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The main criticism isn't that "the rich" have a lot of the income and assets, or that their share is increasing, it's that the rest of the people are getting le

The main criticism isn't that "the rich" have a lot of the income and assets, or that their share is increasing, it's that the rest of the people are getting less. The american society as a whole is getting richer, but the majority of the members of that society are getting poorer. Is that really the way things should be? On the other hand, this piece only talks about inflation-adjusted net income. If you compare the quality of life or purchasing power I think that everyone is still better off with each year. Even though a typical middle-class family has less money now than 30 years ago, they can have mobile phones and a flat-screen TV and a computer and internet and one or two fuel-efficient comfortable cars, and none of those things existed 30 years ago.

lusis 16y ago
Wealth isn't a fixed pool of stuff. Me having more wealth isn't taking away from someone else.
- chairface 16y ago
  Nor is that what henrikschroder is claiming. I understand him to be saying that the majority of Americans have declining incomes, adjusted for inflation, over some recent period of time. Could be true, but I'd like to see numbers.
  - henrikschroder 16y ago
    Exactly, I've even seen some articles here on HN that were about this, but a quick googling seems to say that the jury is kinda out on that one. If you look at wikipedia the incomes for the lower percentiles are pretty flat, but not really declining. shrug
    - lusis 16y ago
      Yes, I apologize. There are a few things that raise my hackles when it comes to discussions of "income inequality" and "rich people". 1) The presumption that wealth is gained at the expense of someone else. 2) That wealth is always given and not earned. 3) That being "rich" is the result of some sort of criminal behavior. 4) Phrases like "doesn't need that much money" or "has too much money" and the like. 5) The idea that a job belongs to anyone other than the person providing it. You didn't claim any of those things per se.
- mkramlich 16y ago
  Not strictly true. In real life, sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. It depends on the particulars.
  - lusis 16y ago
    True. Obviously if we both work for the same company, there's a fixed set of money they pay for our two salaries (generally speaking). Should I perform better, My salary might go up at the expense of yours going down but alternately your salary could stay the same while mine goes up.

lusis 16y ago

Wealth isn't a fixed pool of stuff. Me having more wealth isn't taking away from someone else.

chairface 16y ago
Nor is that what henrikschroder is claiming. I understand him to be saying that the majority of Americans have declining incomes, adjusted for inflation, over some recent period of time. Could be true, but I'd like to see numbers.
- henrikschroder 16y ago
  Exactly, I've even seen some articles here on HN that were about this, but a quick googling seems to say that the jury is kinda out on that one. If you look at wikipedia the incomes for the lower percentiles are pretty flat, but not really declining. shrug
  - lusis 16y ago
    Yes, I apologize. There are a few things that raise my hackles when it comes to discussions of "income inequality" and "rich people". 1) The presumption that wealth is gained at the expense of someone else. 2) That wealth is always given and not earned. 3) That being "rich" is the result of some sort of criminal behavior. 4) Phrases like "doesn't need that much money" or "has too much money" and the like. 5) The idea that a job belongs to anyone other than the person providing it. You didn't claim any of those things per se.
mkramlich 16y ago
Not strictly true. In real life, sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. It depends on the particulars.
- lusis 16y ago
  True. Obviously if we both work for the same company, there's a fixed set of money they pay for our two salaries (generally speaking). Should I perform better, My salary might go up at the expense of yours going down but alternately your salary could stay the same while mine goes up.