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It's easy to not realize that without major single headline grabbing breakthroughs, progress on ending these injustices is still ongoing. So it's a refreshing r

by phreack 10y ago

It's easy to not realize that without major single headline grabbing breakthroughs, progress on ending these injustices is still ongoing. So it's a refreshing reminder to see articles like this one every now and then, specially after such a hard year.

tajen 10y ago
In France evryone is convinced that "The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer". This proverb/pseudo-analysis is a huge emotional trigger for a leftish vote, and is liberally repeated by many newspapers. I systematically try to counter this proverb, because every available evidence points at the opposite: - The poor are getting less poor. Famine is less harsh and UN reports lower poverty levels for the bottom 10%. There are severaly explanation, basically the poorer benefit from the globla growth and global scientific advance. Of course it's limited because of patents and other hindrance, but we should not deny the globlal trend. - The rich are getting richer, that's exact, but it's also because the population is increasing and the top people today serve bigger economic interests than 50 years ago (whether it be Snapchat for beginner CEOs or Tesla for traditional CEOs). Hence, maybe the spread between the rich and the poor widens, but that's not what the proverb denounces, and the proverb is wrong. The proverb specifically says the poor are getting poorer, which is widely false. Moreover the variation of gap is not demonstratedly unfair.
- gph 10y ago
  >"The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer" I think typically when people say that they mean within their own country, not globally. And in some Western countries if we look at the very recent trend (last 10-20 years) I think they have somewhat of a point. The poor are mostly stagnant while the rich are getting much richer and those in the middle are generally getting poorer. The proverb may be technically incorrect, but the sentiment behind it may not be all that far off.

by phreack 10y ago

tajen 10y ago

In France evryone is convinced that "The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer". This proverb/pseudo-analysis is a huge emotional trigger for a leftish vote, and is liberally repeated by many newspapers. I systematically try to counter this proverb, because every available evidence points at the opposite: - The poor are getting less poor. Famine is less harsh and UN reports lower poverty levels for the bottom 10%. There are severaly explanation, basically the poorer benefit from the globla growth and global scientific advance. Of course it's limited because of patents and other hindrance, but we should not deny the globlal trend. - The rich are getting richer, that's exact, but it's also because the population is increasing and the top people today serve bigger economic interests than 50 years ago (whether it be Snapchat for beginner CEOs or Tesla for traditional CEOs). Hence, maybe the spread between the rich and the poor widens, but that's not what the proverb denounces, and the proverb is wrong. The proverb specifically says the poor are getting poorer, which is widely false. Moreover the variation of gap is not demonstratedly unfair.

gph 10y ago
>"The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer" I think typically when people say that they mean within their own country, not globally. And in some Western countries if we look at the very recent trend (last 10-20 years) I think they have somewhat of a point. The poor are mostly stagnant while the rich are getting much richer and those in the middle are generally getting poorer. The proverb may be technically incorrect, but the sentiment behind it may not be all that far off.