4 ms·

> how many people could be elevated to comfortable middle class status with all the money hoarded so Jeff Bezos can have over 20 different extravagant homes? M

> how many people could be elevated to comfortable middle class status with all the money hoarded so Jeff Bezos can have over 20 different extravagant homes? More fundamentally: money is created through debt. Central banks print money to increase the money supply. This money is being used to buy assets to float up the stock and real estate markets. In other words, central banks are a form or corporate welfare for the rich. It doesn't have to be this way. We could print money and use it to build housing for those who can't afford it. That would also stimulate the economy. The problem is that we think of real estate as an investment, when housing is actually a fundamental need.

SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
There's a sense in which it's true that central banks print money to increase the money supply. But it's not at all the case that central banks say "hey, Jeff Bezos, have some of these millions". There's no transaction where the central bank just hands people money for free.
felri 7y ago
>This money is being used to buy assets to float up the stock and real estate markets. This can't go on for to long, here in South America a big % of the people I know (20/40 years old) lives with their parents and have no plans to buy real state because the prices are absurd.
wonderwonder 7y ago
"The problem is that we think of real estate as an investment, when housing is actually a fundamental need" This is a very important fact that is so often overlooked. Rent escalates in cities because people own multiple homes / units and are looking to make a profit so the price goes up. In the mean time housing is becoming an increasingly larger portion of the non wealthy's expenses. Further complicating this is that the less wealthy are forced to move to poorer areas and in many states, schools are funded largely through property taxes. This means the less wealthy are forced to send their children to lower quality schools perpetuating the wealth gap.

SpicyLemonZest 7y ago

There's a sense in which it's true that central banks print money to increase the money supply. But it's not at all the case that central banks say "hey, Jeff Bezos, have some of these millions". There's no transaction where the central bank just hands people money for free.

felri 7y ago

>This money is being used to buy assets to float up the stock and real estate markets. This can't go on for to long, here in South America a big % of the people I know (20/40 years old) lives with their parents and have no plans to buy real state because the prices are absurd.

wonderwonder 7y ago

"The problem is that we think of real estate as an investment, when housing is actually a fundamental need" This is a very important fact that is so often overlooked. Rent escalates in cities because people own multiple homes / units and are looking to make a profit so the price goes up. In the mean time housing is becoming an increasingly larger portion of the non wealthy's expenses. Further complicating this is that the less wealthy are forced to move to poorer areas and in many states, schools are funded largely through property taxes. This means the less wealthy are forced to send their children to lower quality schools perpetuating the wealth gap.