4 ms·

Unfortunately that's not always the case. Living in Germany, I've heard and read (good example /de/ subreddit) loads of hate against middle and upper-middle cla

Unfortunately that's not always the case. Living in Germany, I've heard and read (good example /de/ subreddit) loads of hate against middle and upper-middle class people. People who are nowhere near close to being rich. This is also a group that's being taxed as much as the actual rich, or in practice even more, because the rich can afford to "optimise" their taxes. There's a sizeable group of people that just cannot stand someone working hard and reaping the fruits. Again I'm not talking about Lambo-driving, yacht owners but an average doctor, small business owner or an engineer for that matter. Per the old meme, success breeds jealousy, but unfortunately recently it breeds hate and violence.

tanderson92 7y ago
Doctors' trade group actively lobbies to keep the supply of physicians below demand so as to inflate their guilds' average salary. Critiques of the merely well-off can sometimes be more indicative of the major problems facing America, since there are so many more in this category. For example, by critiquing this 1% class you also get into very interesting questions about land use in California.
- asjw 7y ago
  Not in Europe, where education is basically free (few thousands euros/year)
uoaei 7y ago
Lots of people "work hard", and almost none of them are rich. So obviously it's not "working hard" that gives you that money. At some point very early on, your money starts making money and you cease to do "work" to make that number grow. It seems inappropriate to equivocate capital gains with gainful employment.
- analog31 7y ago
  Indeed, and for many of us, it's not just our money that makes money, but our education, which is largely a form of wealth passed from one generation to the next. I would be nowhere without the education that my parents paid for, out of the money that they made from their education.

tanderson92 7y ago

Doctors' trade group actively lobbies to keep the supply of physicians below demand so as to inflate their guilds' average salary. Critiques of the merely well-off can sometimes be more indicative of the major problems facing America, since there are so many more in this category. For example, by critiquing this 1% class you also get into very interesting questions about land use in California.

asjw 7y ago
Not in Europe, where education is basically free (few thousands euros/year)

uoaei 7y ago

Lots of people "work hard", and almost none of them are rich. So obviously it's not "working hard" that gives you that money. At some point very early on, your money starts making money and you cease to do "work" to make that number grow. It seems inappropriate to equivocate capital gains with gainful employment.

analog31 7y ago
Indeed, and for many of us, it's not just our money that makes money, but our education, which is largely a form of wealth passed from one generation to the next. I would be nowhere without the education that my parents paid for, out of the money that they made from their education.