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> The Dems and Repubs both took Corp money and left the workers behind I get that the statistics show billionaires owning the majority of the wealth while the

> The Dems and Repubs both took Corp money and left the workers behind I get that the statistics show billionaires owning the majority of the wealth while the common-person in America makes $30k/yr but... there are plenty of Americans doing a-ok too. Who is really to blame? Take a trip down to South Florida. You'll see a lot of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Ferrari. Lots of high fashion and packed restaurants. Workers are getting left behind, sure. But some workers are making it too. Especially those on HackerNews in IT who are fiscally savvy, packing away six-figure salaries responsibly.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
Don't let anecdotes fool you into believing they're data or the experience of the majority. I too have walked South Beach, and still know most Americans are having a terrible time making ends meet. Impactful policy decisions are based on data, not emotion.
eli_gottlieb 7y ago
How many homeless people are you stepping over to see those Ferraris?
- thrower123 7y ago
  Outside of California, rich people keep their homeless swept out of sight, for the most part.
  - eli_gottlieb 7y ago
    I see them plenty in Boston.
- MuffinFlavored 7y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeless_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeless_... United States: 0.17% Germany: 0.37% Canada + Sweden: 0.36% Not as many as other countries.
phkahler 7y ago
Don't blame the people with low end jobs. I read an argument once using a public school janitor as an example. Someone argued that it was his responsibility to get an education, training, or whatever so he could get a better job. While that's true to some extent, it's also true that the school would just hire the next person they could find for the same price - they have an expectation that it's a low paying job and they've budgeted for it. Individuals can do better, but our institutions have come to depend on the disparity.
mnm1 7y ago
> Who is really to blame? This is the wrong question that Americans love to ask when they don't want to solve any problems. The right question is how can this be fixed? But as long as people focus on blame, they can ignore solutions and things get worse. > Workers are getting left behind, sure. But some workers are making it too. Yes, I think we're all aware that the upper class and upper middle class are doing well. That's about 10% of the population or so. Meanwhile, the other 90% are left behind. Somehow this is supposed to justify the current status?
- MuffinFlavored 7y ago
  My point is: why can 10% of the population make it but 90% can't? Is it hard work, is it opportunity, is it lack of education/resources?
  - mnm1 7y ago
    It's definitely not for lack of hard work. Not everyone can "make it." That'd be impossible. Making it requires one to achieve a high-end job with good pay. If everyone made it, who would clean toilets, serve burgers, and do all the shitty little jobs that need to be done in society? Why can't the other 90% of the population make it? Because that'd be impossible. Lack of opportunity and education/resources is a big part of it, but many still wouldn't make it because they are simply not smart/skilled/artistic/athletic enough to make it. What we could do is change that split from 90/10 to something more favorable. I don't think that can happen with a hyperfocus on profits over meeting people's needs. The number one reason that ratio has become this way is the lack of government protection for workers: enforcing proper minimum wages, providing proper time off, healthcare, childcare, housing, and education options. There's plenty more. When people's basic needs (Maslow's hierarchy) aren't met, we shouldn't be surprised that they're not living up to their full potential, or in some cases, any potential at all. That's why most of the other 90% of people can't make it. Their physiological and safety needs (levels 1 and 2 on Maslow's hierarchy) are simply not met.
departure 7y ago
Is this a joke. Miami is actually known to have the worst inequality he country. [0] As the articles points out there are 30 billionaires but "Miami-Dade’s middle class is relatively small and shrinking steadily, the report found. Just over 43 percent of Miami households qualify as middle class, the 11th-lowest proportion among the 53 U.S. metros with populations of more than one million. And that proportion has shrunk significantly over the decades" That doesn't even address the fact that the HN crowd will never be owners of the bentleys and rolls-royces, billionaires have unattainable wealth, a FANNG engineer has to work for centuries to be even close. [0]https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article229441144.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/...

toomuchtodo 7y ago

Don't let anecdotes fool you into believing they're data or the experience of the majority. I too have walked South Beach, and still know most Americans are having a terrible time making ends meet. Impactful policy decisions are based on data, not emotion.

eli_gottlieb 7y ago

How many homeless people are you stepping over to see those Ferraris?

thrower123 7y ago
Outside of California, rich people keep their homeless swept out of sight, for the most part.
- eli_gottlieb 7y ago
  I see them plenty in Boston.
MuffinFlavored 7y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeless_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeless_... United States: 0.17% Germany: 0.37% Canada + Sweden: 0.36% Not as many as other countries.

phkahler 7y ago

Don't blame the people with low end jobs. I read an argument once using a public school janitor as an example. Someone argued that it was his responsibility to get an education, training, or whatever so he could get a better job. While that's true to some extent, it's also true that the school would just hire the next person they could find for the same price - they have an expectation that it's a low paying job and they've budgeted for it. Individuals can do better, but our institutions have come to depend on the disparity.

mnm1 7y ago

> Who is really to blame? This is the wrong question that Americans love to ask when they don't want to solve any problems. The right question is how can this be fixed? But as long as people focus on blame, they can ignore solutions and things get worse. > Workers are getting left behind, sure. But some workers are making it too. Yes, I think we're all aware that the upper class and upper middle class are doing well. That's about 10% of the population or so. Meanwhile, the other 90% are left behind. Somehow this is supposed to justify the current status?

MuffinFlavored 7y ago
My point is: why can 10% of the population make it but 90% can't? Is it hard work, is it opportunity, is it lack of education/resources?
- mnm1 7y ago
  It's definitely not for lack of hard work. Not everyone can "make it." That'd be impossible. Making it requires one to achieve a high-end job with good pay. If everyone made it, who would clean toilets, serve burgers, and do all the shitty little jobs that need to be done in society? Why can't the other 90% of the population make it? Because that'd be impossible. Lack of opportunity and education/resources is a big part of it, but many still wouldn't make it because they are simply not smart/skilled/artistic/athletic enough to make it. What we could do is change that split from 90/10 to something more favorable. I don't think that can happen with a hyperfocus on profits over meeting people's needs. The number one reason that ratio has become this way is the lack of government protection for workers: enforcing proper minimum wages, providing proper time off, healthcare, childcare, housing, and education options. There's plenty more. When people's basic needs (Maslow's hierarchy) aren't met, we shouldn't be surprised that they're not living up to their full potential, or in some cases, any potential at all. That's why most of the other 90% of people can't make it. Their physiological and safety needs (levels 1 and 2 on Maslow's hierarchy) are simply not met.

departure 7y ago

Is this a joke. Miami is actually known to have the worst inequality he country. [0] As the articles points out there are 30 billionaires but "Miami-Dade’s middle class is relatively small and shrinking steadily, the report found. Just over 43 percent of Miami households qualify as middle class, the 11th-lowest proportion among the 53 U.S. metros with populations of more than one million. And that proportion has shrunk significantly over the decades" That doesn't even address the fact that the HN crowd will never be owners of the bentleys and rolls-royces, billionaires have unattainable wealth, a FANNG engineer has to work for centuries to be even close. [0]https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article229441144.html https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/...