28 ms·

He's pointing out that people in the neighbourhood are politically influent, that's why they are treated that way, not because they are rich. Which I did not ge

by slim 5y ago

He's pointing out that people in the neighbourhood are politically influent, that's why they are treated that way, not because they are rich. Which I did not get even after reading it. I'm thankful he pointed it out

DaiPlusPlus 5y ago
> people in the neighbourhood are politically influent, that's why they are treated that way, not because they are rich When (and where) is there a difference? What neighborhoods are there where rich people reside who have no more social or political influence than people living in The Projects?
- analyst74 5y ago
  An FBI director makes less than 200k, and will be very politically connected and influential; an engineer making that much probably has as much political influence as people living in the projects. Money can buy political influence, but that's beyond the reach of lower echelon of wealthy.
  - imgabe 5y ago
    Not only that, but the FBI director is appointed by the President, which means the President knows who they are and personally wanted them to do that job (or at least the President's trusted staff recommended them). The same is going to be true of a lot of people living in Kalorama - they're on "personally know the President" level of political influence or they work directly for someone who does. It's the neighborhood where Obama lived after his term ended. It's where Ivanka Trump and Jared Kuschner lived during Trump's presidency. That kind of thing. It's a little different than a standard affluent neighborhood of doctors and lawyers and executives that you might find in any random city in the US.
- pathseeker 5y ago
  >What neighborhoods are there where rich people reside who have no more social or political influence than people living in The Projects? Compared to this one? Nearly all of them. The neighborhoods in Mountain View are filled with affluent people that have no connection to federal politicians and no influence over the FBI at all.
  - nullc 5y ago
    Exactly. Surely wealthier people have more political influence all else equal. But busting down the door of a wealthy person in Mountain View is pretty unlikely to get anyone fired at the FBI. Go ahead, shoot their dog for good measure-- no problem.
  - AniseAbyss 5y ago
- ehhhhhh 5y ago
  I understand that you're saying that rich people usually have political influence everywhere, but I believe the only rich people that have direct jobs in Washington, DC are the ones living in DC. The slumlord that went to high school with the mayor isn't the same as the white house official who is employed by the FBI director (hypothetically speaking).
- Symbiote 5y ago
  Diplomats and senior government officials have more political influence than their wealth would normally provide. The highest paid government employees earn around $400k [1], foreign diplomats probably earn considerably less (e.g. £150k for the UK's [former] representative to the EU [2], which is the highest-paid ambassador position) but have perks like paid-for private school for children and tax exemptions. [1] https://www.federalpay.org/employees/top-100 https://www.federalpay.org/employees/top-100 [2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/944661/September_2019_FCO_Senior_Staff_and_Salary_Details.csv/preview https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
cyborgx7 5y ago
Money is power. That is a truism everybody is aware off. But Liberalism is fundamentally incoherent if that were true. So people have been deluded into forgetting this simple basic fact.
- namdnay 5y ago
  That's jsut not true. A county sheriff has far more power than a software developer, despite being far less wealthy
  - heavyset_go 5y ago
    The median salary for cops in this state is $105k a year. The median salary for software engineers in this state is $89k. Sheriffs make much more than your median cop does.
    - DennisP 5y ago
      I think the general point raised by GP stands up pretty well. Even if sheriffs make a little more than devs in some states, it's not that extra bit of money that gives them a lot more political power. But just for another data point, in California the average salary for a software developer is $139K, while the average for sheriffs is $28/hour. https://www.indeed.com/career/sheriff/salaries/CA https://www.indeed.com/career/sheriff/salaries/CA https://www.indeed.com/career/software-engineer/salaries/CA https://www.indeed.com/career/software-engineer/salaries/CA
      - bryanrasmussen 5y ago
        what kind of comparison is that?! https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/police-officer/salary/california/ https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/police-officer/salary... anyway median police officer in California is 111.3k.
        DennisP 5y ago
        We could keep pulling up relative salaries from different sources for different states all day, but it wouldn't shed much light on the basic claim that sheriffs tend to have political influence out of proportion to their salaries.

by slim 5y ago

DaiPlusPlus 5y ago

> people in the neighbourhood are politically influent, that's why they are treated that way, not because they are rich When (and where) is there a difference? What neighborhoods are there where rich people reside who have no more social or political influence than people living in The Projects?

analyst74 5y ago
An FBI director makes less than 200k, and will be very politically connected and influential; an engineer making that much probably has as much political influence as people living in the projects. Money can buy political influence, but that's beyond the reach of lower echelon of wealthy.
- imgabe 5y ago
  Not only that, but the FBI director is appointed by the President, which means the President knows who they are and personally wanted them to do that job (or at least the President's trusted staff recommended them). The same is going to be true of a lot of people living in Kalorama - they're on "personally know the President" level of political influence or they work directly for someone who does. It's the neighborhood where Obama lived after his term ended. It's where Ivanka Trump and Jared Kuschner lived during Trump's presidency. That kind of thing. It's a little different than a standard affluent neighborhood of doctors and lawyers and executives that you might find in any random city in the US.
pathseeker 5y ago
>What neighborhoods are there where rich people reside who have no more social or political influence than people living in The Projects? Compared to this one? Nearly all of them. The neighborhoods in Mountain View are filled with affluent people that have no connection to federal politicians and no influence over the FBI at all.
- nullc 5y ago
  Exactly. Surely wealthier people have more political influence all else equal. But busting down the door of a wealthy person in Mountain View is pretty unlikely to get anyone fired at the FBI. Go ahead, shoot their dog for good measure-- no problem.
- AniseAbyss 5y ago
ehhhhhh 5y ago
I understand that you're saying that rich people usually have political influence everywhere, but I believe the only rich people that have direct jobs in Washington, DC are the ones living in DC. The slumlord that went to high school with the mayor isn't the same as the white house official who is employed by the FBI director (hypothetically speaking).
Symbiote 5y ago
Diplomats and senior government officials have more political influence than their wealth would normally provide. The highest paid government employees earn around $400k [1], foreign diplomats probably earn considerably less (e.g. £150k for the UK's [former] representative to the EU [2], which is the highest-paid ambassador position) but have perks like paid-for private school for children and tax exemptions. [1] https://www.federalpay.org/employees/top-100 https://www.federalpay.org/employees/top-100 [2] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/944661/September_2019_FCO_Senior_Staff_and_Salary_Details.csv/preview https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

cyborgx7 5y ago

Money is power. That is a truism everybody is aware off. But Liberalism is fundamentally incoherent if that were true. So people have been deluded into forgetting this simple basic fact.

namdnay 5y ago
That's jsut not true. A county sheriff has far more power than a software developer, despite being far less wealthy
- heavyset_go 5y ago
  The median salary for cops in this state is $105k a year. The median salary for software engineers in this state is $89k. Sheriffs make much more than your median cop does.
  - DennisP 5y ago
    I think the general point raised by GP stands up pretty well. Even if sheriffs make a little more than devs in some states, it's not that extra bit of money that gives them a lot more political power. But just for another data point, in California the average salary for a software developer is $139K, while the average for sheriffs is $28/hour. https://www.indeed.com/career/sheriff/salaries/CA https://www.indeed.com/career/sheriff/salaries/CA https://www.indeed.com/career/software-engineer/salaries/CA https://www.indeed.com/career/software-engineer/salaries/CA
    - bryanrasmussen 5y ago
      what kind of comparison is that?! https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/police-officer/salary/california/ https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/police-officer/salary... anyway median police officer in California is 111.3k.
      - DennisP 5y ago
        We could keep pulling up relative salaries from different sources for different states all day, but it wouldn't shed much light on the basic claim that sheriffs tend to have political influence out of proportion to their salaries.