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Because it’s deliberate. The parasitic elite have been destroying the core of this country for almost half a century. The government (serving only the rich) doe

Because it’s deliberate. The parasitic elite have been destroying the core of this country for almost half a century. The government (serving only the rich) doesn’t care about us and this virus is just another opportunity for them to gather more in their greedy arms.

ChrisLomont 6y ago
>The parasitic elite have been destroying the core of this country for almost half a century Yet over that half a century the standard of living in the US has vastly increased, so much that the US poverty line is in the top quintile of world incomes. US Median household wealth adjusted for household size changes and inflation has increased 50%. That's a massive increase [1]. The middle class has shrunk; because more moved up and above it than went below it. The share of US households, again adjusted for proper effects, making over 100K has tripled since 1967 [2]. Not many first world countries saw this kind of growth for the people you claim are being destroyed. Care to point out which metric you are using to claim the core of this country is being destroyed? It's certainly not income. [1] https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/ https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-... [2] https://www.cato.org/blog/middle-class-shrinking-households-become-richer https://www.cato.org/blog/middle-class-shrinking-households-...
- Supermancho 6y ago
  I'm not sure how this demonstrates your point. The rich get richer. US households have changed dramatically since 1967. There's participation of women in the workforce (up about 20% https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/05/art2full.pdf https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/05/art2full.pdf), housing prices have gone up about (~800% https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/ https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/) - home ownership being the hallmark of the middle class, and the wages of the middle class have increased about 300% although that's 1000% more than the average personal income. Once you obtain a home, you can springboard (in a generation or 5) into the wealthy class. Even at that rate, you're the poor elite making a measly $1m a year without working. The parasitic elite (in the US) have CRUSHED the working class by ensuring that entering the middle class is as difficult as possible, while the middle class have largely used property to boost themselves into their own generational wealth. The inflation has been due to US debt, which comes from Military spending, QE, etc. The public market has been dominated by large brands who have a slew of predatory practices (looking at you JPM Chase, Apple, Bank of America, etc). NIMBY policies (by the newly elevated middle class, clutching their pearls) and work centralization in dense urban settings, has hurt the whole situation...but there's hope with Covid, ironically. That's what I believe based on my own observation (and experience).
  - ChrisLomont 6y ago
    >The rich get richer. People claim this a lot, but for a half dozen datasets I've looked at over the years, the opposite is true. To prove this claim, make some definition of rich (income, wealth, top N, whatever), and see how many people in that class stay there. You'll find that most rich do not stay in the level of wealth you picked very long. A simple place to check is Forbes 400. The top 400 churns a lot. The next place is places like FRED data on mobility, where it's clear over the span of 10 years most of those in the top decile are no longer there, and those in the bottom are no longer there. Another place to look is how many millionaires in the US are first generation - last I checked it;s about 90% of them. So, for what reasonable metric of wealth can you demonstrate those people in that group stay there for a decade, or a generation? My experience is that your claim is made by people that believe it but have never measured it. Over the years I've ran across a few datasets for which it can be properly evaluated, and in each case, and for each definition of rich that could be answered by the datatset, the same pattern emerges: the people in the rich group get poorer and the people in the poor group get richer. Reversion to the mean is a much more powerful force than the ability to hoard wealth. >US households have changed dramatically since 1967 Yes; both places I linked made adjustments for such things, as I mentioned. Go ahead and read their methodology before arguing strawmen. >housing prices have gone up about (~800% https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/ https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/) From your link, inflation adjusted price was 162,915.87 for 1970 and was 271,768.42 for 2020, only a 67% increase. Why would you criticize my numbers above, which were inflation adjusted, then try to pull such a dishonest stunt as using the non-inflation adjusted prices, when they're right there? Over the same time, median house sizes have gone up nearly 200% from 1970 [1]. And they've gotten vastly safer, more energy efficient, and better in just about every possible way. So, given the inflation adjusted housing value and size, again things have gotten better, not worse, despite you trying to spin it so dishonestly. >home ownership being the hallmark of the middle class Home ownership Q1 1970 64.3%. Q2 2020 is 67.9% [2] First and second moment going upwards as well. Again not the direction you're claiming. >Once you obtain a home, you can springboard (in a generation or 5) into the wealthy class Income mobility in the US has not changed much in 50+ years as measured by investigating ALL IRS records [3]. FRED single generation income and wealth mobility [4] show that more than half of the bottom 20% move up and more than half of the top 20% move down in one generation. Doing a simple markov walk with the values they give shows nearly complete mixing in 3 generations. >by ensuring that entering the middle class is as difficult as possible, More than half of the poor do it every generation [4]. >The inflation has been due to US debt, Never had an econ course? >looking at you JPM Chase, Apple, Bank of America, etc The biggest three banks in the US have around 10% market share each, the 4th has < 5% market share, and they fall quickly after that. There's around 8000 different banks you can use in the US. These banks are not the size or massive control you imply they are. >That's what I believe based on my own observation (and experience) Using one's own experience and observation to make claims about complex issues like this is terribly and ridiculously incorrect, subject to ignorance, selection bias, and a host of other personal issues. That's why studying econ and reading proper data sources before making all the claims you are is very important if you want an accurate view of what is actually happening, instead of what one or another echo chamber has fed you. [1] https://www.newser.com/story/225645/average-size-of-us-homes-decade-by-decade.html https://www.newser.com/story/225645/average-size-of-us-homes... [2] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N [3] https://www.cfr.org/blog/new-harvard-study-us-social-mobility-not-decreasing https://www.cfr.org/blog/new-harvard-study-us-social-mobilit... [4] https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/july-2016/which-persists-more-from-generation-to-generation-income-or-wealth https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/j...

ChrisLomont 6y ago

>The parasitic elite have been destroying the core of this country for almost half a century Yet over that half a century the standard of living in the US has vastly increased, so much that the US poverty line is in the top quintile of world incomes. US Median household wealth adjusted for household size changes and inflation has increased 50%. That's a massive increase [1]. The middle class has shrunk; because more moved up and above it than went below it. The share of US households, again adjusted for proper effects, making over 100K has tripled since 1967 [2]. Not many first world countries saw this kind of growth for the people you claim are being destroyed. Care to point out which metric you are using to claim the core of this country is being destroyed? It's certainly not income. [1] https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-and-wealth-inequality/ https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2020/01/09/trends-in-income-... [2] https://www.cato.org/blog/middle-class-shrinking-households-become-richer https://www.cato.org/blog/middle-class-shrinking-households-...

Supermancho 6y ago
I'm not sure how this demonstrates your point. The rich get richer. US households have changed dramatically since 1967. There's participation of women in the workforce (up about 20% https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/05/art2full.pdf https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2002/05/art2full.pdf), housing prices have gone up about (~800% https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/ https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/) - home ownership being the hallmark of the middle class, and the wages of the middle class have increased about 300% although that's 1000% more than the average personal income. Once you obtain a home, you can springboard (in a generation or 5) into the wealthy class. Even at that rate, you're the poor elite making a measly $1m a year without working. The parasitic elite (in the US) have CRUSHED the working class by ensuring that entering the middle class is as difficult as possible, while the middle class have largely used property to boost themselves into their own generational wealth. The inflation has been due to US debt, which comes from Military spending, QE, etc. The public market has been dominated by large brands who have a slew of predatory practices (looking at you JPM Chase, Apple, Bank of America, etc). NIMBY policies (by the newly elevated middle class, clutching their pearls) and work centralization in dense urban settings, has hurt the whole situation...but there's hope with Covid, ironically. That's what I believe based on my own observation (and experience).
- ChrisLomont 6y ago
  >The rich get richer. People claim this a lot, but for a half dozen datasets I've looked at over the years, the opposite is true. To prove this claim, make some definition of rich (income, wealth, top N, whatever), and see how many people in that class stay there. You'll find that most rich do not stay in the level of wealth you picked very long. A simple place to check is Forbes 400. The top 400 churns a lot. The next place is places like FRED data on mobility, where it's clear over the span of 10 years most of those in the top decile are no longer there, and those in the bottom are no longer there. Another place to look is how many millionaires in the US are first generation - last I checked it;s about 90% of them. So, for what reasonable metric of wealth can you demonstrate those people in that group stay there for a decade, or a generation? My experience is that your claim is made by people that believe it but have never measured it. Over the years I've ran across a few datasets for which it can be properly evaluated, and in each case, and for each definition of rich that could be answered by the datatset, the same pattern emerges: the people in the rich group get poorer and the people in the poor group get richer. Reversion to the mean is a much more powerful force than the ability to hoard wealth. >US households have changed dramatically since 1967 Yes; both places I linked made adjustments for such things, as I mentioned. Go ahead and read their methodology before arguing strawmen. >housing prices have gone up about (~800% https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/ https://dqydj.com/historical-home-prices/) From your link, inflation adjusted price was 162,915.87 for 1970 and was 271,768.42 for 2020, only a 67% increase. Why would you criticize my numbers above, which were inflation adjusted, then try to pull such a dishonest stunt as using the non-inflation adjusted prices, when they're right there? Over the same time, median house sizes have gone up nearly 200% from 1970 [1]. And they've gotten vastly safer, more energy efficient, and better in just about every possible way. So, given the inflation adjusted housing value and size, again things have gotten better, not worse, despite you trying to spin it so dishonestly. >home ownership being the hallmark of the middle class Home ownership Q1 1970 64.3%. Q2 2020 is 67.9% [2] First and second moment going upwards as well. Again not the direction you're claiming. >Once you obtain a home, you can springboard (in a generation or 5) into the wealthy class Income mobility in the US has not changed much in 50+ years as measured by investigating ALL IRS records [3]. FRED single generation income and wealth mobility [4] show that more than half of the bottom 20% move up and more than half of the top 20% move down in one generation. Doing a simple markov walk with the values they give shows nearly complete mixing in 3 generations. >by ensuring that entering the middle class is as difficult as possible, More than half of the poor do it every generation [4]. >The inflation has been due to US debt, Never had an econ course? >looking at you JPM Chase, Apple, Bank of America, etc The biggest three banks in the US have around 10% market share each, the 4th has < 5% market share, and they fall quickly after that. There's around 8000 different banks you can use in the US. These banks are not the size or massive control you imply they are. >That's what I believe based on my own observation (and experience) Using one's own experience and observation to make claims about complex issues like this is terribly and ridiculously incorrect, subject to ignorance, selection bias, and a host of other personal issues. That's why studying econ and reading proper data sources before making all the claims you are is very important if you want an accurate view of what is actually happening, instead of what one or another echo chamber has fed you. [1] https://www.newser.com/story/225645/average-size-of-us-homes-decade-by-decade.html https://www.newser.com/story/225645/average-size-of-us-homes... [2] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N [3] https://www.cfr.org/blog/new-harvard-study-us-social-mobility-not-decreasing https://www.cfr.org/blog/new-harvard-study-us-social-mobilit... [4] https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/july-2016/which-persists-more-from-generation-to-generation-income-or-wealth https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/regional-economist/j...