51–60 of 71 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
New sources of income will inevitably be the money printer.
And where do you think the indefinitly raising wealth of the top 10% comes from? I think you should look into modern monetary theory, MMT.
If you take any ancient or not so ancient civilization or kingdom, all the wealth including land and people's lives belonged to king/imperator which was appointed by god or something like that. Isn't is exactly the same with the system we have now? The question we have to ask is about 99% of population of peasants who work 8h a day same as they did in Mesopotamia. Do they have a living standard, healthcare, possibili…
> Together, they now own three times more than the poorest half of humanity, or 2.8 billion adults. While the gap has stabilized since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has grown sharply over recent decades: Back in 1995, the 0.001% held "only" twice as much as the poorest half. Important context: here debt is counted as negative. This means a person with no debt but zero wealth also owns more wealth than bottom 2…
> Together, they now own three times more than the poorest half of humanity, or 2.8 billion adults. While the gap has stabilized since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has grown sharply over recent decades: Back in 1995, the 0.001% held "only" twice as much as the poorest half. Important context: here debt is counted as negative. This means a person with no debt but zero wealth also owns more wealth than bottom 2…
Why is it misleading? Debt is negative wealth. Being indebted to the very rich puts you lower than people who at least have nothing. Would it be less misleading for you if they silently ignored bottom 20% of people?
If you take any ancient or not so ancient civilization or kingdom, all the wealth including land and people's lives belonged to king/imperator which was appointed by god or something like that. Isn't is exactly the same with the system we have now? The question we have to ask is about 99% of population of peasants who work 8h a day same as they did in Mesopotamia. Do they have a living standard, healthcare, possibili…
This is very close to saying you wouldn't be against slavery. A slave could be given a decent quality of life. Does that mean slavery is acceptable? A person with 50 bazillion will be able to make you a slave if he wants to.
Oh, sure, you aren't a slave. You can't be bought and sold like property. But try going a few months without a paycheck and tell me how that goes. And if you happened to get lucky at some point and escaped wage slavery - you have to be cognizant of the fact that most didn't, and never will, by design.
Modern wage slavery vs whatever they had in Mesopotamia is just details of the perks that the owners decide to hand out.
If you take any ancient or not so ancient civilization or kingdom, all the wealth including land and people's lives belonged to king/imperator which was appointed by god or something like that. Isn't is exactly the same with the system we have now? The question we have to ask is about 99% of population of peasants who work 8h a day same as they did in Mesopotamia. Do they have a living standard, healthcare, possibili…
So the past was shitty too? You don't care? Okay, well some of us do. Wealth grants power. Opinions from money matter gain greater reach and traction, and these very quickly turn into influence and power. The current US administration clearly shows how wielding power for your own ends gives you money. It's a toxic cycle that rewards grift instead of work. You don't care, but this is a serious problem for society beca…
If you take any ancient or not so ancient civilization or kingdom, all the wealth including land and people's lives belonged to king/imperator which was appointed by god or something like that. Isn't is exactly the same with the system we have now? The question we have to ask is about 99% of population of peasants who work 8h a day same as they did in Mesopotamia. Do they have a living standard, healthcare, possibili…
If you take any ancient or not so ancient civilization or kingdom, all the wealth including land and people's lives belonged to king/imperator which was appointed by god or something like that. Isn't is exactly the same with the system we have now? The question we have to ask is about 99% of population of peasants who work 8h a day same as they did in Mesopotamia. Do they have a living standard, healthcare, possibili…
Peasants worked ~14 hours a day, and they had no healthcare or ability to retire. The reason you work 8 hours a day, have health care, and the ability to retire is because the 19th and 20th centuries saw an unprecedented transfer of wealth and power from the rich to everyone else, which manifested in labor laws, pensions, etc. Unless you can prove otherwise, the default assumption needs to be that consolidation of we…
And the trend has already started. The latest budget big will make healthcare inaccessible to mire Americans.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So the past was shitty too? You don't care? Okay, well some of us do. Wealth grants power. Opinions from money matter gain greater reach and traction, and these very quickly turn into influence and power. The current US administration clearly shows how wielding power for your own ends gives you money. It's a toxic cycle that rewards grift instead of work. You don't care, but this is a serious problem for society beca…
Preach, brother! Because the ultra-rich surely weren't taking over the world under the previous administration!
So I agree with your sarcasm and I also agree with the parent comment that the current admin is doing a better job "clearly showing" how this works to everyone.
> Together, they now own three times more than the poorest half of humanity, or 2.8 billion adults. While the gap has stabilized since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has grown sharply over recent decades: Back in 1995, the 0.001% held "only" twice as much as the poorest half. Important context: here debt is counted as negative. This means a person with no debt but zero wealth also owns more wealth than bottom 2…
while debt might be well marketed as acceptable, I worry that you have allowed yourself to consider it not real: if someone is in debt to the bank for the majority of their homes value of 300k while earning 50k PA and then someone else pays 10k rent PA but earns 40k PA then the person on 40k is still wealthier