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Wealth isn't a fixed pool of stuff. Me having more wealth isn't taking away from someone else.
by lusis 16y ago
Wealth isn't a fixed pool of stuff. Me having more wealth isn't taking away from someone else.
- chairface 16y agoNor 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 agoExactly, 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 agoYes, 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 agoNot strictly true. In real life, sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't. It depends on the particulars.
- lusis 16y agoTrue. 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.