About 1.5 billion people were raised out of extreme poverty over about 30 years arguably because of capitalism. Similarly, large global middle classes have built up over that time. It feels like we should keep doing what we've been doing?
Doesn't china account for like at least half of that? And even there but also everywhere else it has stalled or even reversed since 2020? Which is not even getting into the problem that "extreme poverty" is defined by organizations operating from within wealthy countries, who have their own interests, incentives, and constraints around these figures and their boundaries. If you want to argue for it all being capitali…
way more than half. the world bank says at least 75% of the reduction has been in china alone and some other stats show that globally, excluding china, poverty has gotten worse in recent decades
Not only is talent everywhere, but opportunity is everywhere too - it just takes different forms and the resources necessary to capture that opportunity are not evenly distributed. I live in small town America. We have a ton of opportunity here, but there's no question that the labor, capital, and similar resources needed to unlock that opportunity is far more challenging to gather here than it would be in large coas…
"...and the resources necessary to capture that opportunity are not evenly distributed." If the resources to capture opportunity are not available, do those opportunities actually exist?!
Sure - you can see the opportunity, you can build the business case, but you might not have the resources to make it happen... case in point... we have a nearby recreation area that had fallen on hard times for about the past decade. It was clear someone with sufficient resources could turn it around, but one of the main problems was staffing. It was going to be really difficult to get good people willing to either commute the hour to get there, or who could be trusted to live up there in employee housing year round (because there had been a lot of problems with drugs, etc...). And the buildings needed serious updating. Finally someone from outside the area came with money from another venture, plus had multiple adult children who he could put in hands-on roles where if they were successful, then this would become their inheritance. It's the only way the business could have been made to work, at least until they can get it up and running as a going concern. The opportunity was there, the resources weren't -- until suddenly they were.
Not only is talent everywhere, but opportunity is everywhere too - it just takes different forms and the resources necessary to capture that opportunity are not evenly distributed. I live in small town America. We have a ton of opportunity here, but there's no question that the labor, capital, and similar resources needed to unlock that opportunity is far more challenging to gather here than it would be in large coas…
"...and the resources necessary to capture that opportunity are not evenly distributed." If the resources to capture opportunity are not available, do those opportunities actually exist?!
"...and the resources necessary to capture that opportunity are not evenly distributed." If the resources to capture opportunity are not available, do those opportunities actually exist?!
Sure - you can see the opportunity, you can build the business case, but you might not have the resources to make it happen... case in point... we have a nearby recreation area that had fallen on hard times for about the past decade. It was clear someone with sufficient resources could turn it around, but one of the main problems was staffing. It was going to be really difficult to get good people willing to either c…
If the so called opportunity is the opportunity to "build a business case," what kind of opportunity is that? I have the opportunity to slap myself, but I don't think you would consider that an opportunity in the sense we are discussing - but maybe this is the problem, we never agreed on the definition of opportunity.
I find it rather hard to take you seriously after reading your bio where you decry the population diversifying on HN.
Sure - you can see the opportunity, you can build the business case, but you might not have the resources to make it happen... case in point... we have a nearby recreation area that had fallen on hard times for about the past decade. It was clear someone with sufficient resources could turn it around, but one of the main problems was staffing. It was going to be really difficult to get good people willing to either c…
If the so called opportunity is the opportunity to "build a business case," what kind of opportunity is that? I have the opportunity to slap myself, but I don't think you would consider that an opportunity in the sense we are discussing - but maybe this is the problem, we never agreed on the definition of opportunity. I find it rather hard to take you seriously after reading your bio where you decry the population di…
>I find it rather hard to take you seriously after reading your bio where you decry the population diversifying on HN.
Good sir, look at the needlessly combative nature of not only your comments to me but rather all of your comments. You are at best a troll who brings down the quality of discourse on this site. I don't really give a rats patootie if you "take me seriously," HN isn't real life, it's an online thread of strangers firing away their opinions. Perhaps engage in a more constructive manner, or realize that you are exactly the kind of space waster that caused me to add that soapbox to my bio, and causes me to wonder why on earth I continue to waste time on this site - probably because I have yet to find a better option for tech, science, and interesting news.
If the so called opportunity is the opportunity to "build a business case," what kind of opportunity is that? I have the opportunity to slap myself, but I don't think you would consider that an opportunity in the sense we are discussing - but maybe this is the problem, we never agreed on the definition of opportunity. I find it rather hard to take you seriously after reading your bio where you decry the population di…
>I find it rather hard to take you seriously after reading your bio where you decry the population diversifying on HN. Good sir, look at the needlessly combative nature of not only your comments to me but rather all of your comments. You are at best a troll who brings down the quality of discourse on this site. I don't really give a rats patootie if you "take me seriously," HN isn't real life, it's an online thread o…
I guess you can't answer my question because I am supposedly needlessly combative.
It doesn't make sense when the major health problem in the US is obesity. Always these childish and clueless economic takes on this board.
What does obesity have to do with anything? People are eating unhealthy? > Always these childish and clueless economic takes on this board. "Avoid swipes" and "Please don't create new accounts regularly."
Obesity is certainly a factor holding back certain communities here in the USA. But I agree it's a tangential issue.
On the issue of whether or not "the middle class is collapsing," I hear lots of arguments (as usual very polarized) on both sides of that debate. Does anybody have strong empirical studies to share (ideally non-partisan!) on how this statement holds up? I have googled and probably found the obvious stuff but I would love to read up more on this.
What does obesity have to do with anything? People are eating unhealthy? > Always these childish and clueless economic takes on this board. "Avoid swipes" and "Please don't create new accounts regularly."
Obesity is certainly a factor holding back certain communities here in the USA. But I agree it's a tangential issue. On the issue of whether or not "the middle class is collapsing," I hear lots of arguments (as usual very polarized) on both sides of that debate. Does anybody have strong empirical studies to share (ideally non-partisan!) on how this statement holds up? I have googled and probably found the obvious stu…
Here are a few sources[1][2] (oops, [1] is from 2020) but I don't have anything special. I think there was an article on HN that showed this well, but I can't find it. Basically, kids today have extremely limited chance to do better than their parents.
Homelessness is at an all time high.[6]
The following are loosely related to the economy, in that the cost of dealing with the problem is growing, and they prevent well adjusted growth.
There's also a mental health epidemic[3] from the Surgeon General[4].
Also consider the possible extinction level climate change issues[5].
If you claim talent is everywhere, the onus is on you to prove it. Disproving a sweeping generalization requires a single instance. For instance, I'm looking out of my window, and I don't see any talent - ergo, talent is not everywhere. Facetious, but not entirely.
I'm asking the OP to prove, or rather, even begin to attempt to argue, and I quote, "opportunity is everywhere," which is only part one of their baseless claims! That's why I asked them to support their argument with evidence. The article provides some evidence that opportunity is not everywhere.
If you claim talent is everywhere, the onus is on you to prove it. Disproving a sweeping generalization requires a single instance. For instance, I'm looking out of my window, and I don't see any talent - ergo, talent is not everywhere. Facetious, but not entirely.
I'm asking the OP to prove, or rather, even begin to attempt to argue, and I quote, "opportunity is everywhere," which is only part one of their baseless claims! That's why I asked them to support their argument with evidence. The article provides some evidence that opportunity is not everywhere. This place is a moral sewer.
"Opportunity is everywhere" is another way of saying that, starting from any situation, you can improve your lot by being creative and taking the initiative. It would be hard to prove either way, but in my experience there is some truth to it. Our limitations are largely self-imposed.
I don't understand your "moral sewer" comment. Opinions are just that, opinions. Morality only attaches to actions.