From the outside, it sounds like the American Dream is one of the things that led them to where they are.
Stay Gold, America
141–150 of 239 posts
Re: Stay Gold, America
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
I go back and forth on this myself. I'm the first to admit my ignorance of such topics to be completely honest. However, what I've noticed about myself as I've become more wealthy is that I'm less corruptible. I've always had a strong moral backbone, sure, but I've noticed that I am less likely to do things that compromise what I want to do, as I've become more rich. So, maybe you need your politicians to be somewhat…
Getting rich already means you have a higher drive from greed, allowing greedy people in positions of power doesn't mean it makes them less corruptible just that the corruption is on a higher level and degree. Instead of an official taking a bribe on a briefcase full of cash there are layers of indirection, contracts between companies, some kind of trust somewhere that benefits from it, someone gets employed in a pos…
> Getting rich already means you have a higher drive from greed
I know tons of people who work at NVidia for whom this isn’t true. They love working on hardware and suddenly we’re worth 8 figures because of the rise of the stock.
Re: Stay Gold, America
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe the people who serve society at the highest levels should also have the biggest stake in its successful outcomes.
"serve society"? More like help themselves to the loot, while driving society to the ground...
Bloomberg was the best mayor NYC has had in a long time. The less wealthy ones have generally been far more corrupt.
Re: Stay Gold, America
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
America is the best country in the world for growing something new. Source: I am a non-American who does business in America.
> America is the best country in the world for growing something new The 27th best, if that new thing is supposed to lift your social/economic status upwards: "The US ranked 27th in the 2020 Global Social Mobility Index". But it might well be the best for people to build new businesses of scale (especially already well off people).
I'm talking about economic mobility, not social mobility.
Re: Stay Gold, America
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is only true if you consider absolute instead of expected value and cherry pick statistical outcomes. Successful business people start multiple businesses. Social class and economic class are different. Few successful welders go to the opera.
????? What does any of what you wrote have to do with social mobility statistics? They don’t measure number of businesses or opera attendance when determining movement from bottom quintile of income to top quintile.
You're talking about economic mobility specifically in terms of income. I am not.
Re: Stay Gold, America
#146> We are at an unprecedented point in American history, and I'm concerned we may lose sight of the American Dream The understatement of the year. From all I read, hasn't it been dead and burried for decades? (Of course not for some founder who hit the jackpot like Jeff). "Evidence indicates that in recent decades social mobility in the United States has declined, and income inequality has risen.[7][8] Social mobility…
There has always been poor people in the US. There seems to be more shame and stigma attached now though, along with denial. I think that is one of the reasons the iPhone is more popular in the US. It helps people feel like they aren't poor.
There have always been poor people, but those poor people keep getting richer when compared with each other across time. Better to be working poor now than a king in the middle ages (in terms of access to information, health outcomes, food quality, healthspan, lifespan, etc., etc., etc.).
Re: Stay Gold, America
#147From the outside, it sounds like the American Dream is one of the things that led them to where they are.
The greatest, most powerful, most successful country in the history of humanity.
Re: Stay Gold, America
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
They're not any less trustworthy than the general public. Usually you should be skeptical of people professing to be altruistic, however.
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This is simply false.
Business is a social resource allocation game. If you break the rules you will be punished.
Re: Stay Gold, America
#149So a guy who can donate $1 million to 8 causes each is trying to make me feel good about donating to the same causes?
Re: Stay Gold, America
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is his alternative?
Advocating and lobbying for system change such as abolishing reserve banking and other such monetary manipulations. It's dystopian that some people have millions of dollars of passive income; easy money falling on their lap each year, mostly coming straight out of a money printer, then they give back a fraction of that to a fraction of the people who were victimized by that same system. The system systematically stea…
Making the perfect the enemy of the good?