at around the same time, the state increased civil serva…

What will become of the already unstable Middle East when oil begins its inevitable (likely slow) decline as a dominant power source?

My guess? Not much.

Seems like they would find some other investments to make in the meantime.

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#75

Post by djhn »

sulam wrote: post #53
0xcde4c3db wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty much. The bottom of the 1% is the elite of people who still actually work for a living, such as lawyers, dentists, and doctors.

And software engineers. :)

1% in terms of income, or in terms of wealth?

A low-to-mid 6 figures household income? Definitely possible. 8 million net worth? You're gonna have to be a rather.. senior software engineer.

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#76

Post by ISL »

douche wrote: post #48
roymurdock wrote: post #31

Funny to think that China was reforged under communist ideals only 50 years ago, and that the hatred of the poor rural folk for the wealthy, corrupt royals and warlords was strong enough to unite allow the country to expel the Japanese, the British, and the KMT. It's my view that the standard of living for the poor and lower classes has improved enough that there would not be enough hatred to fuel a revolution. Disgu…

It really only takes a single spark and semi-charismatic leadership to start a revolution if there is widespread hostility to the ruling party. The Taiping nearly overthrew the Qing dynasty, and they were led by a deranged religious fanatic who had a breakdown after failing repeatedly to get into civil service and claimed to be the second coming of Jesus. This came at a time when the expansion and prosperity of the Q…

A rebellion can take more peaceful forms. In the United States, we have the opportunity to change the government entirely every six years (House, President, and Senate).

China's single-party system is, of course, different on the surface, but competing factions within the party provide the opportunity for change.

Today's Chinese Communist Party's policies are substantially different from those of Mao. History won't end, even if outright violence is tempered.

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#77

Post by Retra »

veidr wrote: post #68
littletimmy wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I really liked this sentiment of Oscar Wilde on charity: “[Charity] is not a solution [to poverty]: it is an aggravation of the difficulty. The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible…Just as the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realised by those who suffered from it, and understood by thos…

That quote has always bugged the shit out of me, because: those were only the worst slave owners for future generations of sociology and history students (who mostly didn't descend from slaves). For the actual slaves themselves, the worst slaveowners were the ones who whipped and tortured their slaves in an attempt to extract more value (or just for fun), those who separated children from parents, raped the women or…

>those were only the worst slave owners for future generations of sociology and history students

That's the thing, though: he wasn't speaking as an owned slave, but as a future sociologist/historian. So if they are the worst for future generations, why would it be bullshit that he's claiming they're the worst?

Maybe he simply isn't optimizing for immediate value, but for long-term value. And why would you be objecting to that?

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#78

Post by happywolf »

Apfel wrote: post #49
happywolf wrote: post #30

Just in case you wonder how to pronounce the Chinese word 'fuerdai', it sounds like 'foo-earl-die', which literally means 'rich second generation'

Uhhh... I think Foo Arr Die is a more accurate pronunciation, no?

No, it has 'er' instead of 'ar' sound. In fact, 'err' is a better word than 'earl'

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#79

Post by dragontamer »

ido wrote: post #61
dragontamer wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watermelons are out of season dude. They're only cheap in the summer. Its fall, so citrus (ie: oranges, tangerines) and apples are now cheap. Carrots, Celery, Potatoes, Oats (Oatmeal), Breakfast Cereal, Cereal Cereal, Onions, Kidney Beans, Green Beans, Milk make a good baseline for a cheap and nutritious meals year round. You grab Broccoli in the Winter, Pineapples and Lettuce in the Spring, Cherries and Watermelons…

Being in NYC probably inflates the prices overall too.

Not much compared to my area, which is also one of the highest cost of living spots in the US.

In fact, the primary difference is that $8 per fast food meal in NYC. The Milk, Eggs, Bread, Apples, and Potatoes are hit and miss (some cheaper where I live, some cheaper in NYC)

At least according to this: www.expatistan.com/

Re: Children of the Yuan Percent: Everyone Hates China's Rich Kids

#80

Post by douche »

themartorana wrote: post #59
vvvv wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is exactly the control mechanism that was used by a number of Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, to prevent the Arab Spring revolutions from happening within their borders. They handed out billions of cash to the populace. "...the Saudi state began spending $130 billion to pump up civil servant salaries (paying two extra months’ salaries)" "In Kuwait, at around the same time, the state increased civil serva…

What will become of the already unstable Middle East when oil begins its inevitable (likely slow) decline as a dominant power source?

Look at the state of the Middle East between the rise of sea-borne trade that withered the old overland Silk Road trade routes and the current petro-states.
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