3 ms·

I did not claim it was upperclass. My claim was that calling it underclass is absurd.

ncmncm 6y ago
What is absurd is to pick a number X precisely at the estimated dividing line between two fuzzily-delineated groups A and B, and proclaim that X is certainly not group A. "Are you saying cyan is blue? It is obviously green!"
- baggy_trough 6y ago
  I believe that most people will agree that $299K incomes are not close to underclass and will therefore conclude that the proposed dividing line is a bad one.
  - ncmncm 6y ago
    Continuing to pick a number identical to the dividing line reveals a bad-faith argument. What has led "most people" to conclude as they do is the actual topic under discussion. Thus you demonstrate begging the question. <http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_Question http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_Question>
hnbad 6y ago
Compared to the likes of Bezos, Musk or Gates, every sub-C-level FAANG employee is part of the underclass. Of course it's a gradient rather than a clear dividing line, but there are people who make 100x, 1,000x, 10,000x or more of what the lowest of the low are making and there's no gradual progression from the latter to the former. There are massive gaps that are impossible to bridge. If you consider that the average person's economic situation worsened throughout 2020 while all the top billionaires drastically increased their wealth (if not proportionately, then at least in absolute numbers), this only widens that gap. I agree that putting a single dividing line at $299k or whatever is silly, but yes, even a person making $299k is economically insignificant to a triple digit billionaire (or just any billionaire, to be honest). The divide isn't between people making $299k and people making $300k, the divide is between billionaires and people making subsistence level or less -- everyone else just falls on the gradient in between.

What is absurd is to pick a number X precisely at the estimated dividing line between two fuzzily-delineated groups A and B, and proclaim that X is certainly not group A. "Are you saying cyan is blue? It is obviously green!"

baggy_trough 6y ago
I believe that most people will agree that $299K incomes are not close to underclass and will therefore conclude that the proposed dividing line is a bad one.
- ncmncm 6y ago
  Continuing to pick a number identical to the dividing line reveals a bad-faith argument. What has led "most people" to conclude as they do is the actual topic under discussion. Thus you demonstrate begging the question. <http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_Question http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Begging_the_Question>

hnbad 6y ago

Compared to the likes of Bezos, Musk or Gates, every sub-C-level FAANG employee is part of the underclass. Of course it's a gradient rather than a clear dividing line, but there are people who make 100x, 1,000x, 10,000x or more of what the lowest of the low are making and there's no gradual progression from the latter to the former. There are massive gaps that are impossible to bridge. If you consider that the average person's economic situation worsened throughout 2020 while all the top billionaires drastically increased their wealth (if not proportionately, then at least in absolute numbers), this only widens that gap. I agree that putting a single dividing line at $299k or whatever is silly, but yes, even a person making $299k is economically insignificant to a triple digit billionaire (or just any billionaire, to be honest). The divide isn't between people making $299k and people making $300k, the divide is between billionaires and people making subsistence level or less -- everyone else just falls on the gradient in between.