5% of the US's net worth is down to the net wealth of 32 people.

[Codyisback]

The US has a gross GDP of 17.95 trillion (17,950 billion) and 5% (900b) is owned by the 32 richest recognized Americans (Forbes rich list).

I am all for wealth and I am happy for these people, being the believer in true capitalism I am, however when you take a step back and look at it from that removed perspective it's mesmerizing. If you look at the poorest people in the country (working up from people who have a net worth of 1 cent), the flipside of this 5% would be composed of the net worths of tens of millions of people.

Its the same story in Australia (and most free market economies I'm guessing) wherein the top 5% of the 1.34trn GDP (67bn) is held (through business enterprises and personal wealth) by the country's 13 richest people.

[markduschane]

Good luck with this thread lol

[cashinout]

if you live in america and have any sort of HVAC, you need to stfu

[JamesA1990]

5% isnt exactly a lot

the other 95% would crush them. impossible odds. Itd be like the 300.

The 95% 's dollar bills will blot out the sun

[MustardTiger17]

There's a lot more of us. I say we take their money

[BeastModeFTW]

wealth inequality is the most pressing issue in the United States.

[FlexLex]

This is the real issue that spans both parties and no one talks about it for real. People like Bernie have the right target in mind but come up with stupid ideas to combat it. Meanwhile both partisan sides argue over irrelevent **** like trans bathrooms, BLm, etc, all distractions to keep people fighting which allow the super rich to get even richer. Meanwhile most peoples wages have stagnated and the price for most essential things like housing, food, education, etc has risen dramatically. This will be the cause of the next major depression.. not recession, but depression, probably within our lifetimes. The current student loan/illegal immigrant/employment disaster is growing and growing.,..

The MISC is the wrong place for this discussion tho,.. too many idiots here think "dey earned it" and "taxation iz theft" to see that the middle class is always on the losing end and the super rich stay in power and the poor are bribed to not do anything.. meanwhile the working class gets shafted everyday.

Ask yourselves this... what percent of the wealth in this nation is distributed among those who actually produce a good or service? Look up the answer... that is the problem.

[markduschane]

This is the real issue that spans both parties and no one talks about it for real. People like Bernie have the right target in mind but come up with stupid ideas to combat it. Meanwhile both partisan sides argue over irrelevent **** like trans bathrooms, BLm, etc, all distractions to keep people fighting which allow the super rich to get even richer. Meanwhile most peoples wages have stagnated and the price for most essential things like housing, food, education, etc has risen dramatically. This will be the cause of the next major depression.. not recession, but depression, probably within our lifetimes. The current student loan/illegal immigrant/employment disaster is growing and growing.,..

The MISC is the wrong place for this discussion tho,.. too many idiots here think "dey earned it" and "taxation iz theft" to see that the middle class is always on the losing end and the super rich stay in power and the poor are bribed to not do anything.. meanwhile the working class gets shafted everyday.

Ask yourselves this... what percent of the wealth in this nation is distributed among those who actually produce a good or service? Look up the answer... that is the problem.

pay to play

[wincel]

There's a lot more of us. I say we take their money

That's what they are trying to go. They call it taxes.

[SlothLord]

wealth inequality = codespeak for gimme your chit

[Omnivium]

Disclaimer: I am not a filthy commie

On one hand I believe people should be able to earn as much money as they can and do whatever they want with it without being taxed into oblivion

But on the other hand, they end up giving the money to their spoiled kids who did not earn it. This creates an "elite" class, most of which don't even deserve to be there. And then there's the hedge fund managers and investors etc. who provide zero value to the world, yet make way more than people who do

Idk man, I believe in freedom and EARNING as much money as you can. But some of this chit that is happening is fuked up

[SnowEh]

What's your problem with it? That they gained their wealth illegally? If so that has nothing to do with capitalism. If your problem is that they gained it legally but it's "too much" then you're wrong. If people voluntarily give rich people their money why are they not allowed to keep it? People buy their products/services because they enjoy them and find value in them. They make our lives better yet you're still mad and want their money.

[SnowEh]

But on the other hand, they end up giving the money to their spoiled kids who did not earn it. This creates an "elite" class, most of which don't even deserve to be there. And then there's the hedge fund managers and investors etc. who provide zero value to the world, yet make way more than people who do

Who provide zero value to the world? u w0t m8. EVERYTHING you see and own exists from an investor. It's like saying banks provide zero value to the world.

[Codyisback]

Disclaimer: I am not a filthy commie

On one hand I believe people should be able to earn as much money as they can and do whatever they want with it without being taxed into oblivion

But on the other hand, they end up giving the money to their spoiled kids who did not earn it. This creates an "elite" class, most of which don't even deserve to be there. And then there's the hedge fund managers and investors etc. who provide zero value to the world, yet make way more than people who do

Idk man, I believe in freedom and EARNING as much money as you can. But some of this chit that is happening is fuked up

alot of those hedge funds keep the frontline employees in work though when they buy shares (thus sending the stock price up, leading to increased spending and hiring and greater net worth of these employing companies), though on the flipside when then sell them the opposite is true. I do believe that through their large scale share transactions they make the economy what it is (big, and an employer of millions of working people). Without hedge funds i.e. just small individual investors the economy would not be what it is (i.e. it would be smaller and alot more people would be out of work).

I think you see hedgefunds from the perspective that they just buy and sell something and thus 'build nothing', but if you take a step back and look at things more expansively, they do indeed boost the economy.

[Codyisback]

wealth inequality = codespeak for gimme your chit

Its true, I can't stand anything more than poor hippies who protest a guy with a mercedes who's rich and want to take everything from him, that's socialism/communism and I'm against that. I simply posted this because it was fun to think about.

[Omnivium]

alot of those hedge funds keep the frontline employees in work though when they buy shares (thus sending the stock price up, leading to increased spending and hiring and greater net worth of these employing companies), though on the flipside when then sell them the opposite is true. I do believe that through their large scale share transactions they make the economy what it is (big, and an employer of millions of working people). Without hedge funds i.e. just small individual investors the economy would not be what it is (i.e. it would be smaller and alot more people would be out of work).

I think you see hedgefunds from the perspective that they just buy and sell something and thus 'build nothing', but if you take a step back and look at things more expansively, they do indeed boost the economy.

I don't know too much about that stuff, all I know is a lot of rich people didn't really earn it, especially people who just inherited it from someone else

Maybe instead of an inheritance tax there should be an inheritance cap instead, sounds like it would be more fair (again, not a commie socialist lol)

[SnowEh]

Disclaimer: I am not a filthy commie

On one hand I believe people should be able to earn as much money as they can and do whatever they want with it without being taxed into oblivion

But on the other hand, they end up giving the money to their spoiled kids who did not earn it. This creates an "elite" class, most of which don't even deserve to be there. And then there's the hedge fund managers and investors etc. who provide zero value to the world, yet make way more than people who do

Idk man, I believe in freedom and EARNING as much money as you can. But some of this chit that is happening is fuked up

Why does it matter how they spend their money or who they give it to. Your family members don't have to earn the money that you spend on them. It's your FAMILY. Brb I'm rich now so I gotta change how I spend on my family. They created value in the economy that people voluntarily gave their money for. They get to do what they want with their money. It's none of your business. This is pure jealousy and you sound like a commie.

"Who provide zero value to the world"? u w0t m8. If you don't provide value you don't make money. How are they getting rich if they provide no value. Are they stealing the money? What you typed literally made no sense. If you mean ILLEGALLY then you're right but I'm assuming you mean LEGALLY. Also, EVERYTHING you see and own exists from an investor. It's like saying banks provide zero value to the world.

Yeah some of this chit is fuked up but because of government. The government provides special privileges that capitalism and the free market would not provide.

[musD]

wealth inequality = codespeak for gimme your chit

This is why this topic is not touched upon in politics

There are ways to ensure wealth transfer without resorting to theft.

[markduschane]

The US has a gross GDP of 17.95 trillion (17,950 billion) and 5% (900b) is owned by the 32 richest recognized Americans (Forbes rich list).

I am all for wealth and I am happy for these people, being the believer in true capitalism I am, however when you take a step back and look at it from that removed perspective it's mesmerizing. If you look at the poorest people in the country (working up from people who have a net worth of 1 cent), the flipside of this 5% would be composed of the net worths of tens of millions of people.

Its the same story in Australia (and most free market economies I'm guessing) wherein the top 5% of the 1.34trn GDP (67bn) is held (through business enterprises and personal wealth) by the country's 13 richest people.

how many negs so far?

[ThisIsSceaming]

wealth inequality = codespeak for gimme your chit

Says the guy in the bottom 5%.

[Tornach]

hustle harder fam

[SpaceC]

Marxists gonna Marx.

Starting reps: Oh wait, it's a ******* red

[Omnivium]

Why does it matter how they spend their money or who they give it to. Your family members don't have to earn the money that you spend on them. It's your FAMILY. Brb I'm rich now so I gotta change how I spend on my family. They created value in the economy that people voluntarily gave their money for. They get to do what they want with their money. It's none of your business. This is pure jealousy and you sound like a commie.

"Who provide zero value to the world"? u w0t m8. If you don't provide value you don't make money. How are they getting rich if they provide no value. Are they stealing the money? What you typed literally made no sense. If you mean ILLEGALLY then you're right but I'm assuming you mean LEGALLY. Also, EVERYTHING you see and own exists from an investor. It's like saying banks provide zero value to the world.

Yeah some of this chit is fuked up but because of government. The government provides special privileges that capitalism and the free market would not provide.

Still not a commie lol. I'm on the fence about it. On one hand I strongly believe in freedom. But on the other hand I also believe in equality of opportunity(NOT equality of outcome). And let's face it, we don't have that. People lucky enough to be born to rich parents are guaranteed to be rich, while people born to a single mom on drugs are fuked for life

Yeah I admit I didn't think all of that through (at the gym between sets lol). But what about "investors" who just do pump and dumps to fuk people over, or those multi level marketing *******s. There's people out there who get rich purely by screwing over other people and that's not providing a service imo

[ThisIsSceaming]

What's your problem with it? That they gained their wealth illegally? If so that has nothing to do with capitalism. If your problem is that they gained it legally but it's "too much" then you're wrong. If people voluntarily give rich people their money why are they not allowed to keep it? People buy their products/services because they enjoy them and find value in them. They make our lives better yet you're still mad and want their money.

I dont mean to sound patronizing, but you sound like me when I was younger. A pure capitalist economy would collapse in 2 seconds. We have "controlled capitalism". Controlled capitalism allows the super wealthy to remain wealthy and in power through the political sytem ("legally") and ensure that their product is the ONLY product that we can "willingly" buy.

Businesses don't want healthy competition or capitalism. They want to buy up competitors, increase market share, make sure that their product is the ONLY product offered.

[hoganrulz]

did not read thread but, im outchea tryna make it 6% for 33 people nomsaying. das it, richer than erryone

[DrWilliam]

If I had that sort of money I'd build a bunch of charter schools before I died to help at least give other people a chance and I would give zero to my kids, they'd have to earn their own money.

[Mihow]

Might be a problem in the future.

[Barbellasaurus]

yeah but a lot of those people have their money invested in their business which are providing services for you peasants, it's not just sitting in a bank account.

[SnowEh]

Still not a commie lol. I'm on the fence about it. On one hand I strongly believe in freedom. But on the other hand I also believe in equality of opportunity(NOT equality of outcome). And let's face it, we don't have that. People lucky enough to be born to rich parents are guaranteed to be rich, while people born to a single mom on drugs are fuked for life

Yeah I admit I didn't think all of that through (at the gym between sets lol). But what about "investors" who just do pump and dumps to fuk people over, or those multi level marketing *******s. There's people out there who get rich purely by screwing over other people and that's not providing a service imo

All my arguments assume we're talking about legal accumulation of wealth. If we're talking about illegal then of course I agree.

Wealth isn't a zero sum game. When both parties act in a voluntary transaction BOTH become wealthier. When I buy a car from Ford they become wealthier by gaining my dollars and I become wealthier by gaining their car. My life just became better because now I have a car. They didn't become richer because I got poorer. Let's look at Bill Gates for example. Net worth is roughly 89 billions dollars (should be much more, like 10x more). He didn't make 1 single person poorer when he created Windows. Not 1. Same with Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Cuckerberg (********), Warren Buffet (Investing).

Did these guys get special breaks from the government and favourable laws written for them? Absolutely. Idk if I'd punish them for that though. It technically wasn't illegal. Definitely not something to be proud about though. Maybe just publicly shame them. BUT I would vote out the politicians that gave them those privileges. They are the root cause of these problems. Big corps can ask for whatever they want but if we have politicians in government that won't succumb then we're fine. Someone can offer you meth every day for 8 years but if you're a decent person and know the damage it can cause you'll always say no. Instead we vote in a bunch of meth heads who are waiting for their next fix. It's government that made the corporations more wealthy than they otherwise would have been. But almost all politicians succumb to it so I guess we gotta choose the lesser of them.
In a true free market there is NOTHING a business can do to get richer that doesn't involve making everyone else in that transaction better off. This is why the rich don't bother me. They make my life better. The only real power they have is over weak willed and low moral politicians. Otherwise they're just like you and me. How about we vote in stronger willed and high moral politicians to say no to them?

We're arguing over an economy that is very distorted and muddy but I know we're on the same side.

[superiorlogic]

I dont mean to sound patronizing, but you sound like me when I was younger. A pure capitalist economy would collapse in 2 seconds. We have "controlled capitalism". Controlled capitalism allows the super wealthy to remain wealthy and in power through the political sytem ("legally") and ensure that their product is the ONLY product that we can "willingly" buy.

Businesses don't want healthy competition or capitalism. They want to buy up competitors, increase market share, make sure that their product is the ONLY product offered.

I don't think you know what capitalism means.