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They use the same iPhone, have access to the same chemo, and watch the same movies. The only difference is they fly in private planes instead of commercial, dri

They use the same iPhone, have access to the same chemo, and watch the same movies. The only difference is they fly in private planes instead of commercial, drive high end Mercedes instead of Fords, live in mansions instead of apartments. But their HVAC cools just the same as my window unit, it's just quieter. Yeah, they have lots of things we don't. But the difference is smaller than between a rich person in 1915 and a poor person today.

danieltillett 11y ago
I think the life of the ultra rich is fundamentally different to the average middle income person in the same way that royalty lives a different life to a commoner. Sure we all breath, eat, sleep and procreate, but the differences in the concerns of the ultra rich and the rest of us is quite large. A poor person today is richer in many ways to the rich of 1915 thanks to technological advance, but there still is a huge gap between the opportunities of the poor today and those of the ultra rich. More fundamentally I just don’t think it is good for the ultra rich to live a life that is so different to the rest of society. These people have an enormous amount of power and it is not good for the rest of us if they live a life detached from the worries and concerns of us common folk. You just can’t make good decisions on the basis of bad information and if this is formed from the worries and concerns of your ultra rich friends and you then you are going to end up with a warped perspective of what life for most people.
- yummyfajitas 11y ago
  In what way is it different? You keep asserting this without making any concrete claims.
  - danieltillett 11y ago
    As a non-member of the ultra rich all I can do is look in on the peeks they give us via the media. I am willing to admit that it is possible that they are exactly like you and me, but they certainly don't appear to be. In regards concrete claims the ultra rich appear to far more to the economic right than the average person. I am sure you are aware of this.
    - tempestn 11y ago
      > In regards concrete claims the ultra rich appear to far more to the economic right than the average person. Are you sure that's true? It may be, but there are certainly plenty of counter-examples. Gates and Buffett immediately come to mind, as well as presumably many of the people on this page: http://givingpledge.org/ http://givingpledge.org/
      - danieltillett 11y ago
        I am not to sure how to the left Gates and Buffett actually are, but they are really good examples of ultra rich with the perspective of the upper middle classes. Unlike the hereditary ultra rich, they are self-made men who grew up in upper middle class families. The fact that they want to give away their wealth rather than pass it on to their children is a sign they recognise the morally corrosive nature of inherited wealth. If I were asked I would be keen to lower taxes on incomes and raise taxes on inheritances. We really don’t need a self-perpetuating parasitic overclass.
    - yummyfajitas 11y ago
      Lots of groups are far to the economic right of the average person. For example, this is probably true of people who subscribe to Scott Sumner's blog. Is it therefore reasonable to say "I think the lives of people who read Scott Sumner's blog are fundamentally different to the average middle income person in the same way that royalty lives a different life to a commoner"? If not, why not?
      - danieltillett 11y ago
        I know you are a smart guy yummyfaijitas so I think I don’t need to point out the fallacy in this argument. The ultra rich live a life that is very different to the rest of us. This is an interesting article on their views [1]. 1. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/22/opinion/la-oe-page-wealth-and-politics-20130322 http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/22/opinion/la-oe-page-w...
- Domenic_S 11y ago
  > More fundamentally I just don’t think it is good for the ultra rich to live a life that is so different to the rest of society. Why not? So Jay Leno has a 10,000 sqft garage and 500 cars, what do I care? Tom Cruise doesn't affect my daily life. Politicians do, and most of them are rich but not ultra rich. People will always have a warped perspective of others, that's just how the human brain works. In fact we discuss that on HN frequently, how Silicon Valley can seem so clueless solving "white first-world problems".
  - danieltillett 11y ago
    The reason why I mention in the next sentence - the ultra rich have a lot of power. I want the powerful to understand how us commoners live. The ultra rich have a very large influence over politicians. This is why they are important. If they just spent their time flying around in private jets and talking to each other then it wouldn't matter - once they start to have a very large influence over public policy it matters what they think.

danieltillett 11y ago

I think the life of the ultra rich is fundamentally different to the average middle income person in the same way that royalty lives a different life to a commoner. Sure we all breath, eat, sleep and procreate, but the differences in the concerns of the ultra rich and the rest of us is quite large. A poor person today is richer in many ways to the rich of 1915 thanks to technological advance, but there still is a huge gap between the opportunities of the poor today and those of the ultra rich. More fundamentally I just don’t think it is good for the ultra rich to live a life that is so different to the rest of society. These people have an enormous amount of power and it is not good for the rest of us if they live a life detached from the worries and concerns of us common folk. You just can’t make good decisions on the basis of bad information and if this is formed from the worries and concerns of your ultra rich friends and you then you are going to end up with a warped perspective of what life for most people.

yummyfajitas 11y ago
In what way is it different? You keep asserting this without making any concrete claims.
- danieltillett 11y ago
  As a non-member of the ultra rich all I can do is look in on the peeks they give us via the media. I am willing to admit that it is possible that they are exactly like you and me, but they certainly don't appear to be. In regards concrete claims the ultra rich appear to far more to the economic right than the average person. I am sure you are aware of this.
  - tempestn 11y ago
    > In regards concrete claims the ultra rich appear to far more to the economic right than the average person. Are you sure that's true? It may be, but there are certainly plenty of counter-examples. Gates and Buffett immediately come to mind, as well as presumably many of the people on this page: http://givingpledge.org/ http://givingpledge.org/
    - danieltillett 11y ago
      I am not to sure how to the left Gates and Buffett actually are, but they are really good examples of ultra rich with the perspective of the upper middle classes. Unlike the hereditary ultra rich, they are self-made men who grew up in upper middle class families. The fact that they want to give away their wealth rather than pass it on to their children is a sign they recognise the morally corrosive nature of inherited wealth. If I were asked I would be keen to lower taxes on incomes and raise taxes on inheritances. We really don’t need a self-perpetuating parasitic overclass.
  - yummyfajitas 11y ago
    Lots of groups are far to the economic right of the average person. For example, this is probably true of people who subscribe to Scott Sumner's blog. Is it therefore reasonable to say "I think the lives of people who read Scott Sumner's blog are fundamentally different to the average middle income person in the same way that royalty lives a different life to a commoner"? If not, why not?
    - danieltillett 11y ago
      I know you are a smart guy yummyfaijitas so I think I don’t need to point out the fallacy in this argument. The ultra rich live a life that is very different to the rest of us. This is an interesting article on their views [1]. 1. http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/22/opinion/la-oe-page-wealth-and-politics-20130322 http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/22/opinion/la-oe-page-w...
Domenic_S 11y ago
> More fundamentally I just don’t think it is good for the ultra rich to live a life that is so different to the rest of society. Why not? So Jay Leno has a 10,000 sqft garage and 500 cars, what do I care? Tom Cruise doesn't affect my daily life. Politicians do, and most of them are rich but not ultra rich. People will always have a warped perspective of others, that's just how the human brain works. In fact we discuss that on HN frequently, how Silicon Valley can seem so clueless solving "white first-world problems".
- danieltillett 11y ago
  The reason why I mention in the next sentence - the ultra rich have a lot of power. I want the powerful to understand how us commoners live. The ultra rich have a very large influence over politicians. This is why they are important. If they just spent their time flying around in private jets and talking to each other then it wouldn't matter - once they start to have a very large influence over public policy it matters what they think.