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I don't buy your argument that the US's concentration of wealth among a politically powerful class has much bearing on its development. Extreme concentration of

I don't buy your argument that the US's concentration of wealth among a politically powerful class has much bearing on its development. Extreme concentration of wealth among an oligarch class isn't generally associated with socioeconomic development at all, arguably the contrary. Look at mideast petro-monarchy states, or some of the least developed southeast Asian nations as clear counterexamples. If anything, the US's relatively high level of political liberalness serves as a counterbalance against its own oligarch class.

School-Cotton 4y ago
It’s not just concentrated at the top. The US is very, very wealthy by global standards even at lower percentiles. The exact rank depends on how you measure, of course: according to Wikipedia, the US’s median income is first in the world; I found some other sources saying it’s fifth. At any rate, very high.
- monero-xmr 4y ago
  It would surprise a lot of Americans just how wealthy the lower-class are in the US and the luxuries available to them when compared to other places. There are a lot of very poor people in Europe, having traveled a fair bit in Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy, which are countries that are ostensibly highly developed. The safety net in the US is actually quite strong for citizens (there is a huge illegal immigrant class that gets very little) as SNAP benefits (free food) and Medicaid expansion for low-income people are quite generous. If you can get a Section 8 (free housing) voucher you can essentially live without working. The pros outweigh the cons IMO but there are some very weird incentives, like poor people are far less likely to get married after having children because government benefits are much stronger for single moms with multiple kids. It’s counter-productive.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - techsupporter 4y ago
    > The safety net in the US is actually quite strong for citizens And permanent residents. This used to not be the case but changed in the late 90s for reasons I won't derail the thread on. > SNAP benefits (free food) and Medicaid expansion for low-income people are quite generous I'm not sure our definitions of "quite generous" are the same. In Washington State, if you are a family of three who makes under $2,300 per month and pays rent and utilities, you qualify for $383/month in food benefit. In western Washington, this is not enough to pay for an entire month of food for three people. It's about a third, or half if you try really hard. (If you have a small child you can qualify for another program, called WIC, but what you get through it is more regulated.) > If you can get a Section 8 (free housing) voucher you can essentially live without working The phrase "if you can get" is doing a great deal of work here. The public housing voucher--of all types, not just section 8--waiting list for every populated county in Washington State is closed right now due to far more applicants than availability. In most of the country the waitlist is years long, if not decades. There is that notable story of a person who is now an Alderwoman for the City of Chicago[0] who was on the waiting list for 29 years and finally reached the point where she could apply for (but not yet receive) housing benefits. The social safety net in the US is neither as strong nor as ubiquitous as you might suspect. 0 - https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1104338319/chicago-public-housing-29-year-waitlist-alderwoman https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1104338319/chicago-public-hou...
  - dsfyu404ed 4y ago
    > get married after having children because government benefits are much stronger for single moms with multiple kids. It’s counter-productive. The purpose of the system is what it does. The bureaucracy must ensure the continued existence of the dependent population it was built to serve. So it breaks up families and support networks in an effort to keep breeding more dependents.
- kibwen 4y ago
  > according to Wikipedia, the US’s median income is first in the world According to this page, the US's median wealth is 21st in the world: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_per_adult https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_...

School-Cotton 4y ago

It’s not just concentrated at the top. The US is very, very wealthy by global standards even at lower percentiles. The exact rank depends on how you measure, of course: according to Wikipedia, the US’s median income is first in the world; I found some other sources saying it’s fifth. At any rate, very high.

monero-xmr 4y ago
It would surprise a lot of Americans just how wealthy the lower-class are in the US and the luxuries available to them when compared to other places. There are a lot of very poor people in Europe, having traveled a fair bit in Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy, which are countries that are ostensibly highly developed. The safety net in the US is actually quite strong for citizens (there is a huge illegal immigrant class that gets very little) as SNAP benefits (free food) and Medicaid expansion for low-income people are quite generous. If you can get a Section 8 (free housing) voucher you can essentially live without working. The pros outweigh the cons IMO but there are some very weird incentives, like poor people are far less likely to get married after having children because government benefits are much stronger for single moms with multiple kids. It’s counter-productive.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- techsupporter 4y ago
  > The safety net in the US is actually quite strong for citizens And permanent residents. This used to not be the case but changed in the late 90s for reasons I won't derail the thread on. > SNAP benefits (free food) and Medicaid expansion for low-income people are quite generous I'm not sure our definitions of "quite generous" are the same. In Washington State, if you are a family of three who makes under $2,300 per month and pays rent and utilities, you qualify for $383/month in food benefit. In western Washington, this is not enough to pay for an entire month of food for three people. It's about a third, or half if you try really hard. (If you have a small child you can qualify for another program, called WIC, but what you get through it is more regulated.) > If you can get a Section 8 (free housing) voucher you can essentially live without working The phrase "if you can get" is doing a great deal of work here. The public housing voucher--of all types, not just section 8--waiting list for every populated county in Washington State is closed right now due to far more applicants than availability. In most of the country the waitlist is years long, if not decades. There is that notable story of a person who is now an Alderwoman for the City of Chicago[0] who was on the waiting list for 29 years and finally reached the point where she could apply for (but not yet receive) housing benefits. The social safety net in the US is neither as strong nor as ubiquitous as you might suspect. 0 - https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1104338319/chicago-public-housing-29-year-waitlist-alderwoman https://www.npr.org/2022/06/23/1104338319/chicago-public-hou...
- dsfyu404ed 4y ago
  > get married after having children because government benefits are much stronger for single moms with multiple kids. It’s counter-productive. The purpose of the system is what it does. The bureaucracy must ensure the continued existence of the dependent population it was built to serve. So it breaks up families and support networks in an effort to keep breeding more dependents.
kibwen 4y ago
> according to Wikipedia, the US’s median income is first in the world According to this page, the US's median wealth is 21st in the world: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_per_adult https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_wealth_...